I had a LOT of different cheeses in my fridge. I splurge on them at Christmas time. For this recipe, I chose the ones that would melt nicely. I used the Gouda in place of Parmesan cheese for something different.
- 1 lb organic elbow macaroni
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 cups 2% milk
- 1/2 cup of flour
- 2 cups old cheddar, grated
- 2 cups Gruyere cheese, grated
- 1 cup extra old Beemster Gouda cheese, grated finely
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
- Cholula hot sauce, to taste
- Dash of cayenne pepper, to taste
- Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 350°F. Use cooking spray on a 13" x 9" baking dish. Mix the panko and Gouda cheese until combined well. Set aside.
Boil macaroni to package directions, but 2 minutes less. Drain and put into the casserole dish.
Meanwhile, make the cheese sauce. Heat butter and flour until cooked out and whisked till smooth, a few minutes. Slowly add milk, cup by cup until heated and boiling. Shake in the cayenne, pepper and hot sauce. Mix in the cheese until well incorporated. Pour into dish and use spatula to scrape all the sauce out. Combine with macaroni till completely folded in evenly.
Season with pepper. Top with panko/Gouda. Use cooking spray on the top of casserole (or dot with butter). This was my diet step, haha.
Bake for about 30 minutes until bubbly and browned on top.
This was rich and creamy. It lacked a little "kick" though which I missed. I remedied it with more hot sauce. The Gouda on the top was the best part and went perfect with the panko crunch.
I hope my son knows this will be in his lunch for the foreseeable future!
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