MJ's Dumb Polls v.1 - Mac and Cheese

[MetalJunkie]

I don't know if there will be more in a series of polls or not, but the title sounded good. ANYHOO!

Either now, or growing up, did/do you cook macaroni and cheese as a side item or an entree? Growing up, sometimes for lunch we would just cook up a box of mac and cheese for lunch. I still do. Nowadays, though, whenever I visit friends they seem to only prepare it as a side item for dinner. This makes me wonder which method is preferred/normal.

Vote!

[bosk1]

I would say "side" is more common, but "entrée" is still perfectly valid. 

I have long been intrigued by lobster mac & cheese, but haven't personally run across any place that serves it yet. 

I also think this looks amazing: 
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/mac-attack-recipe.html
https://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/cheesy-mac-attack-burger-0214163.html
I mention this BOTH because it looks amazing AND to throw a monkey wrench into your poll since you did not list "topping/condiment" as a category. 

[Cool Chris]

There is no reason whatsoever that anyone should eat mac & cheese by itself out of the box, as an entrée or side dish - and I am referring to the simple Kraft or whatever M&C. Even if you are the typical starving college student, there are so many better option for your dollar.

Now if you want to add some chili to it, or something to beef it up a bit, then it can be a full meal in and of itself. And of course restaurants are really exploring some great M&C dishes like Bosk1 posted.

[bosk1]

There is no reason whatsoever that anyone should eat mac & cheese by itself out of the box, as an entrée or side dish - and I am referring to the simple Kraft or whatever M&C. Even if you are the typical starving college student, there are so many better option for your dollar.

  There is EVERY reason. 

[El Barto]

Mac and cheese by itself is a side dish. Mac and cheese with something(s) added to it is a casserole and an entree.

@Bosk Lobster mac and cheese is ubiquitous down here. I'm surprised it's not every where up there close to water. Normally pops up at steak houses.

Personally, I find it far too rich. While I love lobster and M&C, combined they overshadow each other. If you're going to put forth the effort to make a M&C good enough to hold its own with lobster, just serve me the damn M&C with a side of lobster.

[cramx3]

There is no reason whatsoever that anyone should eat mac & cheese by itself out of the box, as an entrée or side dish - and I am referring to the simple Kraft or whatever M&C. Even if you are the typical starving college student, there are so many better option for your dollar.

  There is EVERY reason.

This.  The taste is certainly a good enough reason to eat it.  There's always a better option, but a dollar box of kraft mc and cheese is still a delicious cheap meal.

I chose entree because if I am cooking it (as the question asks) then I almost always cook it as an entree.  If I am out at a restaurant then I am more likely to get it as a side dish.

[hefdaddy42]

If we make it at home, it's always a side.

There is a restaurant in town that has a version as an entree.  It's made with 5 different kinds of cheese and also has ground beef and bacon.  It is fantastic.

And I am definitely OK with Kraft "cheese & macaroni" from a box.

[King Postwhore]

El Barto is spot on.  I make Mac n cheese with turkey dogs on the grill.  Cut them up and throw them in.  It reminds me of my youth.

[ReaperKK]

I like it as an entree mainly. There is a restaurant a little bit away from me that has the best entree Mac and cheese I have ever had

[cramx3]

I used to work at a Boston Market in high school, I absolutely love their mac and cheese.  Nothing fancy, but some real good stuff.

[Orbert]

Entree when prepared at home, side dish at a restaurant.

[lonestar]

As a kid it served both as an entree (with sliced up hot dogs in it YUM!!!) and as a side dish.



As an adult, it's the most versatile stuff ever, and I've used it in a bazillion different ways.

[splent]

I have a 5 year old so it depends

[Ben_Jamin]

Mmm....Mac & Cheese and Spam.

[axeman90210]

As a kid when my mom made Kraft we had it as an entree. Now when I sometimes make it (not Kraft) we use it as a side dish. I also had a quesadilla that was filled with mac & cheese and chorizo for dinner two nights ago, which was amazing.

[cramx3]

As an adult, it's the most versatile stuff ever, and I've used it in a bazillion different ways.

Just reading this from you has made me drool thinking over the possibilities

[jammindude]

There is no reason whatsoever that anyone should eat mac & cheese by itself out of the box, as an entrée or side dish - and I am referring to the simple Kraft or whatever M&C. Even if you are the typical starving college student, there are so many better option for your dollar.

  There is EVERY reason.

This.  The taste is certainly a good enough reason to eat it.  There's always a better option, but a dollar box of kraft mc and cheese is still a delicious cheap meal.

I chose entree because if I am cooking it (as the question asks) then I almost always cook it as an entree.  If I am out at a restaurant then I am more likely to get it as a side dish.

This baffled me as well.  I'm a 46 year old man, and a box of Kraft blue box is still one of my favorite lunches.  I eat it at least once a week (plain) just because I love it.

[Orbert]

I was maybe in junior high when a friend of mine turned me onto squirting ketchup onto mac 'n' cheese.  It was glorious.  Obviously, tomato-cheese-pasta is a staple in Italian cooking, so it's not like it was a huge stretch.  I just had never thought of adding anything to mac 'n' cheese.  It was fine straight out of the box.

He said "Well obviously you've added cut-up hot dogs, right?"



A whole new world was opened up, spread before me, and inviting me to try every possibility.  Baked beans.  Peas.  If ketchup, why not a dash of barbeque sauce?  Mustard turned out to be a mistake, but hey, it was worth a try.  Always see what else is in the fridge.

When my kids were younger, I'd make mac 'n' cheese for lunch sometimes, always adding various things, essentially continuing the experimentation of yesteryear, and one day they asked me if we could just have it plain.  They liked it plain, not with all kinds of stuff added (and I was getting a bit crazy with it, since we have a lot more different things in the fridge these days than when I was a kid).

So I made a double batch of plain Kraft mac 'n' cheese.  It was awesome.  (I still hit mine with some ketchup though.)

[BlobVanDam]

Mac and Cheese is either a side or a main for me. Yeah, make up a ton of that shit and just eat that for dinner. Got a problem with that?

[Podaar]

I was maybe in junior high when a friend of mine turned me onto squirting ketchup onto mac 'n' cheese.  It was glorious.  Obviously, tomato-cheese-pasta is a staple in Italian cooking, so it's not like it was a huge stretch.  I just had never thought of adding anything to mac 'n' cheese.  It was fine straight out of the box.

He said "Well obviously you've added cut-up hot dogs, right?"



A whole new world was opened up, spread before me, and inviting me to try every possibility.  Baked beans.  Peas.  If ketchup, why not a dash of barbeque sauce?  Mustard turned out to be a mistake, but hey, it was worth a try.  Always see what else is in the fridge.

When my kids were younger, I'd make mac 'n' cheese for lunch sometimes, always adding various things, essentially continuing the experimentation of yesteryear, and one day they asked me if we could just have it plain.  They liked it plain, not with all kinds of stuff added (and I was getting a bit crazy with it, since we have a lot more different things in the fridge these days than when I was a kid).

So I made a double batch of plain Kraft mac 'n' cheese.  It was awesome.  (I still hit mine with some ketchup though.)

This post brought to you by the "Legalize Marijuana Initiative".

[cramx3]

 

[TheCountOfNYC]

It's usually as a side when eating dinner with multiple people but sometimes I'll eat an entire box by myself as an entree.