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Recipe for "mac-and-cheese"

NAME

     MAC-AND-CHEESE  -  Greatest  macaroni  and  cheese  in   the
     universe

INGREDIENTS (Serves 6)

     350 ml    bacon (optional, but I think this really makes the
               dish!)
     60 g      butter (margarine will do in a pinch)
     60 g      bread crumbs (unseasoned, and don't use  sourdough
               crumbs either)
     500 g     uncooked elbow macaroni
     3-5        scallions, chopped
     750 g     Swiss cheese

PROCEDURE

          (1)  Cook the bacon until it is very crisp. When  done,
               blot dry.
          (2)  Put the butter in a small frying pan and heat at a
               low  temperature  until it's melted.  When melted,
               add the bread crumbs and saut e  until  the  bread
               crumbs  are  browned, stirring frequently to avoid
               burning the crumbs.
          (3)  Boil the macaroni in water according to directions
               on  the  package.  Don't overcook ... it should be
               ``al dente''.  A little olive oil added to the pot
               will  help  prevent  the  macaroni  from  sticking
               together.
          (4)  While the macaroni is cooking,  grate  the  cheese
               and chop the scallions.
          (5)  When the macaroni is done, drain it in a colander.
               The  ``assembly''  is  done in layers into a glass
               baking dish.  Put a layer of macaroni on the  bot-
               tom,  then cheese, the crumble bacon and scallions
               on top of this.  Make the layers thin;  this  way,
               you can get about three pasta/cheese/bacon layers.
               When all of these are in the  pan,  top  with  the
               bread crumbs and bake at 160 deg. C for 20 minutes
               or until  the  bread  crumbs  are  a  little  more
               browned and the cheese is melted.
          (6)  Eat. However, it makes fantastic leftovers, so you
               won't want to eat it all.

NOTES

     Cooking the bacon in the oven or in a microwave  works  well
     for this recipe.  I find the best way to dry the bacon is to
     put a couple of paper towels on top of an  old  brown  paper
     bag,  then the bacon, and then a couple more paper towels on
     top of that, and then just pat with the hand  a  few  times.
     It's important to get the bacon dry or the casserole will be
     too greasy.

RATING

     Difficulty: easy.  Time:  20 - 30  minutes  preparation,  20
     minutes cooking.  Precision: no need to measure.

CONTRIBUTOR

     Helen Anne Vigneau
     {ihnp4,cbosgd,hplabs,decwrl,ucbvax,sun}!dual!hav
     Dual Systems, Berkeley CA
     Hey, there's a great future as a fry cook!  I could be manager in two years.