3-Cheese Baked Macaroni
When it’s your birthday, you don’t cook. You sit back, relax, and let some special cooking come to you.
That was the plan last Wednesday when we celebrated Jared’s birthday with a few close friends. While he wasn’t banned from the kitchen entirely, his biggest task was telling me in advance what he’d like to see on the menu.
No rules apply to the birthday dinner. Kind of like the prisoner’s last meal, without the morbidity.
So what made the cut? Jared picked macaroni and cheese and this. Like I said, on your birthday, anything goes.
I based the mac and cheese on Mom’s recipe, fancied up a bit. Years ago she revealed the special secret ingredient that made her version of this classic so good – Worcestershire sauce.
These days I shy away from anchovies, but Annie’s Naturals Worcestershire sauce is a near-identical vegetarian substitution.
My rule for making a dish as rich as this: go ALL out. When you’re already committing yourself to a plateful of pasta and cheese, why cut corners and calories in the preparation?
So in goes the butter, the whole fat milk, the sinful amounts of cheese. What comes out of the oven is a decadent comfort food that all our guests enjoyed, especially the birthday boy.
Happy birthday Jared!
3-Cheese Baked Macaroni
Jared selected the noodle shapes, and the cheeses. Ementhaler and Gruyere usually elbow for room in the fondue pot, but they also add an earthy, nutty kick to the cheese sauce used here.
1 lb cavatelli noodles
1 lb 2-year Grafton cheddar cheese, shredded. (your favorite cheddar will also do the trick)
1/2 lb Emennthaler cheese, shredded
1/2 lb Gruyere, shredded
2 cups whole milk
1/2 stick salted butter, roughly diced
1 cup whole wheat panko-style bread crumbs
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, regular or vegetarian
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
cracked pepper to taste
1 cup scallions, chopped for garnish
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta al dente and drain. Set aside.
2. Heat butter and milk in saucepan over medium-low heat until blended. Add cheese, Worcestershire sauce, nutmeg and pepper. Stir until cheese is melted into the sauce.
3. Stir pasta and cheese sauce together in a large casserole dish until pasta is well coated. Top with breadcrumbs.
4. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 40 – 45 minutes, or until cheese is bubbling. Remove from oven and let stand, 10 minutes.
5. Garnish with scallions and serve.
Serves 5
