Deep Dish Macaroni and Cheese

When I was younger my mother and grandfather always had family dinners. My mother's house was home base for everyone and we would spend the entire Saturday cleaning the house, shopping for ingredients, and preparing the basic necessities of cooking. Out of all the dishes we ever prepared, my favorite was my grandfather's Deep Dish Macaroni and Cheese. I love it. He passed this on to my mother and my mother passed it on to me. I think it is symbolic for me to continue cooking it because he is now deceased. I consider my relationship with my grandfather to be a great-one and I absolutely love him. He taught me so many things and he is the epitome of what every man should represent.
I remember him coming in to the kitchen and we would be listening to Johnny Mathis (his favorite singer) or any oldies but goodies (Temptations, Delfonics, The Stylistics, Marvin Gaye, and many more) and he would show me different ways on how to prepare it. He was so old fashion that everything had to be fresh. First he would tell me to get a big pot, fill it up with water, add salt to the water, and let it boil. Then he would tell me put the noodles in the water, watching them and making sure they are not sticking together. He always wanted his noodles to be tender and never soft.
He would literally sit and watch me grade several different cheeses. He never wanted anything that was already shredded. Then he would have me get a non-sticking pan and add cups of half & half milk, and butter. When liquid was hot we would tell me to add the cheeses and stir until it was all melted and creamy. He then would take his pan and pour the cheese over the noodles and put them into the oven. We would do this entire ritual while singing and dancing and this is one of the reasons everyone feels "I have an old soul".
I am now in a place where I want to continue to have my beautiful family Sunday Dinners. So my siblings and cousins get together and cook, play, sing, and dance while preparing a delicious feast for our family. I know that my grandfather is so proud of how his grandchildren turned out. Thanks “daddy!”