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| Macaroni And Cheese Recipe |
- 6 Cups whole milk
- 12 Tbl.Butter
- 12 Tbl. All purpose flour
- ¼ tsp. grated nutmeg
- SalT
- 8 oz. good ham, bacon or grilled chicken, ½ inch dice
- 1 Lb. Macaroni- or any short pasta
- 1 lb. Aged white cheddar or other cheese of your liking
- 4 Tbl. Olive oil
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup toasted breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup finely chopped Italian parsley
Preheat oven to 400.
For the Béchamel sauce
Gently warm milk in saucepot over medium heat-do not boil. In another pot, melt butter over med low heat, add flour and stir to make a paste. Cook 2-3 minutes. Add milk and nutmeg. At first, stir continuously until the béchamel has thickened, then stir every few minutes for about 20 minutes. Let come to a boil and turn off heat, season with salt to taste, strain into container and set aside.
For Mac & Cheese
Cook pasta according to directions on box. Pasta should be fully cooked, not al dente. Drain, drizzle with olive oil, toss to coat and cool on sheet pan. When cooled, place in large mixing bowl. Meanwhile, combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese and parsley. Set aside.
In a sauté pan, heat 4 Tbl. Olive oil until smoking. Add ham, bacon or chicken and cook until browned on all sides. Add béchamel, grated cheddar and cook until cheese has melted through. Pour over pasta and stir to combine. Place in an oven safe casserole dish. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture over entire dish; bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
