Macaroni & Cheese (Muggs)

Recipe from In the Kitchen with Muggs
Servings: 5

This recipe is rather labor intensive for something as simple as macaroni and cheese. It also requires way too many pots going at once. The end result was a decent mac & cheese recipe, but nothing spectacular. I do think it turned out better than my previous two attempts, so it does have that going for it.

1 pound pasta (elbow or rotini)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup bread crumbs
3 cups nonfat milk
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
10 oz. white sharp cheddar cheese, grated (about 2-1/2 cups)
4 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated (about 1 cup)
2 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, grated (about 1/4 cup)

Preheat oven to 375. Butter a 1-1/2 quart casserole dish; set aside.

Cook pasta 2-3 minutes, drain and rinse well. (Pasta should be undercooked.)

Melt 1 tablespoon butter and add bread crumbs, coat well and set aside.

Heat milk until hot but not scalded.

Heat remaining 3 tablespoons butter, add flour and stir until cooked, about 1 minute. Slowly pour in the hot milk and whisk continuously until all the milk in incorporated and the sauce has begun to thicken, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add salt, pepper, cayenne, 1-1/2 cups cheddar, 3/4 cup Gruyere, and all the Jack. Mix well until all the cheese has melted.

Add the cooked pasta and pour into the prepared dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheeses and top with bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes or until bread crumbs are golden brown and bubbling. Let sit for 5 minutes then serve.