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Gourmet Mac and Cheese

Tags: Christmas, tried

Origin

Ingredients

These ingredients are doubled from the original because that is how much I make.

  • 2 lbs uncooked spiral tube-shaped pasta
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 4 cups whole milk
  • 2 cups whipping cream
  • 6 cups grated cheddar cheese
  • 3 cups crumbled blue cheese, divided (2 containers)
  • 1 1/2 cups crumbled gorgonzola, divided (1 container)
  • salt & freshly ground black pepper or tricolor pepper, to taste
  • few dashes of cayenne
  • minced fresh chives

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; butter a couple of baking dishes
  • Cook the pasta according to package directions until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally; drain and set aside (about 8 minutes).
  • While the pasta is cooking, in a large heavy saucepan over medium low heat, melt the olive oil and butter together; add the flour and, stirring constantly, cook for 1 minute (don't let it brown), then gradually whisk in the milk and cream.
  • Simmer mixture until it slightly thickens, whisking occasionally, for 3 minutes.
  • Reduce the temperature to low, then gradually stir in the cheddar, gorgozola, and half of the blue cheese and cook, stirring, until the cheese melts.
  • Season to taste with salt, freshly ground pepper, and cayenne (if using).
  • Stir in the cooked pasta, making sure it's well-coated with the sauce.
  • Pour mixture into the buttered baking dish, with bacon and some chives
  • Sprinkle with the reserved crumbled blue cheese, and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.
  • Sprinkle with the minced chives and serve.

My thoughts

I make this for Christmas Eve. It is the venerated appetizer / snack holiday on my dad's side of the family. I doubled the recipe, and added everyone's favorite: bacon. Put some bacon in the cheese mix and leave some for the top so people know what they are getting into. I have used a jar of the precooked Hormel bacon and that worked out fine. But I now prefer putting some bacon in the oven and cutting it into small chunks after baking. Generally you can put the bacon in first at 350 degrees F and then keep the oven on to cook it at the end. I used the cayenne (just a bit) and maybe some paprika for flavor/color. I think I usually end up with 1 gorgonzola and 2 blue cheeses, and a variety of orange cheeses to total 6 cups.