Macaroni and Cheese (and more cheese, and more, and more, and more…)

We’ve come to the end of Lost Night with Friends.  For our final meal, I decided to go out with a creamy-cheesy-completely-unhealthy-save-for-the-Barilla-plus-noodles bang—baked quadruple cheese macaroni & cheese.  I might have had 5 cheeses in this (or 6!!  Now that I am thinking about it…cheddar, swiss, gouda, blue cheese, and parmesan) … I just add whatever we have around the house, and this time I had a cheese surplus from a recent trip to R. Hirt Jr. Co. in Eastern Market. But usually it’s a 4-cheese deal. I also made the breadcrumbs this time around, too.  The only bread we had wasn’t stale yet, so I toasted a few slices, ripped up the toast, and put it in the food processor until the toast became bread crumbs.  I heated a tablespoon or so of butter in a pan, and when it was melted, whisked in a tablespoon of dijon mustard, some minced parsley and thyme, and salt and pepper.  I added the fresh breadcrumbs to the pan, mixed it thoroughly in the melted butter mixture, and cooked it over medium-low heat for a few minutes, stirring every so often, until the crumbs were golden brown.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

3 cups milk
1/2 onion
1 bay leaf
1/8 cup butter, divided
1/4 cup shallots, minced
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon chopped thyme, fresh (dried is okay too, just use a little less)
1/2 teaspoon salt
16 ounces macaroni
1 1/2 cups gruyere or swiss cheese, grated
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 1/2 cups parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 cup blue cheese (if desired)
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
Note: The cheeses listed are just suggestions.  I often through in some grated smoked gouda if I have it, and I love to add a few tablespoons of blue cheese to the mix. Use whatever you have on hand!

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Cook the macaroni until it is a couple minutes away from being tender.
3. Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
4. Drain.
5. Pour milk into small saucepan.
6. Attach the bay leaf to the onion half by using the cloves as”tacks”.
7. Drop the onion/bay leaf/cloves into the milk.
8. Simmer milk over med-low heat.
9. Melt 1 tbs of the butter in a separate saucepan over med heat.
10. Saute the shallots until tender.
11. Add the flour, dry mustard, and pepper and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
12. Slowly add the hot milk to the butter mixture, 1/4 c at a time, whisking constantly.
13. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and add the onion.
14. Simmer for 20 min.
15. Stir often.
16. Sauce should be thick and creamy.
17. Remove sauce from heat.
18. Take out the onion.
19. Stir in most of the cheese; saving some to sprinkle on top.
20. Add the cayenne, salt, and fresh thyme.
21. Transfer the macaroni to a greased casserole dish.
22. Pour the sauce over the macaroni and mix well.
23. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bread crumbs.
24. Dot with the remaining butter.
25. Bake for 30 minutes– Should be browned on top and bubbly when done.