Everybody has a macaroni and cheese recipe but an easy trick makes this version more moist and delicious than most. With a little less butter, low fat milk, and whole wheat pasta, it's also less lethal than many.
1lb Whole Wheat Penne
1/4 lb sharp cheddar, diced
1/8 lb fontina, diced
1/8 lb parmesan, shredded or grated
1/8 lb butter
2 tbl spoons flour
1 tbl spoon ground nutmeg
1 tbl spoon salt
1 dash cayenne pepper
6 cups 2% milk, scalded
1/2 lb good quality ham, diced (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 350. Set a large pasta pot filled with water salted to taste to boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions, using the minimum cooking time given.
2. While the water heats, pour the milk into a large pyrex measuring cup and heat on high in the microwave for 8 minutes. (Otherwise heat the milk in a small saucepan but don't let it boil.)
3. In a pot large enough to hold all the pasta and sauce, melt the butter over low heat. When foaming, whisk in the flour until you have a smooth paste.
4. Add the hot milk to the flour mixture. Turn up the heat to high and whisk continuously until boiling.
5. Reduce the heat to low and whisk in the nutmeg, salt, and cayenne.
6. Whisk in the cheddar and fontina until you have a smooth, thick sauce.
7. Pour all the sauce into a large bowl. Dump the cooked and drained penne into the pot in which you cooked the sauce and stir to mix the penne with the sauce still clinging to the sides of the pot. Stir in the diced ham if using.
8. Empty the bowl of sauce over the pasta but do not stir.
9. Sprinkle the parmesan over the top of the sauce and bake until brown and bubbling, 15 or so minutes.
Serve hot. The sauce will have trickled down through the pasta but enough stays on top to prevent the dish from drying out. As you can see, Ernie approves.
