Granny’s Mac & Cheese – Barbara Longley

When we have winters like the one we just had, I turn to comfort food, and one of my favorite comfort foods is the simple but delicious macaroni and cheese. I have a recipe handed down by my granny. She had a trick: she used some of the water used to boil the macaroni mixed in with the milk. That kept the cheese from separating.

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2 cups half and half

1 cup water from boiled macaroni

(bring water and half and half to a boil)

3 Tablespoons flour added to boiled milk mixture with a wire whisk to thicken.

Once milk mixture is thickened, add 1 pound of cubed extra sharp cheddar cheese.

Stir until melted. Pour over cooked macaroni noodles. Bake 1/2 hour @ 350°F.

Granny never specified an amount for the macaroni. You’ll have to judge for yourself what balance of cheese sauce vs. pasta you prefer. I like to experiment with the type of pasta I use, and I also like to play with different kinds of cheese. Be creative. Mix cheeses. Add crumbled cooked bacon, or bread crumbs mixed with a little melted butter sprinkled on top. It’s delicious, easy and it’s been passed down through my family for three generations. Make some. Curl up with a good book, and enjoy!

A life hangs in the balance . . .

A king held for ransom, a country under thumb, clans at one another’s throats. Malcolm of clan MacKintosh has enough to worry about without finding a mysterious lass sleeping on the side of his road. He tries to help her—in his overbearing, arrogant way—and winds up flat on his back. God’s blood, who is this woman . . . and why does she captivate him so?

And only she can tip the scales.

The fortune-teller said something about saving a life, then zapped Alethia Goodsky back to fifteenth-century Scotland—a land bristling with broadswords and intrigue. Alethia is no damsel in distress, though, even if brawny, blue-eyed Malcolm has sworn to protect her. With her wits and special abilities, she races to solve the gypsy’s mystery and protect those she’s come to love. The stakes climb higher and enemies close in, forcing Alethia to choose between finding her way home... and staying true to her Highlander.

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