Baked Mac & Cheese

5 & 1/2 TBSP butter
1 cup whole milk, half & half, or heavy cream
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese (or whatever type of cheese you prefer)
1 tsp pure salt
1 pound small shells (or other small pasta shape)
pinch of ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground mustard (optional)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (or regular parmesan)

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Use 1/2 TBSP of the butter to grease a 9×13 inch baking dish & set aside.
• Dice 4 TBSP of the butter & place in a large bowl (big enough to fit the pasta).
• Pour the milk into a small saucepan & heat (but do not boil).
• Cover, remove from heat & keep warm.
• Shred the cheese (you should have about 2 cups) & set aside.
• When the water comes to a boil, add 1 TBSP salt and the shells.
• Cook until they are 1 – 2 mins shy of al dente & then drain (for Tinkyada brown rice small shells, this is about 6 mins).
• Stir the shells into the bowl w/ the butter, tossing to coat well.
• Stir in the warm milk & cheese and stir until the cheese starts to melt.
• Mix in 1 tsp salt, the nutmeg (and ground mustard / cayenne if using).
• Pour mixture into the baking dish.
• Combine the bread crumbs & Parmigiano-Reggiano and sprinkle evenly over the pasta.
• Dice the remaining 1 TBSP butter & dot the crumb topping with small pieces of butter.
• Bake until the cheese sauce is bubbling & the topping turns golden brown, about 20 mins.

Serve immediately.

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SIDE NOTES:

~ Adapted from “The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook”

~  I sometimes double the recipe (using two 9 x 13 baking dishes), and put one whole tray in the freezer.  Comes in really handy on a night when all I can do is pull something out of the freezer & stick it in the oven to warm. Pyrex makes 9 x 13 glass baking dishes with snap on lids.  Perfect for something like this.  They come in all sizes actually, and I highly recommend having a variety of them on hand for freezing all kinds of left overs.

~ There’s no faking mac & cheese. Real butter, real milk & real cheese are requirements! I’ve tried a lot of mac & cheese recipes over the years & was never satisfied until this one.

~ FYI – The original recipe calls for fontina cheese in case you’d like to give that a go. I’ve used mild cheddar, sharp cheddar and fontanella which have all tasted great.

~ Parmigiano-Reggiano is the king of parmesan cheese. You can usually get it at the regular grocery store, though it’s on the pricey side. If interested, you can buy organic Parmigiano-Reggiano online. If you have extra, cut it into small blocks & freeze. This way, you can just take out a small portion to defrost & grate as needed (it tends to dry out if you grate it first and then freeze). Of course, any type of parmesan you have on hand will work.

~ It’s extremely easy to make your own bread crumbs at home. Just dry out 2 slices of bread in the oven, break apart into blender, and process. For more detailed instructions, click HERE.

~  Of course only use the mustard & cayenne if you like your mac & cheese with a good kick  =)

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