Archer Farms Italian-Style Four Cheese Macaroni & Cheese Dinner

I only know what the four cheeses in this dish are because I looked at the packaging just now. They are: parmesan, asiago, ricotta, and romano. Supposedly.

I just tasted a single, mild, pillowy white cheese with an unexceptional amount of tang and a decided lack of smack.

But it still beat the flavor of Kraft Easy Mac. No contest.

The flavor of this pasta was subtle, but it kinda grew on me. At first I missed that yellow, biting cheddar that comes in so many nondescript packets of mac and cheese sauce add-ins. But soon enough, the soft squishy sapor of the included mystery-cheese got the better of my more-attentive taste buds.

I'm not going to lie. It tasted better with Texas Pete. And even though the hot sauce dominated the flavor of the entire bowl of pasta, it was as if the dish had been created to host the fresh flavorful zip of that famous hot sauce.

It took me back to our Disneyland days, when we'd visit Pizza Port nearly every weekend, order the Count Down Chicken Fusilli, and drench it in that sexy sauce. And of course this dish lacked poultry, but it didn't need it.

The taste was clean, plain, and ethereal. It was a chance to cleanse the palate of all pretentiousness and enjoy pasta and cheese for what it was meant to be.

And it helped that Sonia boiled the shells for exactly the right amount of time. Another second longer and they would have suggested sogginess. A second shorter and they would have seemed sorely solid.

Upon first bite, I might have scored these morsels a measly six stars. But by the end of the pot, they earned an elite eight. To see a pic of the prepared product close-up, click here.

I give this product 8 out of 10 stars.