Eat To The Beat: "If I Had A Million Dollars" Mac and Cheese

Elly Says Opa is celebrating her 5 year blogiversary by bringing back the Eat To The Beat event. Congratulations, Elly! The concept is simple: create a dish inspired by a song. Or a singer. Or a band. Love it! The marriage of two of my passions: music and food. Is there a song that inspires a food idea in you? Come join in the fun!


For this event, I made Moroccan Spiced Macaroni and Cheese in honor of one of my favorite bands, Barenaked Ladies. When I was young(er), foolish(er) and had more free time, I would follow the band around for part of their tour - usually for 3 or 4 shows at a time. I made signs on posterboard to hold up at the concerts. I even flew to Scotland and caught a few shows there. Yeah, I geeked out majorly for them.


One of their most enduring songs is "If I Had A Million Dollars." It was one of the first songs they wrote (back in the late 80's), and they sing it at every. single. performance. There's a line that goes, "If I had a million dollars...we wouldn't have to eat Kraft dinner..." Kraft dinner = Canadian for Kraft Mac and Cheese. Fans used to throw boxes of mac and cheese onto the stage. Sometimes the boxes were open, and dried pasta and orange powder would rain down onto the band. Other times the boxes were closed, and the band members had to dodge flying missiles with sharp corners. They now have fans donate the boxes of mac and cheese to a local food bank.


While this version of mac and cheese may not be million-dollar worthy - no lobster, or truffle, or other high end ingredients - it is certainly an improvement from the stuff in a box. We have dubbed this recipe, "crack mac," because it is so addictive. Pecorino romano cheese is pretty salty, which I why I don't season the dish until after adding the cheese. And the mac tastes even better leftover - that is, if you can control yourself enough to have some leftover. (I usually can't.)


Moroccan Spiced Macaroni and Chese
adapted from Macaroni & Cheese
by Marlena Spieler


5 green onions, white and light green parts thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbs paprika
2 tsp ancho chile powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp fresh lemon zest, chopped
2 Tbs finely chopped fresh parsley
2 Tbs finely chopped fresh mint
3 Tbs finely chopped fresh cilantro
6 Tbs unsalted butter, room temperature

16 oz small tubular pasta, such as elbow or ditalini
6 oz pecorino romano cheese, shredded
Salt and pepper to taste


Combine green onions, garlic, paprika, ancho chile powder, cumin, coriander, lemon zest, parsley, mint, and cilantro in a medium bowl. Mash together with butter, forming a paste. Set aside. Can be made a few hours ahead of time, and stored in the refrigerator.

Cook pasta until al dente. Drain, saving about ¼ c of cooking water. Toss the hot pasta with the cooking water and herbed butter. Sprinkle about half the cheese on the pasta and toss. Season with salt and pepper. Serve and sprinkle with remaining cheese.