Mac and cheese is what's for dinner in summer, sometimes

You’ve been there before. Maybe today. 

Your daughter has a softball game that starts at 6 p.m., but she’s got to be there at 4 p.m. Your son has a game, too. But he doesn’t have to be there until 5:30 p.m. No problem, right? Except that she’s playing at one end of town and your son has to be at the other end of town. 

Both games end at the same time. And you've just been informed that two library books will be overdue at closing.

Your wife calls, and she’s running late. Your work calls, and they need that project NOW! 

Despite a feat no less daunting than campaign finance reform -- and unlike Congress and Albany legislators -- you somehow get it together. Profusely sweating, talking to yourself and momentarily forgetting what got you here, you achieve nirvana – that split second when you’re alone in the car, before you remember you have to run back home and come up with an excuse your boss will believe. 

Even better, at the end of it all, you manage to watch some of each game and pick up both of your kids, reasonably on time (meaning fashionably late also meaning, before pitch dark). 

"What’s for dinner?” you’re asked. Argghhh. 

Pizza, been there, done that. You’ve had every version of fast food, and the season is only half over. Too late to cook, too hot to cook, too tired to cook, nothing to cook – any or all of the above. 

Comfort food is called that for a reason. And it works, even in the midst of a hot, dry summer. The king of comfort food is macaroni and cheese. And the queen of mac and cheese is Ms. Linzy, whom we introduced at the typical start of comfort food season last fall. 

Alicia Linzy is the Ms. Linzy of Ms. Linzy’s Mac-N-Cheese. She's an art teacher at Lyons Elementary School who dabbles in mac and cheese on the side. This is her second summer at the Canandaigua Farmers Market and she also did pretty well during the winter version of the market earlier in the year. 

She'll take care of dinner when you're running around. She'll also do grad parties and weddings. 'Tis the season. And despite the heat, her mac and cheese is still the real deal.

“Even if it’s 95,” Linzy said, as she doled out hot samples on a recent steamy Saturday market morning. 

I opted for her “Freezer Friends,” frozen dinners to heat up later on, over the “Hot & Ready,” which you can eat – and many were doing just that – right there at the market this Saturday morning. 

“Breakfast of champions,” Linzy said. 

Her secret? Linzy doesn’t skimp on the cheese, or the creativity. 

Her most popular mac-and-cheese dish is a Buffalo chicken style, and at least on this visit she was out of “Mommy’s Mix” -- that’s Gouda, Gruyère, Monterey, Bergenost cheese and apple-wood bacon.  

No matter. Her original version hit the spot and compliments to the chef on one of her newer styles that number in the double digits, the mac and cheese featuring pulled pork that she debuted over the winter. 

And yes, it worked wonderfully well on a hot summer night. 

Tomorrow repeats itself. Happily tonight but sadly for tomorrow, there’s no leftover mac and cheese! 

Check ahead of time to find out if Ms. Linzy's Mac-N-Cheese will be at the Canandaigua Farmers Market on Saturdays. To find out where Alicia Linzy will be next, or to order, visit https://www.facebook.com/MsLinzyMac/. 

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