Mouse-Free Mac & Cheese

When I say I used to have a family of mice living under my stovetop, I do not speak metaphorically. It’s not some cutesy, Manhattan code for: “My life is so insanely hectic and the delivery options are so vast and enticing that I have opted to use the oven not for cooking but instead for sweater storage.”

No. What it means is, back in the days when I lived in an apartment slightly larger than a ladies room stall (and not the handicapped one with the changing table and private sink,) I had a very large, and very persistent family of mice living under my stovetop.

Occasionally, to be fair, they vacationed behind the microwave. Summers underneath the refrigerator, that kind of thing. But mostly, they made themselves quite cozy scampering about between the burners, popping up now and again to confirm that yes, that irritating human is still around, and no, she hasn't dropped any crumbs for us today.

Because, and here’s a lesson: Crumbs come from cooking. And cooking, you see, is hard to do when MICE ARE LIVING IN YOUR OVEN.

Now, I suppose it would be a teeny tiny stretch of what some might call “the truth” if I were to imply that the only reason for the cooking hiatus was rodent-related.

And a hiatus, I guess, would in turn imply that there was significant cooking going on in the first place. You know, pre-mouse.

Sadly, not so. Not so with the cooking. Unless it could take care of itself in a pot of boiling water, or better yet, the microwave, I probably had it delivered.

But that’s what New Years Resolutions are for!

Because this year, I live in an actual house, with an actual working oven. And the only animals that ever see the inside of this oven are long-dead and usually in meatloaf form.

So this year, I made a list. I guess techinically it’s not a list since it’s one item long. More like a directive. A forward-thinking note-to-self.

Here is what my list said:

New Years Resolutions:
Cook Good.

And so, without further ado, may I present one of my very first, completely-delicious-while-at-the-same-time-only-slightly-resembling
-radioactive-material:
Mouse Free Mac & Cheese!




I got the recipe from this site right here, which I adore and drool over daily. I changed it a little (because I’m crazy like that) and added Japanese breadcrumbs to the top layer before baking, on account of their delicate flakiness (and random existence in my cabinet.)