Grown-Up Baked Mac And Cheese Recipe For Grown-Ups

Baking macaroni and cheese on a Monday night was a miserable experience. I had to boil water, tear the hell out of cheese, make a sauce, and then bake this whole deal before I had a chance to take off my bra. When I finally had time to sit down and browse through Faceborg, about ten million flame wars were happening in the two groups I even care about. Oh, and guess what else? No elbow macaroni on hand! I had to use the nice casarecce pasta I was saving for company.

 Casarecce looks like ziti on Adderall and it picks up a ton of gooey sauce. It is amazing. Yet here it is on Wonkette in a mac and cheese.

Listen to me, this was delicious. For the entire five minutes I had to eat my dinner, I didn’t have a crap to give. I served our mac and cheese with thyme-stewed Roma tomatoes canned over the summer (BY MYSELF), though you will most likely pop open a can of something and eat it with a parfait spoon. Only God knows what you do, and it’s not my business.

Ingredients

1 box of Casarecce pasta, boiled and drained

¾ stick of butter, sliced

½ c. all-purpose flour

4 c. milk (1 quart okay!)

3 c. extra-sharp cheddar, shredded

½ small wheel of Brie, skin removed

¼ c. crumbled bleu cheese

½ c. Parmesan cheese

Topping

1 c. breadcrumbs

1 c. of cheddar

¼ c. Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350º. In a large saucepan, melt the butter on medium heat and mix in the flour until smooth and bubbly. Pour in milk and stir continuously, to thicken the béchamel sauce. Turn the heat to low and stir in the cheese. When it has melted completely, remove from heat and pour in the pasta. Stir it gently.

Lightly grease a large casserole pan. Pour in the cheese and pasta and spread it evenly. Shake the remaining cheeses and breadcrumbs in a (sealed) freezer bag until well blended. Top the pasta and bake for about 30 minutes.

No, of course this didn’t sound difficult. That’s because it wasn’t you doing it.

Everyone in my house was very comforted with mac and cheese for grown-ups. We hugged, AND I managed to clean out the cheese drawer before Christmas. You want lunch? That is good information, and you’re taking some green beans with you, too. Enjoy!