Mac and Cheese, while not a "fancy" or gourmet dish, is IMHO one of those iconic comfort foods. I hated it as a kid because it was so plain and tastless -- now I realize that was probably because the crap I ate as a kid was very bland and tasteless. But I can also imagine mac & cheese with a really rich and creamy sauce that wouldn't bear any resmblance to that other crap...and that's what I'm looking for. This particular recipe was a step in the right direction with the wine...but the sauce wasn't as creamy as I'd hoped. Still looking...or probably I'll experiment and see what I can come up with. I don't consider wine in food particularly "gourmet" and "fancy." After all, in this recipe it's "just another indredient." I keep a bottle of dry vermouth like I keep that ubiquitous box of Morton Salt (When it rains, it pours). What I call fancy and gourmet are dishes like Chicken Supremes in a white wine cream sauce with a garnish of julienned mushrooms and carrots or Coq au Vin or Beef Bourgenon. Yea, I LOVE french food.
The recipe with tomatoes that Albi posted looks good & I'm going to try that...but I'd say that strays from "pure" M&C because of the tomatoes. Nevertheless, M&C&T does titillate my tastebuds! I love griled cheese and tomato sandwiches.
Related to Mac and Cheese as a comfort food are Chili Mac and Meatloaf!
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