Y’all. We need to talk. I ate seven cups of cheese. BUT NOT IN ONE SITTING! Hear me out before you judge…
When I try new recipes for the first time, I typically try to follow the recipe to the best of my ability to really get a feel for it before I start making changes. Occasionally, though, there are just things that I know I can substitute to save some money or calories here & there, and it’s not a huge deal. For Valentine’s Day, Jeremy and I decided to go casual the day of (which was really fun and I think we should do it every year!) and then planned on making a fancy dinner that weekend when we had more time. So the plan was ribeye steaks and this truffle mac & cheese recipe that I found (from the Barefoot Contessa herself).
WELL….
As it turns out – I didn’t look at the recipe in too much detail until the day before when I was making my list for the grocery store. Y’all… It called for SEVEN CUPS OF CHEESE. SEVEN. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, it also called for an entire quart of whole milk. WHAT?! Ina you are in. sane. but God bless ya’. It took everything in my person not to chop off about four cups of that cheese, substitute some low-fat and switch to skim milk, but nooooo. No, I stuck to my guns, because you know what? I’ve learned everything I need to know in the kitchen from my mother….and Ina Garten. So I trusted Ina, and I dove in head first – seven cups of cheese and all.
And it. was. glorious. Worth every single calorie and every single pot/pan that I had to use (which was just about every one in my arsenal). I can say, pretty proudly, I’ll probably never make it again, but damn if that wasn’t the best carbolicious meal we’ve ever had. I’ll dream about it for years to come, that’s for sure.
Like I said, I followed her recipe almost exactly*, so I’m not even going to bother posting it. Scoot on over here to see her recipe and try it for yourself. You won’t be sorry!
*The one change I did make – Instead of seeking out truffle butter, I used regular butter and about 1 tablespoon of white truffle oil. Next time I would probably use a little less oil because it really is so strong, but since I kind of knew there wasn’t going to be a next time…I just went for it. 😉
the milk truck 
Can’t wait to try this for the two of us……I have truffle oil too! It sounds delicious and something good to have when you have friends over for dinner!!
It said 6-8 servings but it made A LOT! That whole Staub pot full and it was to the very top! You could definitely half it for two ppl or even 1/4 it and make two little individual containers 🙂
Seven cups of cheese, a container of whole milk, and truffle oil…. where do I sign up?