Smoked Macaroni and Cheese

Trinkets's Note:

The ultimate comfort food. This recipe comes from the Williams Sonoma Kitchen. I have spent years on a quest to try different mac and cheese dishes. I'd like to find my favorite. So far this is one of the top.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 10 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 cups smoked gouda cheese, shredded
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pinch cayenne
• 4 ounces crustless country bread
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1 lb rigatoni pasta, cooked al dents and drained

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Butter large rectangular baking dish.
3. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 TBS butter.
4. Add flour; cook, stirring frequently, about 3 minutes.
5. Whisk in milk; cook, stirring frequently, until thickened, about 5 minutes.
6. Whisk in tomato paste.
7. Add 1.5 cups of each cheese; stir until melted.
8. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne.
9. Tear bread into crumbs.
10. In small bowl, stir together bread crumbs, 2 TBS melted butter and salt.
11. In a large bowl, combine pasta and cheese sauce.
12. Pour into prepared baking dish.
13. Top with remaining cheeses and buttered bread crumbs.
14. Bake until cheeses are golden and bubbly, about 40 minutes.
15. If top becoomes too dark, cover with foil.
16. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Reviews

[Rinshinomori]

What to cook when you are in a hurry and have to get something ready for dinner? This took me about 45 minutes from the start to finish. Trinkets, please excuse me for making some subs and additions to this wonderful recipe, but I did not have all the items and also wanted to add other items. I made this for 2 servings, but used 1 1/4 cup milk instead of 7/8 cup. I used a heavy skillet to cook and bake this macaroni and I'm never going to make this any other way. Since I did not have smoked cheese, I subbed a few drops of liquid smoke and also added sliced garlic (sauteed in butter), and topped with sliced chorizo after baked. The macaroni was only cooked in boiling water for maybe 5-7 minutes (much less than al dente) and this was baked for only 30 minutes and it was perfect. For topping, I used bread cubes sprinkled with olive oil. garlic powder, and oregano instead of butter. This turned out to be the _best_ macaroni and cheese we've ever had. Thank you sooo much for posting this!