Last Night of Break: Mac and Cheese

This recipe has it all folks, 20 glorious ounces of cheese, crunchy shallots, warm nutmeg, baked crispy breadcrumbs on top and ooey-gooey sizzling hot stringy cheese underneath. We ate this with snowpeas cooked in the cheesy remnants of the pasta. It served the two of us and three of our friends with no leftovers, but it would have been lovely to have leftovers!

I dare you not to eat this. We waited a good 20 minutes for our friends to show up, and we did not manage to avoid pulling pieces of pasta out and having a "pre-dinner snack."

{Recipe Adapted from http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/03/four-cheese-baked-skillet-rigatoni/}

While the original recipe calls four cheeses, buying too much cheese can get rather expensive for us college kids (just realized my campus research assistant job pays me a whopping 10 cents above minimum wage). Instead, we recommend just using two cheese, the Cheddar and the Fontina, and then adding in any extra fresh Parmesan you have lying around at home, which gives the dish an nice sharpness. We have made it both ways, and Parmesan version is just unbelievable.

Three Cheese Baked Skillet Rigatoni

serves 4-6

1 pound mini rigatoni pasta

1 shallot, diced

2 garlic cloves, mince

1/2 teaspoon olive oil

5 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk

8 ounces freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese

8 ounces freshly grated fontina cheese

4oz Parmesan cheese (roughly)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/3 cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grate cheeses, placing them together in a large bowl. Boil water and prepare pasta according to directions, cooking for 3-4 minutes less than called-for time.

Heat a large oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add in olive oil and butter, then throw in shallots with a pinch of salt. Stir to coat and cook for 2-3 minutes, until soft. Add in garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add flour to the skillet then whisk constantly to create a roux. Let cook for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Pour in milk, stirring continuously for another 1-2 minutes. 

Add in almost all of the grated cheeses, reserving about 1/2 cup for the topping. Stir continuously until mixture thickens, about 3-4 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, then taste-test (this is the most important step - make sure you taste it again...and then again with a rigatoni or three...). Add pasta to the skillet and toss thoroughly to coat.

(If your skillet is not oven safe - transfer mixture to a large baking dish) Sprinkle the top of the mixture with remaining cheeses and breadcrumbs. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until top is golden brown and bubbly. Enjoy!