*macaroni and cheese*
My darling daughter Clover has been really sick for most of the week with the flu. Missing school for her is a major crisis, one that involves much angst and knashing of teeth and worry, worry, worry about a GPA that might drop a couple hundreths of a point. And I'm NOT exaggerating.
So, BK had a board meeting today and then had to go out to eat with a new BOD member, so he was in town for the evening. I wanted to do something to comfort Clover and get her to relax for a bit before she tackled the books tonight, so I made her mac and cheese. She *LOVES* it and this recipe is SO EASY to make and it makes me happy to make it for her.
I'm bad about measuring, but I do have a few actual measurements thrown into this one.
First, boil whatever macaroni you want. I used mini farfalle because that's what was in the pantry.
Second, bechamel sauce with cheese: Melt 3 tbsp. butter in a saucepan, add 3 tbsp. flour and cook about 3 minutes. Whisk in 11/2 cups of milk (we only drink skim milk, so I use 1 cup milk and 1/2 cup cream to make it richer...it is comfort food, after all) and stir until thick and creamy. Add a pinch of salt, a pinch of sugar and a pinch of nutmeg. Then add grated cheese. I never measure the cheese...just some. If was guessing, it would probably be about a cup. I used mozzarella, sharp cheddar and parmigiano-reggiano tonight because that's what I had. I like Swiss a lot too, but we didn't have any. Stir (I usually have the sauce off the heat by now) until smooth and add to the drained pasta in an oven-safe dish. I bake it about 10 minutes at 375, then add a little more parm on top and broil for a couple of minutes to crisp it up a little on top.
Third: Every once in a while, I will cook a shallot in olive oil until slightly crispy and stir that into the bechamel before I put it all together. I didn't tonight. Just straight cheesy goodness.