Mac-n-Cheese

Over Thanksgiving, some of us discussed that it might be fun to share a few recipes over my blog. If you'd like to share, please email me your recipe, and I'll post them from time to time. The following Mac-n-Cheese recipe is good enough to put behind any intentions of eating well and indulge, we served it at Thanksgiving this year. The most difficult part of this dish is grating the cheese, try to get that pre-done if possible.

1 stick of butter
6 slices of good white bread, crusts removed and torn into 1/4 inch pieces
5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 can green chilis
2 t salt
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 t cayenne pepper
4 1/2 cups (18oz) grated sharp white cheddar cheese
2 cups (about 8 oz) grated Gruyere or 1 /4 cups (about 5 oz) grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 lb pasta (we used bow tie)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3 qt casserole dish, set aside. Place bread in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 T butter. Pour melted better into bowl with the bread; toss. Set the bread crumbs asice.

Warm milk in saucepan. Melt remaining butter in a high sided skillet. When butter bubbles, add flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.

While whisking, add hot milk a little at a time to keep mix smooth. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until mix bubbles and thickens 8-12 minutes.

Remove pan from heat. Stir in salt nutmeg, peppers, 3 cups cheddar cheese and 1 1/2 cups Gruyere (or 1 c. Pecorino Romano) set the cheese sauce aside.

Cover a large pot of salted water, and bring to a boil. Cook the pasta until the outside of pasta is cooked and inside is underdone, 2-3 minutes. Transfer the pasta to a colander, rinse and drain. Stir the pasta into reserved cheese sauce.

Pour mixture into prpared dish. Sprinkle remaining cheddar & Gruyere (or Pecorino) and bread crumbs over top. Bake until golden, about 30 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack for 5 minutes. Serves 12.