8 oz. smoked gouda cheese, 10 oz of sharp cheddar cheese
2 small cloves garlic
6 pieces of cooked and crumbled bacon
(Sandra added everything above to alter recipe)
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 pound elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon powdered or dried mustard (maybe a tad less next time)
3 cups milk
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 large egg
1 teaspoon (kosher) salt
fresh black pepper
3 tablespoons butter for the topping
1 1/4 cups panko bread crumbs or country ranch croutons for topping
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, boil pasta to al dente. Shred both the
gouda and the sharp cheddar. Do not buy pre-shredded! It adds
oil to keep it from clumping and alters the taste. While you are
shredding (takes quite a while) have someone else chop up or
mince the onion and garlic.
Sauté onion and garlic. Remove and set aside. Use same pan to
cook bacon. Wipe pan out (some grease left over is ok) Use same
pan to melt butter, whisk in flour and mustard and keep stirring for
5 minutes. No lumps! Then stir in milk, onion, bay leaf, nutmeg
and paprika. Simmer for 10 min, then remove bay leaf.
Temper in the egg. (Add a bit of warm mixture to pre whisked
egg and stir, then add all of egg mixture - now slightly warmed
- back into skillet.) Stir in 3/4 of ALL the cheese. Season with
salt and pepper. Drain macaroni of water and fold into skillet.
This will make a big mess, just get over it! Now wipe that same
pan out again and melt butter (again) and add the croutons or
panko bread crumbs. Coat them with the butter and warm them
slightly.
Once combined, pour entire mixture into a huge casserole dish (we
used a 9 x 13.) Top with crumbled bacon and remaining cheese.
Now add the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Rest for 5
minutes before serving. Not you, but the mac and cheese rests for 5
minutes, silly!
Serving
Suggestions
For vegetarian, use no bacon. Use Panko on one side and croutons on other until your family decides which is likes.
Originally Submitted
4/30/2010
0 Out of 5 from
0 reviews
You can add this Baked Macaroni and Cheese recipe to your own private DesktopCookbook.