I can't say that I've had macaroni and cheese from the box recently, but I'm still a defender of it. It's fast, it gives you that carb-comfort, it doesn't cost a lot. And sometimes you have to just wallow in the guilt of eating low.

I made macaroni and cheese last night from a recipe in an issue of Cook's Illustrated from the 1980s in which they tried to claim that their stovetop mac and cheese was almost as fast as the blue box. But that's only after grating 1/2 pound of Cheddar cheese, whisking milk, eggs and seasoning, boiling macaroni, making then tossing breadcrumbs with butter and toasting them. Then comes the seven minutes of constant stirring that prompted the writer to claim that it's almost as fast as packaged. (Never mind all the dishes you get dirty.) What's the point of making the claim? Just say it's better, richer, more fulfilling. A different animal entirely, really. Making mac and cheese from scratch fulfills entirely different longings than making it from the box. Why even compare the two?

That said, I'd make the Cooks Illustrated mac and cheese again in a heartbeat. It was incredibly fast (30 to 45 minutes) and so creamy right out of the pot, with the nice crunchy contrast of toasted breadcrumbs on top.

First I put the water on to boil, then turned my attention to the breadcrumbs: I had some left over from the cassoulet I made last weekend, but I needed more, so I used packaged bread. First I ground half a piece in the coffee grinder to clean out the grounds (it really works!). Threw those crumbs away, then ground more bread for the topping. Tossed about a cup of crumbs with about a tablespoon of melted butter, then toasted in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Tossed 1/2 pound elbow macaroni in the boiling water.

Mixed 1 cup evaporated milk with 2 eggs, a heavy dash of Tabasco, a teaspoon of dried mustard, lots of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Drained the cooked pasta, then tossed it in the same pot with 3 tablespoons of butter. Then, over low heat, added the milk mixture with most of the cheese and stirred until melted. Then added the rest and stirred for 5 minutes more, until it starts to thicken. The longer it sits, the thicker it gets. I ate it right away, sprinkled with the bread crumbs. Todd ate it about 45 minutes later, and it had set up a bit, like a baked mac and cheese would. He said it was still good. Once you finish the steps above you could put it in a casserole dish, cover it with the crumbs and bake it until bubbly.