I own a full bookcase worth of cookbooks. It is only one bookcase because every time (OK, sometimes a year after every time) it goes over, I do an emotionally traumatic cull and let something go. I love my cookbooks.

I don’t cook much out of books, though. I read them, often cover to cover when I first get them, and then I keep them around for inspiration. If I’m attempting something new or complicated (or old and beloved but not set in stone), I’ll pull out a few different books to read their variations on the theme. I’m generally too non-compliant to follow any recipe word for word. (Unless its chemistry dictates that as the only wise choice, and sometimes, to my chagrin, not even then.)

I sometimes forget that my non-compliance runs deep when I discover new (to me) online food writing. I love reading food blogs as much as I love cookbooks. When I fall in love with a writer, I’ll often try their recipes word for word. And then, after the first few, I relearn the lesson. I’m just not wired that way.

Today, it was the Food Lab’s Ultra-Gooey Stovetop Mac and Cheese. This is an awesome article, full of both science and cheese. I wanted to love the recipe, too. More than that, I hoped to convince my kids to love it, especially the one who refuses to eat “good” mac and cheese, but loves the box kind. This one has real cheese! No dice, though. Too gooey. I suppose I should have guessed from the name and I definitely should have guessed from the cheese to pasta ratio, but I wanted to believe! Next time, I’ll use twice as much pasta. (You may love it as written! I know people who do! Maybe we’re just weird anti-goo people. Sure is a lot of cheese to pasta though.)