Skip to main content
PastaVegetarian

Miss Jenny

By April 26, 2013July 27th, 201437 Comments

For as long as I can remember my mother has called me โ€œMiss Jenny.โ€ Not all the time and not necessarily in public, but often enough so that I donโ€™t notice unless I really stop and think about it. As an endearing as the little nickname is, Iโ€™m convinced my mom started calling me that not to be cute, but because it was part of a bigger plan she had for me.

Right after college, Mom had a roommate named Jane. To the rest of the world, though, Jane was known as โ€œMiss Janeyโ€ the host of Pittsburghโ€™s Romper Room show. She was a celebrity among preschoolers (I feel certain I might hear from a few of you on this one) as well as in the greater Western Pennsylvania region, and to my mom, who at the time had a desk job at U.S. Steel, no one was more glamorous. On top of being a TV star, Miss Janey was warm, witty, and beautiful. Full of life was the term sheโ€™d use.ย ย โ€œOh Jenny,โ€ my mom would say. โ€œShe was just like you.โ€ And just like that Iโ€™d imagine myself as Miss Jenny the celebrity TV host.

Moms are smart that way.

There would be more plans. My mother would go out of her way at the Grand Union to point out Geraldine Ferraro on the cover of Newsweek, and tell my sister and me whenever the occasion presented itself: โ€œYou could be the first woman Justice of the Supreme Court if you wanted to be.โ€ (Until 1981 at which point we learned weโ€™d have to settle for Second.) My mother made sure to steer me in the direction of some wildcard careers, too, pointing out that Iโ€™d make a great eye surgeon because โ€œOh Jenny, youโ€™re so good with your fingers,โ€ and once even making me sit down to draw a cartoon for the New Yorker because โ€œOh Jenny, you can draw better than any of these guys.โ€ A real estate lawyer whose idea of fun was (still is) pouring through a densely-typed annotated contract, she didnโ€™t quite grasp that the creative industries could sometimes be a little more complicated than that.

Her relentless career-mapping didnโ€™t stop just because I became a grown-up. If anything, it ramped up. When I was just starting out in magazines โ€” I mean just starting out, like bottom-of-the-barrel starting out โ€” she sent me an article in the New York Times that profiled the newly appointed glamorous editor-in-chief of a super high-end lifestyle magazine. (Back when there were such things.) This editor just had a baby and I remember reps from Prada and Calvin Klein falling all over themselves figuring out what to send the little boy for a gift. The editor was a Big Deal and her appointment was Big News. But according to my mom, whoever hired her for the job had made a mistake by not interviewing me, the girl who was in charge of editing the programming schedule for a cable TV guide.

โ€œYou wouldโ€™ve been perfect for that job, Jenny. She reminded me of you. She soundsย just like you.โ€

And then a few weeks ago, during a cold spell in February, Mom called to tell me that she had just watched someone on theย Today show making macaroni and cheese โ€” all in one pot apparently. โ€œOh you wouldโ€™ve loved her. She was so natural and funny. I think maybe you should try to watch it. She wasย sweet. Just a doll. She was just like you.โ€

The seed she planted that time was probably not what she had hoped for. Instead of unleashing my inner Miss Jenny, I instead found myself obsessing over the idea of a one-pot baked macaroni and cheese. My nine-year-old loves Mac & Cheese but for whatever reason I find myself avoiding a homemade batch because of all the gear involved. I started experimenting, spending more time in the kitchen that I would ever admit to Sandra Day Oโ€™Connor (or my mother). I discovered that it was a great recipe for salvaging leftover heels of cheese (almost any combo of hard cheeses worked) and though I never quite pared it down to ONE pot, I streamlined it to the point where all the prep work could be done in the time it took for the pasta to cook. Which means I have that much more time to work on my New Yorker cartoons.

Please see Dinner: The Playbook for the Macaroni & Cheese recipe.

37 Comments

  • Avatar crw says:

    Your mom sounds a lot like my mom. The mac n cheese looks amazing maybe even better than Annies!

  • Avatar Juliana says:

    I just made mac & cheese last night! Similar recipe, but larger, as I made one small casserole dish to feed our family last night + a 9ร—13 for guests tomorrow night when my husband will have to host alone (weekend away!). The Americaโ€™s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook has you make the sauce in the same pot you used to cook the noodles (leaving the noodles in a colander), which I did last night since I was already using two pots to cook the pasta. It saves on dishes, but I feel like it always takes *so long* for the cream sauce to come to a simmer, I wish I had just pulled out a third pot and gotten it going while the pasta water was heating.

  • rach says:

    Thatโ€™s my Mom, exactly. Thanks so much for this post. Really enjoyed it.

  • Avatar Marcy says:

    Pittsburgh kid and former Miss Jane fan here! It was actually on WTAE, the local ABC affiliate. Miss Jane told us to do a craft one morning and to have our moms help us. My mom was asleep so I told her that Miss Jane told me to wake her up. She wasnโ€™t pleased.

  • A Life From Scratch says:

    What a wonderful mother to constantly encourage you and realize you have such great potential! Thatโ€™s so greatโ€ฆ.and look what youโ€™ve done!

  • Avatar Amanda says:

    Moms are like that, arenโ€™t they? Encouraging to a fault sometimes โ€“ they see so much potential in their kids!

    On another note, we had Romper Room here in the Bay Area growing up with Miss Nancy. She would always say about five or six names every day as she peered through her Looking Glass and I would wait and wait to hear my name. When I did hear my name I screamed so loud my mom thought I had injured myself. It was like being selected for The Price is Right or something. ๐Ÿ˜‰

  • Avatar Michelle says:

    I loved your story. You are very lucky to have a mom like that โ€“ so supportive, inspiring and encouraging. I am from Chicago, and loved watching Romper Room too.

  • Avatar Rebecca says:

    Your friends at BA have a great no boil noodle/almost one pot version. Perhaps Iโ€™ll try both this weekend!

    http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/quick-recipes/2013/01/no-boil-mac-and-cheese

  • Avatar Melissa@Julia's Bookbag says:

    delightful! itโ€™s officially mac โ€˜n cheese time around here now.

  • Avatar Caitlin says:

    I love this. Both the story about your mom (who sounds very similar to my own in this area) and the nearly one pot mac and cheese, which I want to make tonight (how much does it serve if itโ€™s just one pregnant lady and a husband who doesnโ€™t like cheese? If I make a side of broccoli, the serving size will be justified, right?)

  • Melissa says:

    This pretty much my recipe for mac and cheese, too. But I really do just use one potโ€“while the pasta is draining in the colander, I make the sauce in the empty pot. To make the sauce thicken more quickly, I stick the glass measuring cup of milk in the microwave so itโ€™s hot as soon as the roux is ready. And you donโ€™t have to bake itโ€ฆsometimes like my people like it extra saucy, straight from the stove top.

  • Avatar lisa says:

    Arenโ€™t moms just the best! My mom used to do the same thing. This post made me think of two things โ€“ 1) I need to say more of those super encouraging things to my daughter and 2) I need to call my mom and thank her for the unconditional support

  • Avatar Bea says:

    Thanks Jenny. I love mac and cheese but unfortunately I was blessed with a child who wonโ€™t eat it. I know you can relate. Sometimes I wonder if she is really the child I carried for those long 9 monthsโ€ฆ anyway, I love this recipe and post. I canโ€™t wait to try it out.

  • Avatar Andrea says:

    ROMPER ROOM!!! We even got it up in Canada!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td1KAgrYUGA

    Thanks for that walk down memory lane, Jenny!

  • Avatar Leslie says:

    I have, in fact, heard about Miss Janey and Romper Room โ€“ my parents grew up in Pittsburgh in the 1950s/60s. Leftover mac and cheese is my idea of a perfect lunch, too.

  • Avatar Erin says:

    I was so excited to read your Pittsburgh reference. I grew up in Pittsburgh and my family still lives there. I miss it so ๐Ÿ™‚

  • Jenny Jenny says:

    Oh my god, Marcy โ€” I love it. Thanks for the fact-check โ€” fixed now.

  • Avatar Ashley says:

    I make mac and cheese pretty often and pour it into muffin cups. I bake it then pop it into the freezer. Once frozen, I pop out the cups and dump them in a ziplock for 30 second perfect portions of homemade goodness for my little lady!

  • Avatar Row says:

    So making a batch of this on the weekend. Thanks!

  • Avatar cath says:

    I love how encouraging US moms are, and I love that you guys have so many great female role models; itโ€™s harder here, women are so looked down on. I need to be more like your mom, thanks for sharing!!

  • Avatar AnneL says:

    My family likes the Americaโ€™s Test Kitchen recipe that doesnโ€™t require making a bechamel sauce โ€“ condensed milk and eggs instead so weโ€™re pretty close to one pan already. I normally pour it into a baking dish for more โ€œcrusty bitsโ€ but the dutch oven option is a good one!

  • Avatar Alanna says:

    What a sweet post. We arenโ€™t eating grains or dairy right now (I KNOW), but I had to comment and tell you how much I enjoyed reading this.

  • Diane Mann says:

    You are blessed to have been raised by a Mom who encouraged your dreams and aspirations. Congrats.

  • Avatar Bea says:

    Just wanted to let you know that I made this yesterday. Delicious and easy! My 10 year old 5th grader is taking the leftovers for lunch today. It is my new go -to mac & cheese recipe. Thanks so much!

  • Avatar M says:

    I make close to this same recipe at least once/week. I do it all in the same pot โ€“ boil water/cook the pasta in my Le Crueset dutch oven, then drain it and make the cheese sauce & bake it right in the same dutch oven. It does take longer for the water to boil, but only a few minutes and itโ€™s just SO satisfying to only use one pot. A little gruyere cheese with the cheddar is really fabulous in this recipe.

Leave a Reply

What is 11 + 15 ?
Please leave these two fields as-is:
IMPORTANT! To be able to proceed, you need to solve the following simple math (so we know that you are a human) :-)