Macaroni
Salted water for cooking macaroni
Grated cheese
Grated bread
Butter

"Boil the macaroni in salted water until tender and drain them. Butter slightly a fireproof casserole and lay on the bottom some grated cheese with macaroni and on the top layer of macaroni put more cheese and bread grated. Over the whole pour some melted butter, cover the casserole, (or pyrex plate) and put it in the oven with a low fire. Keep for ten minutes or more, until the top appears browned."

This recipe was taken from "The Italian Cook Book: the Art of Eating Well, Practical Recipes of the Italian Cuisine" by Mrs. Maria Gentile. It was published in the U.S. in 1919. For the entire copyright-free cookbook see www.archive.org. A variety of recipes from this cookbook can also be found on this website.... P.S. Nowadays the word, "macaroni," is generally associated with short pastas but at the turn of the last century the word generally described home-made tagliatelle and/or fettucine noodles. Making tagliatelle and/or fettucine was the most popular type of pasta back then as it was the easiest to make at home; it did not require a great deal of skill. Back then short pastas such as penne were not made at home, but were bought at a local shop, so this increased the cost of the dish. At the beginning of the 20th century most households (except for the rich) would have reserved short pastas for special occasions. Photo and notes: Mary Melfi.

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