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Whenever I think the hype over the Pioneer Woman — aka Ree Drummond — has died down, she drops something new that everyone goes crazy for: a piece of floral cookware, a whole line of bedding, and, most recently, her very own Barbie. I quickly realized I either needed to jump on the bandwagon or move out of the way, because the Ree is here to stay — and it was time I tried one of her recipes to experience the hype for myself. My recipe of choice? Her uber-rich (and uber-popular) macaroni and cheese.

Get the recipe: Pioneer Woman’s Macaroni and Cheese

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When it came time to compare some of the most popular mac and cheese recipes on the internet, I was expecting to see four almost identical recipes. How different could the simple combo of cheese sauce and noodles actually be? But the second I saw Sunny Anderson’s version, I realized just how wrong I was.

At first, it was the title of the recipe that stood out to me: Spicy mac and cheese? Then it was the photo: What are those Texas toast crouton-looking things doing on top of the pasta? By the time I got to the ingredient list (cubes of cheese) and technique (no béchamel in sight), I had to find out: Is this the mac and cheese recipe my life has been missing? Or is it so far from the classic that I’ll be disappointed?

Get the recipe: Sunny Anderson’s Spicy Macaroni and Cheese

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I’m the first to endorse a no-frills, five-ingredient recipe — but I’m also a firm believer that baked mac and cheese shouldn’t be one of them. Sure, it’s doable — tossing noodles in a cheesy béchamel sauce (butter, flour, milk, cheese) will result in a creamy pasta dish — it just won’t have any flavor.

Much to my delight, Alton Brown’s baked mac and cheese is designed with flavor in mind. As he explains in the recipe’s popular Good Eats episode, he adds a number of bold seasonings to keep his roux (a mixture of butter and flour) from tasting like “library paste,” including a full tablespoon of dried mustard powder, a dash of paprika, some chopped onions, and a bay leaf. That said, as I found out, Alton’s actual recipe instructions left a lot to be desired.

Get the recipe: Alton Brown’s Baked Macaroni and Cheese

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Everybody knows that feeling of dread — when you pick up the loaf of bread and the only thing left are the ends. Those pieces, which have the crust all over one side, rather than just on the edges, are the ugly stepchild of the bread industry. Long after most of us have outgrown wanting the crusts cut off our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, we still don’t want to touch those end pieces — the balance of crust to insides is simply off, we can all agree on that. What we can’t all agree on, Twitter discovered recently, is what we call those pieces.

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While I’m sure Ina’s trendy cauliflower toasts are delicious, I’m much more likely to flip through one of her cookbooks when I’m making something classic, like eggplant Parmesan, the perfect roast chicken, or a creamy and comforting baked macaroni and cheese.

After a quick glance at the recipe, I knew Ina’s classic mac would be good: There’s a paycheck’s worth of Gruyère in the sauce, it’s topped with buttery homemade breadcrumbs, and it has a five-star rating from almost 1,000 reviewers. But how would it compare to the other most popular mac and cheese recipes on the Internet? I headed to my kitchen to find out.

Get the recipe: Ina Garten’s Mac and Cheese

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Thanks to everyone who has already signed up for the Keto Reset Kickoff! If you haven’t heard the news, we’re doing a free 7-day email series that is the perfect intro to keto. If trying a Keto Reset is possibly on your to-do list for 2019, you don’t want to miss it. Everyone who signs up also gets the incredible opportunity to get the Keto Reset Online Mastery Course for FREE (a $147 value) with the purchase of a Primal Kitchen Advanced Keto Kit. Head to primalkitchen.com/ketoreset now to enroll! It all goes down January 7. Okay, now on to today’s post….

Research of the Week

Some human gut bacteria produce GABA, a “relaxation” neurotransmitter. People with depression tend to have less of the GABA-producing bacteria.

The more fruits and vegetables you eat, the more highly you rate your own cognitive function.

Following a Mediterranean diet is linked to less body fat, lower inflammation, improved glucose metabolism, and higher insulin sensitivity.

New Primal Blueprint Podcasts

Episode 298: Ashleigh Vanhouten: Host Elle Russ chats with Primal Health Coach, writer, and Paleo Magazine Radio host Ashleigh Vanhouten.

Episode 299: Keto Q&A: Host Brad Kearns answers your keto questions.

Each week, select Mark’s Daily Apple blog posts are prepared as Primal Blueprint Podcasts. Need to catch up on reading, but don’t have the time? Prefer to listen to articles while on the go? Check out the new blog post podcasts below, and subscribe to the Primal Blueprint Podcast here so you never miss an episode.

Media, Schmedia

Scientists discover tens of billions of tons of microbes beneath the earth’s crust.

Jimmy Dean sausages, now with extra iron.

Interesting Blog Posts

“Chunking” life experiences speeds up the passage of time.

Relax for a better world.

Social Notes

New BBQ sauces hit the scene.

Malibu’s still got it.

Everything Else

Is this happiness?

The roadblocks on the journey to Mars aren’t just physical or technical.

Who said women shouldn’t lift heavy things?

Imagine the media accolades if this person reduced their insulin requirements by 80% with a vegan diet.

NomNomPaleo’s holiday gift guide.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

I wish him luck: CrossFit’s Greg Glassman is amassing an army of doctors.

Finding I found interesting: Neanderthal admixture changed the brains of some Europeans.

Makes sense: Why psychology research focused on Western populations may not apply to populations from other regions.

This is bad: Johnson & Johnson knowingly sold baby powder containing asbestos for decades.

Well, there goes photographic evidence: AIs generate realistic human faces.

Question I’m Asking

Do you think happiness can be reduced to proteins dragging endorphins along brain filaments?

Recipe Corner

• Thai basil beef.
• Haul out that frozen leftover turkey and make creamy turkey soup.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Dec 8 – Dec 14)

• The Future of Health Care is Health Coaching– The human touch will never go out of style.
• Will Saturated Fat Kill Your Cells?– Have we finally found the mechanism?

Comment of the Week

“The U.S. Marines require a potential recruit to do 3 chin-ups to sign up. They have to turn down a significant number until they can accomplish this. I stopped by a Marine recruitment center in the mall. I’m almost 72 and as a joke I walked in and asked the recruiter if I could see if I would qualify. He laughed and said, “go ahead”. I did 30. The look on his face was priceless.
I got the hell out of there before he recruited me!”

– Nicely done, Skip.

The post Weekly Link Love—Edition 7 appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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There’s a troubling trend over the past few years where new companies try to win the consumer race by showing up at the finish line without having run the track first. What I mean by that is, more than ever, folks are attempting to profit off of the familiarity of somebody else’s creation. It happened with Kayla Newman’s beautiful invention of the phrase “on fleek.” It happened with a wedding company that decided Beyonce’s name wasn’t actually hers (they were wrong about that), and now, a new company is trying to profit off of the hard work of one of our favorite seasonings.

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Among go-to choices for cookie dough mix-ins, chocolate chips, nuts, and dried fruit tend to be the major players. Maybe some M&Ms or coconut flakes get tossed in, but that’s usually where the line is drawn. Dig around your pantry a little more, however, and you’ll discover plenty more odds and ends that are pretty spectacular in cookies. One such ingredient? Pretzels.

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Cranberry juice is seemingly simple, but if you’ve ever stepped foot in the juice aisle of your grocery store and been utterly perplexed, you’re not alone. There are a ton of options when it comes to the drink. If you’re picking up a bottle to use in cocktails or just sip as-is, do you go for cranberry juice cocktail or simply cranberry juice? Here’s how the two common varieties differ from each other.

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If you’re anything like me (read: living with a tiny kitchen that has hardly any storage space), then you already know how hard it is to find room to stash stuff. But what if we told you we discovered an accessory that offers up extra kitchen storage opportunity and helps you keep your cooking tools organized to boot?

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