Nope, Beethoven DID like mac-and-cheese…only the 18th-century European version wasn’t the creamy, cheddar-heavy kind we modern Americans are familiar with. It consisted of macaroni (or spaetzle, a German kind of small pasta dumpling), butter, a good-quality grated Parmesan (or grana padano, or some other kind of hard cheese), and maybe some herbs or caramelized onions. I believe a German cookbook from Beethoven’s time featured a recipe for “Macaroni mit Parmesan Kase.”
The 18th-century version of macaroni and cheese wasn’t the cheddar-heavy kind we Americans know. It was made of macaroni (or spaetzle), butter, a good-quality grated hard cheese such as Parmesan, and maybe some herbs or caramelized onions.
I was coming in to say just the same thing. I miss Arran Keith’s writing…the Dears were the kind of people I’d like to know, warm and well-liked in their community, no kids except Fred but generous and welcoming to all the neighborhood’s kids. And great parents to Fred, of course. And I miss Michael Martin’s artwork…he depicted the English countryside and the village so beautifully, and the dogs always had such endearing facial expressions. (In these early ones, Yorky’s not much more than a lump of hair with no distinguishing features!)
I love the way Schulz captures the way a real baby would play… “Okay, I did that. Now I’m going over here to do this.”