Grownup Mac & Cheese

Last night, I made one of the best macaroni and cheese recipes that I have ever eaten.  Seriously.  One of my best friends posted this recipe in her facebook notes ages ago, along with lots of other deliciousness.  Every once and awhile, when I think of it, I page through her notes and steal her fantastic recipes;)  I'm not sure why I haven't made this one before, but I am glad that I found it.  I will say, my kids weren't as big of fans of this as the adults were.  I also say that their opinions don't count though, since all they really want me to do is start buying Kraft Mac & Cheese again and it is the standard against which they judge all others.  Enjoy & THANK YOU Jen!

Here is what you will need

Please note that I doubled this recipe for my family.  The pictures above are of the doubled recipe.  

Grownup Mac & Cheese

8 oz. cavatappi (can use macaroni)- I used mini Penne

3 1/2 Tbs. butter (divided)

1/4 cup finely chopped shallots

2 Tbs. flour

1/2 cup dry white wine

3/4 cup chicken broth

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

7 oz. grated gruyere (I used Fontina which was delicious also)

3 oz. grated aged gouda, smoked gouda or romano (I went with smoked gouda...because I'm obsessed with it)

2 Tbs. minced fresh chives

1 Tbs. Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp. coarse salt (divided)

1/8 tsp. cayenne (more if you like it spicy!)

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

4 oz. (1/4 loaf) crusty sourdough bread, torn into large pieces

Preheat oven to 400.

Cook pasta until al dente in salted water, drain but do not rinse.

In large frypan, melt 2 Tbs. of the butter over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook until they're light golden - about 3 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour and cook & stir another minute. Add wine & broth, then cook & stir, scraping up the yummy browned bits. Add cream, stir well. Add the grated cheeses, one handful at a time, stirring each handful until melted. Stir in the chives, mustard, 1/4 tsp. of the salt, the cayenne & nutmeg. Stir pasta into this mixture, and dump it all into a 2-qt. baking dish.

Place the broken sourdough pieces, the remaining 1 1/2 Tbs. butter and the remaining 1/4 tsp. salt into a food processor. Pulse until it becomes coarse crumbs. Sprinkle this on top of the pasta, pop it into the oven, and bake 20 minutes until bread is lightly brown & crunchy and cheese is bubbly.

Serves 6

Source: Jen P.

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