Name: Last Meal Mac n' Cheese
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: 4 TBSP unsalted butter (divided); 2 TBSP olive oil; 2 tsp chopped garlic; 2 cups panko breadcrumbs; 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (freshly grated); 1/2 tsp salt; 6 TBSP butter; 6 TBSP flour; 1 1/4 cup heavy cream; 3 1/2 cup 2% milk; 2 tsp kosher salt; 1/2 tsp pepper (can use white pepper); 1 1/2 TBSP mustard powder; 1 tsp worcestershire sauce; 2 1/2 cups sharp yellow cheddar (grated); 2 1/2 cups white extra sharp cheddar (grated, I use Cabot); 1 cup Merlot or Balsamic cheese (grated, Bella Vitano from Costo); 1 lb cavatappi, fusilli or rotini pasta (or your favorite pasta with curves)

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Stop the search for the best mac n’ cheese because here it is. Rich, creamy, cheesy but not too cheesy, this mac n’ cheese works for as a meatless Monday or as a happy partner to a great steak or holiday ham. Adapted from Epicurious.

I don’t mean to be morbid – I really don’t. But you know how you talk about what your “last meal” might be if you knew you were going to have a last meal? This mac n’ cheese would be mine. We are talking the whole pan to myself with nothing but a fork and a big bottle of Tuscan Chianti. Yes, Chianti because I’m Italian and because it is MY last meal, I get to pick. And maybe this salad with extra blue cheese. I have been on hot pursuit of the best macaroni and cheese recipe for forever. As in FOR-E-VERRR (must be said like they do in “The Sandlot” btw – if you don’t get the reference, here you go).

Ok – to the recipe. I find that a springy noodle like a rotini or the fancy fusilli corti bucati pictured here works best because you need hidden channels for the sauce to cling. And cling it does in the best way. The key to the dish is the béchamel and the cheese combo. Don’t be scared by the word “béchamel” – it’s just fancy talk for white sauce. Béchamel is the base for the sauce —you can learn more about it here.

This béchamel does have a combo of heavy cream and milk which I have lightened a bit by using a heavier amount of 1% milk. The heavy cream brings a silky texture that can’t be replaced easily; however I have at times used all whole milk, 2%, and even a pea protein non-dairy milk with great success. It’s really up to you. However, this is mac n’ cheese we are dealing with and more is always – well, MORE. More texture, more flavor, more better. And just a note: the sauce is meant to be on the thinner side for this recipe and will thicken up as it cooks with the cheese combo.

Speaking of cheeses – I have found what I consider the optimal blend but then again, you might like yours to be a more traditional orange mac n’cheese in which case you’d use a lot more sharp cheddar. You might lose some of the creaminess so if you’re going to substitute for both the cream and the cheeses your resulting dish might not be as creamy. I use a combo of three cheeses, four if you count the Parmesan, including a sharp yellow cheddar, a sharp white chedddar and a zippy Balsamic cheese. This last one is sometimes hard to find but SO worth the effort! Just try and not sample as you grate it, I dare you.

If you are halfway to the store, don’t forget the mustard powder and the worcestershire. They really add a subtle zip that is necessary but if you have to forego one, make sure it’s NOT the mustard powder. With these ingredients, this mac n’ cheese has more of an ivory hue but since the noodles are blanketed by savory garlic and Parmesan kissed crumbs on top, no one seems to miss the traditional orange. They’re usually too busy racing each other to finish their first serving to get to the pan before it’s gone.

TIPS:

for many:

can be doubled or tripled easily.

to reheat, add a small amount of milk or cream before heating in the microwave or oven and coat with any leftover crumbs.

for a few:

make a half recipe and bake in individual gratins on a baking sheet as shown. make 1/4 of the crumb recipe.