As a European this whole American microwaved cheese on noodles thing was always a prime cliché example of classless American quisine (I think for Americans too).

Boy am I happy to have gotten over that snobbishness! Apart from many American dishes that blew me away macaroni and cheese wasn’t one of it (since it’s not served in US diners ... i think). So I tried it out at home (leftover noodles and some cheese) and I have to say: it was really good. The melt is perfect. I don’t know of any technique capable of merging noodles with melted cheese in such an immersive way other than with a microwave (radiating oven heat will have a different effect).

You probably haven't tried Indian food served as an all you can eat buffet in the USA. Those places are legendary for their exquisite taste palette.

Sometimes I buy the yellow cheese slices at the grocery store without reading what kind they are.

I take coffee from our fancy machine and dump ice cubes in to cool it down.

That's close to the japanese iced coffee method: make the coffee twice as strong as you want it, then pour fresh coffee straight onto equal volume of ice cubes (you can drip pour-overs straight in ice). Super easy and makes for pretty good iced coffee in summer.

That's what I do to make iced coffee - strong aeropress directly onto a glass full of ice. Add a splash of milk if you like, and it's heavenly.

Except I make it regular strength and water it down because fancy coffee tastes too much like coffee.

Or a Spanish "cafe con hielo": An espresso served alongside a tumbler of ice cubes.