How to make the best mac & cheese with leftovers

My daughter's wedding was such a fun and emotional experience. It's been more than a week and we're still sharing stories with friends about the experience.

We're also still working through the leftover cheese from the welcome reception on the Thursday before the wedding.

Over the weekend, we went through a lot of it. We had dinner company on Friday night, it was our first "detox-retox" dinner and it won't be our last.

The night started with a 45-minute hot yoga class to detox, followed by a retox with pizza and beer. All guests left with three wheels of cheese which helped us clean out one of the refrigerators.

On Sunday, after dropping my daughter off at the airport (talk about bad service, there were homeless guys sleeping near baggage claim and they were using the sinks to shower) we returned home and had a clear schedule.

Well, clear from events, but we had to contend with pounds of cheese still occupying space in the kitchen fridge. After a quick stop at Wegmans to pick up a few short ribs which I thought would be the perfect match for a 5-7 cheese mac & cheese, the slow cooking process began.

I can't tell you exactly how Jodi did it. I know the slow cooker had the meat, brown sugar, and red wine vinegar, and she started the process by browning the meat then 7 hours in the slow cooker.

Yes, the house smelled delicious.

Then I started on the grating. Many, many cups of cheese, and yes, a little wrist soreness from the manual grating!

Jodi makes a sauce to start and then cooks the protein elbow macaroni.

The cheesy combination of deliciousness goes under the broiler to brown a bit on the top.

The plated combination of the mac & cheese and the pulled beef short ribs may have been our best meal at home yet.

Because the cheese was a combo of leftovers, we'll be unlikely to recreate the dish exactly, but I'm looking forward to trying.

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The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Spadea. Any opinions expressed are Bill's own. Bill Spadea is on the air weekdays from 6 to 10 a.m., talkin’ Jersey, taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015.

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