This is my classic macaroni and cheese with just a bit of a bite from the horseradish to offset the richness. It is, as it has always been, easy to put together. My mom used to do it early in the morning and then throw the casserole in the oven just as we began asking "When's dinner?" I can still remember the browning cheesy smell that would fill the house.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Using 2 tablespoons of the melted butter, lightly coat a 6-quart casserole. Set aside.

Cook the macaroni according to the package directions. Drain it well and pour into a mixing bowl. Add the remaining butter and toss to coat.

Mix the milk, eggs, and nutmeg with salt and pepper in a medium mixing bowl. Add half of the cheese and stir to combine.

Spoon half of the buttered macaroni into the prepared casserole. Pour one half of the milk mixture over the macaroni and toss to combine. Sprinkle half of the remaining cheese over the macaroni. Combine the remaining macaroni with the remaining milk mixture. When well combined, pour it into the casserole. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. Place in the preheated oven and bake it for about 35 minutes, or until the top is crusty and golden brown and the edges are bubbling. Remove it from the oven and serve, family style.

You have a choice: either go shopping for the specialty ingredients and make everything from scratch or take some shortcuts. You could purchase frozen pastry shells, use whatever mushrooms you have on hand, use regular breadcrumbs, and chop some parsley. It's your call.

Brown the butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, taking care that it remains golden brown and does not burn. Add the button mushrooms and sauté for 4 minutes. Stir in the oyster mushrooms and sauté for 2 minutes, or just until they have wilted slightly. Stir in the shiitake and chanterelle mushrooms and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the shallots and sauté the mixture for another 4 minutes. Stir in the Mushroom Velouté. Add the macaroni. When well combined, stir in the cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare the tart shells as directed in the Pâte Brisée recipe.

Preheat the broiler.

Generously fill each tart shell with the macaroni mixture. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top and place the filled shells under the preheated broiler. Broil for about 1 minute, or until the tops are crusty and golden brown. Remove from the broiler and drizzle the tops with truffle oil. Garnish with the fines herbes and serve.

Note on Panko Bread Crumbs:
Panko bread crumbs are coarse Japanese bread crumbs that create a very crisp coating when cooked. Usually used when frying foods, they are available at Asian markets and specialty food stores.

Note on Fines Herbes:
Fines herbes are a classic French mixture of equal parts chopped fresh chervil, parsley, chives, and tarragon. However, you can use whatever fresh herbs appeal to you. Savory or marjoram work well in combination with parsley and chives.

Heat 4 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the mushrooms and onions and season with salt to taste. Cover and allow the mushrooms and onions to sweat their liquid for 10 minutes, taking care that they do not brown. Raise the heat to medium and stir in the cream. Cook for about 25 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced by one quarter. Remove the pan from the heat, and strain the contents through a fine sieve, discarding the vegetables and reserving the cream.

Heat the remaining butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes, or until the mixture has formed a pale golden roux. Whisk in the reserved cream mixture and cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes or until the mixture is thickened. Strain it through a fine sieve into a clean container. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Set it aside until you are ready to use it. The velouté may be made up to 2 days in advance and stored, tightly covered and refrigerated.

Place the water in a small bowl. Add the sugar and salt and stir to dissolve. Set aside. Combine the flour and butter in a medium mixing bowl. Using your fingers, a fork or a pastry blender work the butter into the flour until the mixture is the consistency of cornmeal. Add the reserved water mixture and stir to just combine; try not to overmix as the dough will toughen as it is worked. Form the mixture into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap. Refrigerate it for at least 15 minutes to chill slightly.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly flour a clean, flat surface and roll out the chilled dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. Using a 5-inch-round cookie or biscuit cutter or your own template, cut out 6 circles. Fit the dough into each of six 4-inch tart shells, pushing on the sides to make a firm fit. Trim off any excess dough, and prick the pastry with a fork. Refrigerate the tart shells for 15 minutes to set.

Place the pastry shells in the preheated oven and bake them for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the shells from the oven and place them on a wire rack to cool. The shells may be made up to 24 hours in advance and stored, lightly covered, at room temperature.

I used to call this dish cromesquis but it scared everyone. Cromesqui is simply French for a savory fritter. They don't sound nearly as exotic when called fritters. If you can't find panko bread crumbs or don't have them on hand, you can use regular bread crumbs, but the coating won't be as crackling crisp. You can serve these fritters as a brunch dish, cut in half with some poached quail eggs on top, or for lunch on top of a green salad.

Combine the macaroni and cheese with 1/2 cup of the flour and chives in a medium mixing bowl, stirring to mix well. Measure out about 1/4 cup at a time. Flatten the mixture out in the palm of your hand and place a piece of ham in the center. Form the mixture around the ham into golfball-size rounds. Continue making balls until you have used all of the mixture.

Place the remaining flour and the panko in two large shallow dishes.

To make an egg wash, combine the eggs with the water in another shallow dish.

Working with one ball at a time, dredge each ball in the flour, then in the egg wash, and finally in the panko. Repeat the process for each ball to give it a thick coating.

Heat the oil to 350 degrees on a candy thermometer in a deep-fat fryer over high heat. Add the coated balls, a few at a time, and fry for about 3 minutes, or until they are golden brown and crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried cromesqui to a double layer of paper towels to drain. Serve hot.

Excerpted from DAVID BURKE'S NEW AMERICAN CLASSICS by David Burke and Judith Choate. Copyright 2006 by Dilcon, Ltd. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.