Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Nowadays people just don't make homemade macaroni and cheese--they think they don't have enough time to do it. Honestly, it doesn't take a whole lot of effort, but what you get out of it makes it seem like it did. Do yourself a favor and make some homemade mac n cheese and forget about the boxed stuff. I promise you'll be glad you did!

You can even make this on the weekend.  Prepare everything, don't bake it, and put it in the refrigerator and bake it later in the week.

Before I go into the list of ingredients I just want to say that the cheese you buy for this will determine the overall taste. Of course it will... it's macaroni and CHEESE. You can buy the already shredded stuff, which will be OK. You can even buy blocks of cheese from your favorite grocery store name brands, which will be OK. Or you can buy cheese from the deli area, those special cheeses that are kept away from all the 'regular' brands, the special cheeses that are imported. Those are the cheeses you want. The cost difference is not significant, but the flavor difference sure is. So take the time to peruse those cheeses in the deli area and pick some that look good to you. You can use any combination of cheeses you like, just be sure to use the number of ounces I point out here. Smoked cheddar is really good in this, and so is Gruyere. So it's really up to you what cheese you prefer.


Ingredients:
1 lb. pasta (you can use any pasta your heart desires)
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese
8 ounces jack cheese
2 ounces cream cheese
4 Tbsp. butter, plus butter to butter baking dish (Whoa! I used "butter" a lot there)
2 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup flour
1 shallot, minced
Pinch of garlic powder
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and Pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a large baking dish.

Grate cheddar and jack cheeses. To make this easier you can use a food processor. Set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions, decreasing cooking time by 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium low heat. Once the butter is melted add the shallot and cook for about 5 minutes, until slightly softened. Sprinkle in the flour. Whisk together and cook for about 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, whisking at the same time. Cook the milk and flour mixture for about 10 minutes, whisking often, until slightly thickened. Remove from heat. Add the cream cheese and all but 2 ounces of the grated cheeses to the sauce and stir together until the cheese is melted into the sauce. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Stir together.

Pour the cheese sauce over the cooked pasta and stir to combine. Pour the macaroni and cheese into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the leftover grated cheeses. Bake for 25 minutes or until the top is a nice golden brown.

Now serve yourself a dish of this ooey gooey deliciousness and enjoy!

Until next time...

Lady by the Bay