The mothership

Attention, please. Stop whatever you are doing and make this macaroni and cheese. Tonight. Right now, in fact.

Macaroni and cheese is one of those classic comfort foods that is made a thousand different ways and that everyone prefers in a style similar to the way their grandmother made it. It is also a dish that has been mocked by ridiculous boxed versions that start with some kind of powder and taste like Wite Out. If you're going to make mac-n-cheese that way, just step out of the kitchen and order a pizza instead.

Eternally searching for better and better versions of macaroni and cheese, I recently tried this version from The Pioneer Woman:

It was so good I hoarded it in the refrigerator and tried to pretend there weren't any leftovers. I only made a few very minor changes to Pioneer Woman's recipe:

1) I salted the water in which the pasta was cooked, because it's just the best way to flavor any kind of water and then you don't need to add extra salt at the end.

2) I used half sharp cheddar and half mozzarella. I planned on topping it with some parmesan, but my microplane was in the dishwasher being washed, and I couldn't be bothered to wait.

3) I used freshly cracked pepper, because I think it makes all things better. And I also couldn't be bothered to get out a measuring spoon to measure out the dry mustard, so I have no idea how much I put in.