According to the ancient Mayans,
the world will be ending this Friday. I don't believe in doomsday prophecies, so I hadn't had any thoughts about how I'd spend my remaining hours alive, or who I would spend those last precious moments with. But it did get me thinking. I got to thinking about what I would like my last meal ever to be. This is something I didn't think I'd ever have to consider unless I did something very very bad, and Canada reinstates the death penalty. And I'm talking bad. Like Timothy McVeigh bad.
Before dying by lethal injection, he ate 2 pints of Ben & Jerry's mint chocolate ice cream for his last meal alive. For his
final meal, one criminal in Georgia ordered filet mingnon wrapped in bacon; de-veined shrimp sauteed in garlic butter with lemon; a baked potato with butter, sour cream, chives, and real bacon bits; corn on the cob; asparagus with hollandaise sauce; French bread with butter; goat cheese; cantaloupe; apple pie with vanilla bean ice cream and an iced tea. Imagine seeing that on the dinner table for you when it's time to eat. It's not as appetizing when you realize it's someone's last meal. Knowing it's the last thing I'll ever eat, I'm not even sure how much I'd enjoy my meal. I imagine having my life end at the stroke of midnight would do a number on my stomach. But for the sake of this blog entry, let's say I managed to come to grips with the reality of my fate, and I had built up an appetite. I'd love to have a simple Caesar salad, served along with some
duck confit and some macaroni and cheese made with the recipe I've been using recently. Macaroni and cheese is the ultimate comfort food, which is really what you're looking for if it's the final thing you'll ever eat. I'm not much of a dessert eater, but for this occasion, I'd have a slice of New York cheesecake. And I'd wash everything down with a bottle or two of
La Fin du Monde beer, just because.
Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1.5 cups grated cheddar cheese
1.5 cups grated mozzarella cheese
2 cups elbow macaroni
1/2 cup mushrooms
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the flour and stir the mixture constantly until it turns a light brown in colour. Pour in the milk, increase the heat to medium-high, and stir until thickened. Add the cheeses and stir until everything is melted.
- Cook the pasta according to the directions on the package. When it's ready, strain and mix in the cheese sauce. In a small skillet, melt the remaining butter, add the mushrooms, and sauté them until they are softened and golden brown. Once done, mix them in with the macaroni.
- Transfer everything to a baking pan, and put it in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 oF.
What would your last meal be? Feel free to add your selection in the comments section, or on my
Twitter feed.
