Mac and Cheese with Truffle Oil

Macaroni and cheese is perhaps the most popular childhood snack that adults continue to love. It's not a dish that you can simply move on from, especially if it's become a regular in your meals as a kid. Chewy pasta stirred generously with an indulgent cheese sauce seems like a match made in heaven. But it seems that the penchant for Mac and Cheese can also go way beyond its likable taste as developing studies show comfort food's connection with fond memories and feelings from childhood.

This finding only reasserts the mac and cheese notable place in our hearty appetite that needs indulging every once in a while. There's a whole range of recipes out there going from the boxed variants into the full-blown intricate three-cheese gourmet Mac and Cheese. But here's one that's easy to follow that's guaranteed to deliver a fulfilling bite. This lovely recipe is a modified take on Heston Blumenthal's truffle macaroni and cheese. Here are the ingredients you need to prepare beforehand:

• 1 ⅓ cup macaroni
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon truffle oil
• 1 ¼ cup chicken or vegetable stock
• ½ cup parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon flour
• ½ block cream cheese
• freshly ground pepper

Cooking instructions:

1. Boil your pasta in medium-high heat and cook until chewy. Once done, place the pasta in a bowl and mix it in truffle oil.
2. In a separate saucepan, reduce the white wine over high heat until it reaches a syrup consistency. You should have about 30 ml or 2 tablespoons left after reduction.
3. Add your vegetable stock or chicken stock to your reduced wine and adjust to medium heat. In another bowl, combine the parmesan cheese with flour and pour it into your wine-stock mixture.
4. Stir until the cheese melts and the sauce thickens. Place your pasta in the saucepan along with the cream cheese and continue stirring until cream cheese melts.
5. Season with a preferred amount of salt and pepper and serve immediately for a decadent meal.

Reminisce good times with this go-to comfort food of ours. In as simple as five steps, you get to make your day more lively and full of color. Just remember to mix that truffle oil well and you'll get that mouthwatering and cheesy pasta dish you have been craving for. — (TGM)