Ok, so you're thinking, "Vegan Mac and Cheese? WTF? Why would I do that to myself?"
Yea, you got a point. Because ooey-gooey, rich and creamy mac an cheese is a delight. Add some lobster and you are in gourmet territory.
But I'm here to tell you that this dish is The Bomb. You may know that there's no dairy in it, but you won't really care. Because delicious. And what could be more 'murican on Preznit Day than vegan mac-n-cheese, amiright?
The base for this is a gravy made with toasted cashews. The gravy is delicious in its own right. I made a similar one for Thanksgiving, and it was a big hit with everyone, vegan and animal murderers alike.
Preheat oven to ~300 deg and pop a cookie sheet in the oven with about 3/4 cup of roasted cashews (you can also use raw cashews if you want, but might want to toast them longer). Toast about 10 minutes until fragrant and just starting to brown. Set the nuts aside in a bowl. Raise the oven to 350 deg. Coarsely grind about 2 slices of good whole-grain bread and dump the crumbs onto the cookie sheet. Toast these about 5-10 minutes until crunchy and lightly toasted. Set aside to use as topping.
Meanwhile, finely chop one large onion and saute in olive oil with a pinch of kosher salt and a few grinds of pepper. After about ten minutes, add about 2-3 cups of coarsely chopped mushrooms (I used about 10 large mushrooms; I separated the stems from the caps, but that's not an absolute necessity). Saute for a couple of minutes until the mushrooms are cooked down, then add 1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed or chopped. Saute a couple more minutes so the garlic is no longer raw, then set aside.
Meanwhile meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil with some salt. Cook elbow macaroni (or other shape, if you prefer) to just done. Reserve a cup of pasta water for thinning the sauce if needed (I needed!). Dump the pasta into an oiled casserole dish and combine with the mushrooms and onions.
and meanwhile (again), chop another clove or two of garlic and about an inch of ginger. Sweat in a smallish sauce pan with about 2 tbsp olive oil, then add about a half teaspoon of sweet paprika (or hot paprika or other chile if you prefer it spicier), a big pinch of kosher salt, and stir for a minute or so, until the chile is fragrant. Add about a tbsp of flour to make a light roux. Add a tablespoon of white/yellow miso paste and stir to incorporate. (If you don't have miso paste, you can use tamari or good soy sauce at the next stage; but miso is the way to go here)
Slowly! add about 2 cups of vegetable stock, whisking to avoid making dumplings. Add the toasted cashews and bring to a boil for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently. If using the tamari/soy instead of miso, add it now. Dump the cashew stock into a blender (Vitamix, baby!) and process until very smooth, adding the reserved pasta water and more veggie stock as needed to get a pourable, cream soup consistency. Check for seasoning. You shouldn't need any additional salt at this point (unless you used unsalted cashews, in which case, maybe). If the tan color doesn't float your boat, you could, I suppose, blend in a half tsp or so of turmeric to brighten things up. But brown tones don't bother me, and you're gonna want to serve this with a green veggie anyway.
Combine the sauce with the pasta and onion/mushroom mix, then sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top. All of the breadcrumbs, in a relatively even layer. Dot with vegan margarine (the Girl prefers Earth Balance, and, truth be told, it tastes pretty good). Bake, covered, for about 10 minutes, then uncovered for another 10 or so. It should be piping hot by now. Serve with a green vegetable on the side.
You just may find this addicting.
As anticipated events go, they don't come much bigger. I'd been building up to this dinner for three years, reminding my wife over and over (and over) again that all I wanted for my 50th birthday was dinner at Thomas Keller's renowned 
