It's 80s week! Peg your jeans (man, Savage Love really changed the meaning of THAT statement), feather those bangs, find your denim jacket, and let's ROCK.

Last week's 70s-centric Dishful was easy, but 80s week will be a bit harder. I couldn't think of any foods that screamed 80s. However, as a child of the 80s, most of my comfort foods make me think of the 80s, so that's where I'm going.

I tweaked a classic recipe last year and it's served me well ever since. And it's got cheese. And bacon. And is good with rooster sauce.

Broken Spoon Mac & Cheese

8 slices bacon, chopped
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 c flour
3 1/2 c milk (not skim milk)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
6 oz smoked cheddar cheese, grated
6 oz stilton cheese, crumbled
2 Tbsp corn starch
1 lb macaroni
1/2 c breadcrumbs
1/3 c parmesean cheese
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp chopped fresh chives

Preheat your oven to 400 F.

In a sauce pan, cook the bacon very slowly over low heat, till it's super crispy and the fat has rendered. This will probably take close to 30 minutes. You should go until it's just starting to look burnt. Take the bacon out of the pan and drain.

In the pan with the bacon fat, add the butter and cook over medium heat till it foams and the foam subsides. Add the flour and whisk. It'll cook for a minute and start to come together like a dough. Turn the heat to low and cook until it starts to melt again. If it starts to get brown, that's OK, but you're done. Add the COLD milk to the pan and whisk over medium heat. Cook till it starts to thicken. Turn the heat back to low and add the nutmeg, cayenne, and then salt and pepper to taste. You now have a classic bechamel sauce.

Coat the cheddar and stilton in the corn starch -- it'll help it melt smoothly. Add it, a handful at a time to the bechamel and whisk it till it's completely melted. Continue till the cheese is melted and remove from the heat and cover tightly.

Boil the noodles according to the package directions, only stop about a minute shy of al dente. It'll finish cooking in the oven. Drain the noodles VERY well -- they should be as close to bone dry as possible.

Stir the cheese sauce -- the proteins in the milk will have formed a skin on it, no big deal. Just stir it in. Add the macaroni and stir to combine. Add to a greased baking dish.

Combine the oil, parmesean and breadcrumbs and sprinkle on top of the cheese. Bake at 400 F for 10 - 12 minutes or until the top is golden brown and delicious. Top with the fresh chives and serve.

To break the spoon, refrigerate overnight and attempt to serve.

While finding a good 80s meal was hard, finding a good 80s metal record was easy, because let's face it. The greatest metal album ever was released in 1986.

Slayer
Reign in Blood
American Recordings

Any true metal fan should have this in their Top 10 best albums of all time. Kind of a bummer to peak with your third album. When I say peak, I mean it. This is the album against which all other metal albums are judged, even though only very few will admit it publicly. From the first note of Angel of Death to the thunderstorm at the end of Raining Blood, every riff was an instant classic; every solo thrash perfection. As an interesting aside: Your band must be able to cover at least part of Angel of Death or Raining Blood to pass the metal band licensing exam.

When Baby Huey is bored, he rains blood from a lacerated sky.

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