There are a zillion ways to make mac and cheese. Yes, you can load it up with bacon or hamburger meat or an "exciting" cheese like Asiago. If you're a baller, you can toss in some lobster tail, a heavy showering of white truffle shavings, whole chunks of 72-hour pork belly, or a few tablespoons of cannabutter. If you're a slave to classic French cuisine, you'd demand the preparation of sauce Mornay. Serve it in a miniature cast iron pan, or a handpainted ceramic ramekin.
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But Matty Matheson's mac and cheese is not that kind of mac and cheese. And that's a bit of a relief in a culinary atmosphere that rewards "elevated" classics or simply tarts them up with so much garbage that flavor and texture become secondary to saturated fat content.By contrast, Matty's mac is so simple a Neanderthal could whip up a batch in between bludgeoning all sorts of now-extinct birds and voles. All you need is American cheese—yes, the good old-fashioned processed variety, which is not made of plastic—and a bag of Cheetos.And let's get one thing straight: Matty came up with this recipe way before Burger King started selling the lesser interpretation that is Mac N' Cheetos. We're not saying the King stole this recipe from Matty (another food blogger has already made that claim), because despite its simplicity, this recipe isn't fast food. It's bona fide American comfort food that just happens to be dusted with Cheetos.This mac and cheese is also a blank canvas. Throw in your kale and your lobster tails if you must, or just appreciate it for what it is.
