Happy Poetry Friday! (Wondering what Poetry Friday is? Click here.)
My wheels have been spinning since Tabatha proposed a mac and cheese Poetry Friday. Why? Because macaroni and cheese is my favorite food. In my childhood, bbq chicken and macaroni and cheese was my birthday dinner every year. Shortly into our marriage, when Randy and I spent Thanksgiving at Vogel State Park in north Georgia, finding a restaurant open that had mac and cheese on the menu was a holiday highlight. I make it every Christmas. In fact, Maddie was a counselor at camp and they played a trivia game outside the dining hall to see which cabin entered first for food. The theme one day was Holidays. Maddie asked a group of 200 campers: “It’s a traditional Christmas food.” It was a looooonnnnnnnng time before a camper came up with mac and cheese. It was so funny! Maddie didn’t know it was a very unusual holiday food. Eating mac and cheese with crispy pancetta in it at Emeril’s restaurant in the MGM in Las Vegas when I went for NCTE or ILA one time. SO many good mac and cheese memories.
Heads-up. I’m talking about oven-baked sharp cheddar, pasta, butter, and just enough milk and American cheese to make it a touch creamy. But none of this soupy, creamy, liquidy business. That is not mac and cheese in my book. Broiling the top for a tiny bit of crispy yumminess gets you bonus points.
I don’t make mac and cheese often because it’s not something I can resist. If I make a huge pot of it on Christmas, I am eating the leftovers every meal (and sometimes straight out of the fridge–a cold, salty, cheesy brick) until it’s gone. I have no willpower around mac and cheese. It’s the devil.
Anyway, I had a lot of ideas, but I couldn’t get much to gel. Maybe it’s a topic TOO close to my heart. In the end, I wrote this Things to Do if… poem at a drum corps show last weekend.
Things to Do if You Are a Macaroni Noodle
Invite all your friends to a party
Soak in a hot bath until you’re completely relaxed
Dress in layers of sharp cheddar cheese
Wear a scratchy cracker cap
Sunbathe under an electric sky
Bubble over with happiness–Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved
And for more cheesy goodness and other fabulous poems, don’t miss the Poetry Friday Roundup with Tabatha at The Opposite of Indifference!
49 Responses
- And then prepare to be devoured!!! Bwah-ha-ha!!
I know! I left that part out;>)
Fun poem Laura, and the last line is perfect! Your mac and cheese sounds delish!
Thanks, Michelle!
Now that is what I call a great lead up to a poem of creamy delight. You are getting very creative at these outings you go to, Laura.
Thanks, Carol. Sitting in bleachers leads to forced creativity:)
I guess you don’t eat Annie’s, one of our family’s traditions. 🙂 Your version sounds scrumptious.
Thanks, Brenda. Annie’s mac and cheese, you mean?
Yes, the purple box. My hubby converted me when we were married, and I’m now a devotee.
I’m just going to jump in here, because that’s the box brand we buy! We love the bunny-shaped macaroni! 🙂
LOL Yay for Annie’s!
Oh, it’s a box mix. I was thinking of an organic frozen mac and cheese. Yep, I think I’ve seen this. :>)
I’ve never had Annie’s mac and cheese, but I’ve been introduced to her bunny-shaped cheese crackers by my one-year-old grandson. Yum!
Love your poem, Laura, and the story about your daughter and her Christmas tradition question!
Thanks, Tabatha! Great idea for a theme day!
Pure joy and delight. I love this!
Thanks, Kat!
This poem makes my mouth water, Laura! “Bubble over with happiness” is exactly right! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks, Catherine. It’s making me crave it, too. A local restaurant is offering free mac and cheese today, but theirs is a little too creamy for me:(
This is adorable! I love “sunbathe under an electric sky” — well done!!
Thank you, Keri!
Sunbathe under an electric sky. Delicious! xo
Thanks, Irene. Trying to describe broiling without it sounding painful!
What a fantastic “What to do if you are a.….” poem. Love it!
Thanks, Linda!
I love hearing all the memories you have around mac and cheese! The Maddie story is hilarious!
It was so funny in person! We just sat there (we were visiting her at camp that weekend) thinking, “Nobody will ever get this!”
So, you must be a true professional, because your little macaroni poem, dashed off at a drum corps show, is spot on and delightful! I’m bubbling over with approval for each perfect line…
Hehe–thanks, Heidi. And your travels have looked so wonderful!
Oh, what a funny story about your daughter and the Christmas tradition! We had a similar experience — my husband’s family always put out a little jar of gherkins with their Christmas dinner — I have no idea how that started, but my husband was convinced that every family ate gherkins with their turkey and cranberry sauce, and was shocked to discover that they didn’t! 😉
And alas I’ve never actually made macaroni and cheese from scratch!!! My shame!! 😉
Love it! Isn’t it so human how we just assume everybody is like us?
Loved this poem! but my mind went right to the next step–when all the friends get devoured.
Yeah, I couldn’t think of a way to make that sound fun!
I’m with Catherine — my mouth is watering as well!
Thanks, Tara!
Yum–delicious photo and poem. I especially love the soak in hot bath and bubbling over lines (although I think the happiness goes to the eater more than the macaroni!)
Thanks, Buffy. Yeah, it was tricky not making the macaroni sound suicidal…I agree, def more happiness for eater than eaten!
I’m bubbling over with happiness about this post and your poem. I’d like to come to your house for mac and cheese. Gotta be better than the chemical box variety.
Margaret, you southern girl, can’t believe you don’t make delicious mac and cheese! Was it the NOLA airport where I’ve had great mac and cheese a couple of times? Best airport food EVER, at a little place specializing in southern food. Ah, memories!
Delicious poem and family stories, Laura — And now we’re all celebrating your holiday meal’s holiday! ;0)
Thanks, Robyn. I’m sad to say I didn’t have mac and cheese on its own holiday! But I thought about it a lot!
You are the Merry Mac Mother, Larua.
I love how this is like aa happy dress rehearsal for the Lady Mac (I think of her as a lady: soak in a hot bath until relaxed…)
It reminds me very much of the mood of the BRAVA POTATOES picture book.
And once again, your “If You Were A…” prompt is the right recipe.
You mixed this up magnificently.
Aargh. Too many typos not to fix, Laura!
BRAVE POTATOES is the picture book, where the potatoes in the kitchen are about to get their due when .…
Thanks, Jan! (haha on the typos–hate when I do that) I have heard of BRAVE POTATOES, but I can’t remember if I’ve ever read it. [later] OK, I just put it on interlibrary loan. Can’t wait to see if/how they escape:>)
If you’re ever in Concord, New Hampshire in January, there is a NH Dairy Council macaroni and cheese bake-off. Restaurant chefs bake up tons of the stuff and spectators get to sample. I’ve even tried some “dessert” mac & cheese entries!
Yummy! I’m ready to dig into a plate of cheesy, gooey, crunchy pasta right now!
A really clever poem! You could do a whole book of food poems like this! I actually prefer the box kind, but my boys insist on homemade. I have a pretty decent crockpot recipe I pull out for cold winter days!
Sunbathe and bubble over … such a fun poem. I grew up on the blue box, but homemade is so much better.
A woman after my own heart! I know what you mean about the allure of mac ‘n cheese — that’s the same reason I only make my homemade version a couple times a year. I shared my love of the dish on Friday’s post, but i’m just now getting to view everyone else’s…and I love your broiling sunbath — it’s the piece de la resistance!