Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese is the first book to marry the American standard, macaroni and cheese, with handcrafted artisan cheeses and a wide array of pastas, producing dishes that are both classic and chic. Home cooks of all levels will be encouraged to incorporate fresh, simple ingredients into the everyday comfort food they know and love. Featuring such unexpected and delicious combinations as Beecher’s Flagship Cheddar with Avocado, Lime, and Shell Pasta; Drunken Goat, Fennel, Edamame, Mint, and Rotini; and Pumpkin Stuffed with Fontina, Italian Sausage, and Macaroni, Melt takes mac and cheese out of the box and elevates it to a level that will delight even the most sophisticated palates. With gorgeous color photography throughout, Melt is a compendium of inventive recipes that will add a fresh twist to the family dinner or play a starring role at your next dinner party.

Cooks&Books&Recipes Featured Cook Alice, on Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese:

I’ve written a few cookbook reviews now, but this one is special. Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese is special not only because it is a superb and innovative cookbook and focuses on one of my favorite foods but also because I got to meet Garrett McCord, one of the authors. We met at IFBC: Garrett was in my group one night for dinner at Sitka and Spruce. We were talking, and he mentioned that he had finished a cookbook to be released soon. I asked which one, and he replied: “It’s Melt.” I had just received an e-mail the day before asking me to select the next cookbook I wanted to review, and I had picked Melt.

This was meant to be.

If you are a mac-and-cheese lover or just a cheese enthusiast in general, you will love this cookbook. It not only covers the basics on cheese and pasta (cheese production terminology, how to purchase cheese, how to store cheese, how cheese is made, and more) but it will also open your eyes to new types of cheese (e.g., cow, sheep, and goat’s milk). Hey, we all need to venture out beyond cheddar and mozzarella! Obviously, you are going to find delicious recipes in this cookbook. In addition, many recipes pair ingredients you may never have thought of before — recipes like Humboldt Fog with Grilled Peaches and Orzo; Drunken Goat with Edamame, Fennel and Rotini; Savory Sheep’s Milk Ricotta with Raspberries; and Capellini and Baked Camembert with Pears and Shell Pasta.

Plus, there’s more than just baked pasta. In Melt, you will also find wonderful, fresh, and innovative pasta recipes like Paneer, Pineapple and Cucumber Pasta Salad; Yodeling Goat with Golden Beets and Orecchiette; and Chocolate Pasta with Bucherondin, Hazelnuts, and Cherries.

Melt came to me at just the right time. I’m now living in Wisconsin, America’s Dairyland, and will be trying every single different kind of cheese I can get my hands on. Plus, we are just about to experience our first real winter, so I’ll be all about mac-n-cheese and all kinds of comfort food. I will definitely be cooking my way through this cookbook and enjoying every last bite. Melt: “This is macaroni and cheese all grown up.”

The Cookbook Basics:

Hardcover (10.1 x 8.3 inches)

224 pages; chapters organized by style (stovetop, casseroles, salads, sweets); color photos (by Matt Armendariz)

About the authors: Stephanie Stiavetti is a food writer, cookbook author, and culinary media consultant. She writes at her blog, The Culinary Life. Garrett McCord works as a food writer and recipe developer. His popular food blog, Vanilla Garlic, looks at how life and food intertwine.

Cookbook video

Cookbook Giveaways:

Yes, there are TWO giveaways connected with the publication of this cookbook.

First, Stephanie and Garrett are celebrating the release of their cookbook by giving away a $500 Le Creuset cookware set and a $100 gift certificate for Murray’s Cheese. You read that right! Go immediately here for the details.

Second, thanks to publisher Little, Brown, and Company, we have a copy of Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese for a giveaway to one lucky Cooks&Books&Recipes reader. Enter below.

Giveaway Notes:

There are six ways to enter the giveaway, but it’s not necessary to do all six entries. Choose whichever one(s) you like, and you’ll be entered in the giveaway. The winner, to be randomly selected and notified by e-mail, must claim the cookbook within one week. Giveaway ends at midnight (EST) on Sunday, December 1.

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Disclosure: Cooks&Books&Recipes receives books for possible review, though we make no promise that all books received will be featured. We highlight only those cookbooks that we feel will interest our readers. For this giveaway, we received one free copy of the book from the publisher. We received no monetary compensation for our review or giveaway.

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