Mac and cheese and freebies

Hey all, hope you had a great weekend.

I had a comfort food Sunday - made an adult-style macaroni and cheese in between the football games - that not only cleaned out my refrigerator, it was pretty damn good too.

While I cooked whole wheat penne al dente, I made a fast bechamel sauce out of butter, flour, milk, some heavy cream, white wine and chicken broth. (It was really "a little of this, a little of that.")

Then, I chopped and tossed in all the cheese leftovers from my fridge - everything from asiago to fontina to farmhouse cheddar to swiss cheese - and threw in two chopped fresh tomatoes (the last from a friend's garden.) While rooting around the veggie bin, I also came across a remaining half bag of fresh baby arugula. In it went.

A couple of slices of leftover rye bread was tossed into a food processor for bread crumbs and then I mixed the crumbs with olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika to top the mac and cheese.

Baked in a buttered oval pan at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes and then served up cheesy, gooey, crispy goodness to rave reviews.

It was a delicious "who's-counting-calories?" kind of meal, so tonight I'm eating soup for dinner.

IN OTHER NEWS: I'm thinking about writing a story on some "freebies" you get at restaurants - such as the toffee you get at the end of the meal (along with the bill) at Pizza by Elizabeths; the pickled mushrooms recently brought to the table at Harry's Savoy Grill; and the popular macaroon at the Hotel du Pont.

Can you think of other places that hand out freebies?

Let me know at ptalorico@delawareonline.com or comment below. I'll check it out.

Thanks.