Cheesy Mac Attack

The cheeses

I am obsessed with cheese. It is my favorite food, closely trailing behind chocolate. And I am not talking sliced swiss cheese in the deli section at the supermarket, or pre-shredded parmesan from Private Selection. I am all about the buttery brie, tangy manchego, nutty gruyere, and creamy herbed goat cheese. The list could go on and on. Since Harmony shares a love of cheese with me, we made the cheesiest dish possible for dinner one night, the ultimate macaroni and cheese.

Don't worry, we got our veggies in, too!

The recipe we used uses a cheese base of mascarpone (Italian cream cheese) and parmesan. Then of course there is butter, milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and elbow macaroni. For variations, the recipe recommended adding gorgonzola, fresh mozzarella, or taleggio cheese. I went for aromatic gorgonzola. Or follow in Harmony's wise footsteps and add gruyere. Which ever you choose, I guarantee it will be spectacular.

Before baking

First step is melting the mascarpone, parmesan, and butter, stirring in the milk and seasonings. Meanwhile, cook the macaroni in boiling water until al dente. Combine the two and stir in your additional cheese choice. Pour into a baking dish or individual ramekins. The recipe calls for bread crumbs and cubed butter sprinkled on top, but we thought that was a little overkill. And sprinkling more parmesan and gorgonzola on top wasn't? Of course not! Pop it in the oven, and bake until its golden brown on top.

Out of the oven

This was the best mac and cheese I have ever had. It was rich, creamy, tangy, and salty. Every bite was an explosion of deliciousness in my mouth. It was the kind of dish you cannot stop eating because it was so tasty and comforting. So I didn't stop, until my ramekin was empty. Do not expect to practice self control with such heavenly food. It just is not possible.

Ready to dig in

Here is the exact recipe so you can go whip some up and warm your belly with cheesy delight...

1 pound elbow macaroni
8 ounces mascarpone
1 cup tightly packed grated parmesan cheese, plus 1/2 cup for topping
1/2 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
Course salt
Pinch of nutmeg
Freshly ground pepper
(1/2 cup breadcrumbs)
(cubed butter)

For variations add one of the following:
1 cup basic tomato sauce
1 ball fresh mozzarella, cubed
1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup taleggio, broken into small pieces
OR just forget about the measurements and add as much cheese as your heart desires!

Enjoy :)

American Lake Trail

We have reached the point of no return. The snow is actively falling every couple of days, and is here to stay. Just before all of the streets, sidewalks, and trails were covered in snow, we got one last big hike in. Heading up toward the Cathedral Lake hike we did, we took an earlier turn off of Castle Creek Road. The Audi was not very happy with us, bottoming out multiple times down the 3 miles of very rocky and bumpy dirt road to the trailhead.

The trail was another out and back, straight up straight down. It certainly is nice getting the hardest part done first. The scenery was, once again, beautiful. The Aspen trees have lost their leaves, but the white bark was glowing in the sun light, brightening up the forested area. It was a single file kind of trail, and I was obviously pulling up the rear trying to keep up with my speedy friend. Not to mention, snapping photos with the new SLR held me up a bit.

Still huffing and puffing, we made it to the top. Another 2,000 foot gain, reaching a final elevation of 11,370. Can we call ourselves studs yet? Because it felt pretty studly. The views were mostly limited to forested ridges, brown shrubbery, and ivory trunks. It did not seem like a path leading to a lake. A little over an hour in, we started thinking to ourselves "did we take a wrong turn? Where could a lake possibly be tucked away back here?" Sure enough, 15 minutes later we found it. And it was most definitely tucked away. Another little emerald gem hidden in the Rockies.













We soaked up the sun, caught our breath, and got lost in thought while admiring where we were. We live in the most beautiful place, and it is so much fun to explore and find all of these different spots. There is always another one to see. Life is exciting and invigorating out here in Aspen.

We had a little lunch, sharing it with two new friends we met up there. Although they weren't huge talkers. They were much more interested our sandwiches and mixed nuts. Then it was 3.2 miles back down the hill, just in time to go home and nap!




On our way down, we ran into a women who was in our cooking class. Aspen is a very small town, and we are starting to see many familiar faces as we walk down the street, and apparently in the middle of the woods outside of town, too! It is starting to feel a bit more like home, a bit more comfortable. But not quite real, my life feels like vacation everyday! So rough.