This macaroni and cheese starts with a white sauce and incorporates four delicious cheeses to create a most delectable, dreamy, creamy, and cheesy pasta!
Ingredients:
- 1 box of your favorite pasta shape, I used orecchiette pasta (or you can use elbow macaroni, or whatever pasta shape you’d like or have on hand.)
- 1/4 cup of butter
- 1/4 cup of flour
- 1 1/2 cups of milk
- 1 cup of half and half (or you can use cream)
- 1/2 teaspoon of dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon of fresh grated nutmeg, optional
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 16 ounces Gruyere cheese, freshly grated, reserve at least 1/4 cup cheese for top of dish
- 8 ounces Seriously Sharp Cheddar cheese, freshly grated, (I used Cabot’s Seriously Sharp Cheddar), reserve some cheese for top
- 8 ounces Mild cheddar cheese, freshly grated, reserve some cheese for top
- 1/4 cup of Grana Padano cheese, freshly grated (or you can use Parmesan or pecorino Romano cheese.)
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil to cook the pasta according to box directions. Cook until al dente. Drain when pasta is done.
- While the pasta is cooking, make the white sauce. Melt butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. Whisk in flour and let cook 2 minutes while stirring. Slowly whisk in milk, half and half (or cream), dry mustard powder, onion powder, garlic powder, salt & pepper to taste. Also add in fresh nutmeg, if desired. Cook over medium heat while stirring until thickened.
- Remove from heat and stir in Gruyere, Seriously Sharp Cheddar, Mild Cheddar, and Grana Pandano cheeses until melted.
- Mix cooked pasta in with the cheese sauce. Pour into a buttered casserole dish. (No need to transfer if using an enamel Dutch oven like Le Creuset, I poured the pasta into the cheese sauce that was prepared in a Le Creuset Dutch oven and topped with remaining cheese, nothing stuck to the pan.) Top with reserved cheeses. Bake at 350° until it is bubbly, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 15 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!
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