Homemade Mac n Cheese...how?

HOLsale

thriftlady wrote:

Thanks Holsale!

I'm really surprised by what you say about digestives.I don't know how many times I've read that they make a great substitute for Graham Crackers!I've used them in cheesecakes and thought they were fine,the idea of using rich tea biscuits just doesn't seem right!But I've never had an authentic American cheesecake so I don't know any different.

I've seen a website specialising in US food over here.Sorry I can't remember any details,so not much help.I'm sure it sold all sorts of American sweets(candies!) and other things,they may have GCs.Try Googling.
Thanks again for your expertise :T

i know it's the most common suggestion for substitution but being a bit of a graham cracker conniseur i can tell you that digestives are a horrible comparison (maybe just horrible...yuck, dry sand ewwwwwwwww)

rich tea biscuits have a more similar taste and are lighter and crispier than digestives. the true texture of crushed graham crackers is somewhere between rich tea's and digestives but the taste is much closer to rich tea... in my opinion go for rich tea for authentic flavour...or you could mix them to get the closest approximation to both flavour and texture... i never use digestives though, as mentioned above i think they taste and feel like sand :eek:

HOLsale

arkonite_babe wrote:

Oh BTW I just checked, they do stock Graham crackers but at the present time they are sold out.

HTH

i have a friend that's in the states right now she's promised to bring back some of my favourites as long as they aren't too heavy so

cinnamon graham crackers
candy corn
rootbeer barrels
fried onion rings

all on my list :T

Swan_2

HOLsale wrote:

twinkies are a lightly lemon flavoured sponge (just a hint of lemon) filled with a light whipped creamy type filling very tasty, very unhealthy!

reeses peanut butter cups, probably something else you've wondered about it's sort of a thick whipped peanut butter centre about .33 inch thick coverd in milk chocolate. the edges are thick and crenelated so you can have fun eating aronud the edges or use it as a hand hold to eat them everyone has their own way of eating them

are there different brands of Twinkies? I tried them while on holiday & found them too sweet & overwhelmingly chemically-tasting

but Reeses Peanut Butter Cups are wonderful & you can get them over here! Woolies sometimes have them & you see them in corner shops & newsagents

but my favourite sweet thing from 'across the pond' is Butterfinger, they are so delicious ... kind of buttery, peanutty, crispy, flaky, melting stuff coated in milk chocolate, indescribably good. I had a friend who sent me a gift of a whole box of them (from Cybercandy) absolute heaven :drool: :drool: :drool:



oh and for macaroni cheese, you must use elbow (preferably Marshalls) macaroni!

HOLsale

Swan wrote:

are there different brands of Twinkies? I tried them while on holiday & found them too sweet & overwhelmingly chemically-tasting

but Reeses Peanut Butter Cups are wonderful & you can get them over here! Woolies sometimes have them & you see them in corner shops & newsagents

but my favourite sweet thing from 'across the pond' is Butterfinger, they are so delicious ... kind of buttery, peanutty, crispy, flaky, melting stuff coated in milk chocolate, indescribably good. I had a friend who sent me a gift of a whole box of them (from Cybercandy) absolute heaven :drool: :drool: :drool:



oh and for macaroni cheese, you must use elbow (preferably Marshalls) macaroni!

there are plenty of knock off versions of twinkies... i was describing the original twinkies you're right though, they get to be a bit chemical tasting though i quite enjoy the first few bites

butterfingers mmmmmmmmmm they've got this kinda twang/kick to them that is indescribable! i'll have to ask for some of those now too

actually i'm missing boston baked beans now too... they're peanuts covered in this little sweet shell... too hard to describe but lovely!

LucyLocket

In October we took our six year old DD to Walt Disney World in Florida. She had never been to the states before and DH and I had only been to NY previously. Our transfer from the airport stopped and gave us half an hour at Winn Dixie supermarket before we went to the hotel at Wilderness Lodge. It was really interesting trying new things.

We loved the Entemann' s cinammon whirls which we used for breakfast. Krispy Kreme doughnuts were not particularly good , although these were boxed from Winn Dixie and I suspect they are better fresh from point of origin! We disliked Reeses peanut butter cups intensely. In the 'counter service restaurants ' inside WDW I found the quality of hamburger to be hugely better than at home, DD was horrified to receive 'apple sauce' as a supposed dessert.

However we truly felt the width of the cultural divide :-) when we tried to make 'smores' ( toasted marshmallow and melted chocolate between graham crackers) at a 'campfire' attended by the cartoon chipmunks Chip and Dale. DD felt his manhood was being called into question when he found he lacked ' toasting technique' so the US dad's marshmallow provided caramelised perfection and our DD had to settle for charcoal ooze. DD ended up smothered in melted chocolate as Dale approached and had to be restrained from flinging herself into his arms immediately( I didnt want the laundry bill for his fine furry suit , no vinegar or soda crystals being available) . DD responded in an admirably pragmatic way by wiping her hands on the nearest item , which happened to be me :-( and a fine time was had by all !

Sad to say it turned out we don't actually like smores and having explained that it was a cultural issue we palmed the rest of the smores making kit off on the people next to us , who turned out to be Canadian ...........

HOLsale

nice story!

the secret to properly roasting a marshmallow is to hold it just above the fire til it lightly browns. then at the last moment let it catch fire and quick as you can blow it out!

you'll get a small portion that is black, peel that off, the rest will be gorgeous and lava like inside mmmmmmmmmmm

i used to roast marshmallows on a fork over the gas fire... until my mom caught me doing it :eek: :eek:

Essex-girl_2

LucyLocket wrote:

DD was horrified to receive 'apple sauce' as a supposed dessert. ...........

My children were offer applesauce with their burgers instead of fries, also we had the option of 'stawberry flavoured' apple sauce!

My favourite was the breakfast though - how do they get the bacon so crispy - have tried - cant do crispy can do burnt tho!!