two pastas

On Saturday we were shells of our former selves. Husks. So hungover that there was nothing to do but draw the curtains, drink some beer, and make two different types of cheesy pastas to eat while watching Enchanted. The first one was nominally "healthy" in that there were vegetables in it. We roasted some of those teensy capsicums that are sweet and delicious with some mushrooms, onion and garlic. Then we put some fettuccine in the roasting dish (out of the oven, obvs) and mixed it together. But then, THEN, we got a wheel of brie, chopped it up, stirred it through until it melted, then ate it with piles of rocket on top. Good. Goood. The second pasta, made simultaneously, was a classic macaroni cheese. We eschewed all onion, garlic, mushroom and whatever else you put in a mac n' cheese to make it feel respectable, and replaced it with a ridiculous amount of cheesy bechamel (which I happen to make incredibly well, using the Silver Spoon's technique). We  topped it with parmesan, then a layer of chunky ciabatta (leftover) breadcrumbs which soaked up the cheese juices, some fresh thyme and a sprinkling of nutmeg, and finished it off with some more parmesan. It looked so adorable when it came out of the oven in my beautiful pastel coloured pie dish that it was almost a shame to have to eat it - the thyme made it look and smell reassuringly rustic. When we cut through the cheese crust the pasta made a very satisfying squelching sound. We ate the whole thing, in stages, between 2pm and 1.30am. These pictures are from Smitten Kitchen's mac 'n cheese, which looks very good and also quite similar to our one.

tip

DINNER FOR ONE
Get one egg yolk, some grated parmesan,the juice and zest of about half a lemon (or less), about five tablespoons of cream. Salt and pepper. Mix them together with a fork. In the meantime, put some fettucine or other fat noodles on to boil. Chop up some parsley. When the pasta is almost cooked, drain it and pop it back in the pot, off the heat. Roll some butter through it, as much as you like. Then, very quickly, put the eggy lemon mix in, and stir it through briskly so it does not turn into scrambled eggs. Tip it in a bowl, sprinkle it with parsley, devour, hopefully while wearing pyjamas. This is a Nigella recipe and I can't stop thinking about eating it again.