Macaroni and Cheese
Beth
This was served by my friend Jean at Pipestem and it was great. Freezes well. Her note with the recipe:
Here goes, with one word of warning. I made this recipe up from a dish that I had in California, the mac and cheese recipe is from Barefoot Contessa and I added the Ham and Asparagus. If you want to cheat, it actually is ok if you just add the ham and asparagus to the Kraft mac and cheese. This recipe makes a LOT.
For a side dish, you would really need to 1/2 it unless you were feeding a crowd!
| Salt for boiling water Vegetable oil 1 pound box of macaroni elbows 1 quart milk 8 tablespoons butter, divided 1/2 cup flour 12 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated 8 ounces extra sharp cheese, grated 1 tablespoon salt |
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg 3/4 lbs fresh tomatoes (4 small) 1 cup dried bread crumbs 1 bunch fresh asparagus 1 lb fully cooked ham "steaks", I used Plum rose, they come in a package with 3 |
Snap the ends of the asparagus and steam till crisp tender, I do it in the microwave in a casserole dish with a small amount of water, covered with plastic wrap for 5 minutes.
Let cool and slice into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Cube the ham, set both aside.
Preheat oven to 375. Spray Pam on a 13 x 9 casserole. This recipe makes a LOT.
For a side dish, you would really need to 1/2 it unless you were feeding a crowd!
Drizzle vegetable oil into a large pot with boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to package directions ( 5 to 8 minutes, I did mine 7). Drain well.
Meanwhile, while the macaroni is cooking, heat the milk in the microwave but do not boil it, you just want it hot. Melt 6 tablespoons of the butter in a large (4 quart) pot and
add the flour slowly. Cook over low heat for another 2 minutes,stirring with a whisk, while slowly mixing in the hot milk. Once the milk is added, cook, stirring with the whisk constantly,until it is thickened and smooth, which takes about 3 minutes. (It will look like a lot of liquid but the cheese absorbs it quickly so don't worry...you don't want it super thick)
Remove from the heat, and stir in the cheese, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni, stirring well, then fold in the ham and asparagus.
Pour into the greased baking dish (at least a 3 quart dish).
Slice the tomatoes and arrange on top. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs and dot with the remaining butter. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni on top is lightly browned.
(To freeze, I put it in the freezer without the topping, then thaw when ready to serve, add the bread crumbs and tomatoes, and then bake per the instructions.)