Four Cheese Mac and Cheese

I admit, I don't eat a lot of Mac and Cheese....however, if I'm going to eat Mac and Cheese, it has to be creamy and complex. In order to get to what I will eat, it has got to be EPIC!! I formulated this recipe and even the hubster said, "this is the best mac and cheese I have ever eaten"! I made my recipe on a recent ski and snowmobiling trip to West Yellowstone and Big Sky Ski resort near West Yellowstone. Everyone loved it and went back for seconds! Here is the recipe~



Four Cheese Macaroni and Cheese
serves 8 -10 as a side

1- 16 ounce package of dried macaroni, cork screw pasta or cavatappi (my favorite is cavatappi)
4 T unsalted butter (half a cube)
1/2 cup  finely chopped yellow onion
4 T all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp, freshly ground pepper
2 1/2 cups 2% milk (feel free to go up to whole or down to 1%)
2 cups grated Gouda cheese (about 8 ounces)
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)
1 cup grated Swiss cheese ( about 4 ounces)
1 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 T unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs unflavored

Spray your baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Your baking dish can be ceramic, glass or iron.

Preheat oven to 450 F degrees

Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and return to pot.

While the water comes to a boil, melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a large sauce pan. Add the onion and cook until soft, 3-4 minutes. add the flour to make a roux, cooking for a few minutes, but, not browning. Add the salt and pepper. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly and allowing your sauce to thicken. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Add the Gouda, cheddar, Swiss and 1 cup of Parmesan, whisking until cheeses are melted and smooth. 

Pour into the pasta and blend together using a large spoon.

Dump the cheesy pasta into the prepared baking dish.

Melt 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, add the panko and 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan. Sprinkle the mixture over the cheesy pasta.

Bake in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes until the panko mixture is slightly browned.

Enjoy!

* Additions- for a main course you could add, chicken, lobster or turkey.


We just arrived back from Montana and had a wonderful holiday with family! Here are a couple photo's we took!