the greatest annual event to ever exist

i don't know how, but it took me 30-something years to figure out how to have THE best birthday year after year.  last year i started the 1st Annual Stello Mac-Off, an epic event in which my friends bring mac & cheese to me and compete for prizes and bragging rights as a top mac chef.  this year, the 2nd Annual Stello Mac-Off took place, and i could not think of a better way to kick off my blog than by documenting this new tradition.

here's how it worked.

contestants:

• bring a mac & cheese dish
• give it a name - so that eaters can identify what they are eating (next year i'll incorporate a prize for coolest name - my husband's "cheese porn" would have won that this year).  
• write your dish's name on a provided numbered index card, and place it on/near your dish on the sampling table.
• no entries accepted (for an award) after a specific time

eat & vote!

• select your preferred sampling vessel (i found great disposable muffin tins at wal-mart that worked fabulously for this event)
• if preferred, jot down the # of the mac you are eating (so that you can remember the potential winners come voting time)
• sample to your heart's content, and feel free to utilize any of the provided uppers (5-hour energy) to stave off food coma symptoms
• at voting time, i created specific rules:
• DO NOT vote for your own dish - don't be that guy.
• vote as many times as you want (i did this because i'm completely incapable of choosing just one dish as my favorite).  i voted once for my 3rd favorite, twice for my 2nd favorite, and submitted 3 votes for my very favorite favorite.

winners announced!!!

3rd place: wisconsin habanero and smoked cheddar with bacon (3rd place was actually a tie, and the winner was determined by a best-out-of-3 paper/rock/scissors competition - my husband lost this)

2nd place: mama rat's mac (this was the winner of the inaugural 1st Annual Stello Mac-Off).  chef arden was just one vote shy from tying for 1st place this year!!  visit arden's blog for the recipe!!

1st place and CHAMPION of the 2nd Annual Stello Mac-Off: 3-cheese mac (gouda, gruyere, and cheddar)

         

3-cheese mac had all of the components of a perfect mac & cheese.  it was creamy (but not mushy), had a sharp bite from the gouda, and it was rich enough (but not too rich).  it was just a little smoky, just a little salty, a lot cheesy, and it had subtle bits of crisp "burnt" cheese from being cooked right there in the beautiful Le Creuset dutch oven.  

my own personal honorable mention goes back to my husband's cheese porn.  he had some general ideas leading up to this grand event, but nothing set in stone, and certainly no recipes bookmarked.  he had a long day dealing with some family health issues, and rushed home to make it in time for our mac-off.  he whipped up this mac & cheese dish in about 10 minutes, and it was cheesy, creamy, and seasoned well.  although he lost at paper/rock/scissors, he gets huge brownie points from ME for concocting such a scrumptious mac dish at the last minute - and without even following a recipe!!

and there you have it, folks.  the greatest annual event to ever exist.  to me, it's better than the mac-off that our great city of charleston, sc puts on (less crowds, less expensive, shorter lines, cheaper booze, and we provide uppers).  and for someone so obsessed with mac & cheese, there is no better way to celebrate a birthday than with friends, family, and lots of mac.