Make mine mild!

It's always fun to come across a recipe that's obviously been made before. Maybe the book falls right open to a specific page that is covered in splatters. My favorites have little notes to go with them, though. Many are pretty straightforward-- a little star or the word "good" in the margin to suggest it's a good recipe, maybe an instruction or two like "omit onion" or "needs more pepper." And then there are notes that make me go "Huh?"

Today's huh-inspiring note from a home cook is courtesy of Better Homes and Gardens All-Time Favorite Casserole Recipes (1977, but mine is a 1980 printing). This is not a fancy recipe by any means. (That's probably why the home cook made it! Who doesn't love mac & cheese?) It's the note scrawled in pen that makes me wonder:

Questions:

1. There is (or was?) such a thing as sharp American cheese? I thought all American cheese was just American cheese, pretty bland and homogeneous. Isn't that kind of the point of American cheese? It won't stand out, but it melts well.

2. What happened with the sharp cheese that made the home cook say, "You know what? We better stick to the mild American cheese for this one"? Did lunch have just a little too much flavor?

"Ma, we better go back to the mild American cheese. Zebediah got a little too worked up by the sharp and went on one of his milking tears again. Bessie is all shook up."

"Alright. I'll put a note in my cookbook."