One of the advantages of being cooped up in your home for months on end in the winter is that you start getting a little creative with your cooking. New Hampshire Yankees have centuries' worth of winter inspiration for a lot of great comfort food recipes. Now, with our modern comforts and technologies we're not so cooped up anymore but this has only provoked competition as some Yankees have emerged from their winter cocoons early to discover their neighbors have also been fiddling in the kitchen. Some of the cleverer among them have organized formal competitions. Just such wise souls exist at the New Hampshire Dairy Farmers Association, who organized a macaroni & cheese bake-off today in the state's capital, Concord. Mac & cheese is, I think, the ultimate comfort food and the prospect of going from booth to booth in the ballroom of a Holiday Inn, spoon in hand, and sampling dozens of different macaroni & cheese recipes is very close to my idea of heaven. I wasn't alone; long lines snaked around the hotel lobby. There were traditional takes and more adventurous recipes (e.g., with apples, or Caribbean spices, maple syrup, potatoes, different cheeses, etc.) All in all it was a fun event and three winners will be announced, based on both a panel of professional judges and popular votes.
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