Baked Mac & Cheese

December 19th, 2009

Cheese

I haven’t been a very good blogger lately. I know, I admit it – I’m sorry. There are plenty of excuses for my lack of writing. I could say “work has been busy” or “there’s no time around the holidays” or “my dog ate my notebook”, but I’m not going to use any of those excuses today. No, my excuse is light. It’s been getting dark so early these days; by the time I’ve finished cooking or baking, there’s no window light left to take photos – and that’s at 4:30! I can’t tell you how many perfectly blog worthy meals have not yet made it here because of light. I miss the long summer days with endless bright light – those were the days.

Swiss chard layer

Finally I was able to capture one dish and I’m glad I did because this is a good one. Melty, homey, baked mac and cheese is perfect for these dark days. It’s hard to go wrong with macaroni and cheese, but this version is especially delicious. It’s packed with two different cheeses and a layer of swiss chard to sneak in a vegetable. The crispy bread crumb top is my favorite part, so don’t skip it. I love the crunchy bite you get with the soft, cheesy noodles. This is a great weeknight meal with a special twist and it’s one I’ll be making for a long time.

Macaroni & Cheese

Baked Mac and Cheese
Adapted from Bon Appetit

Makes 4 servings

  • 3 tablespoons butter, divided
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1/8 cup unbleached all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 1 cup (packed) coarsely grated aged Gouda cheese plus 1/2 cup finely grated
  • 1 1/2 cup (packed) coarsely grated Smoked Gouda cheese, divided
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 pound Swiss chard, stems and center ribs removed
  • 8 ounces elbow macaroni
  • 3/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs (I made breadcrumbs by grating a stale loaf of french bread)

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in large pot over medium heat. Add onion; sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, then flour; stir constantly 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk. Cook, whisking occasionally, until mixture begins to boil, about 5 minutes. Add 1 cup coarsely grated Gouda and 1 cup Smoked Gouda. Stir until cheeses melt, about 2 minutes. Stir in cayenne and nutmeg. Season sauce with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9×9- inch baking dish(or something close to that size). Cook chard in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 1 minute. Using slotted spoon, transfer chard to plate; cool. Reserve pot with water. Squeeze water from chard; chop.

Return water in pot to boil. Add macaroni; cook until tender but still firm to bite (about 5 minutes), stirring occasionally. Drain. Stir macaroni into warm cheese sauce. Place half of macaroni in dish; smooth top. Top with 1/2 cup Smoked Gouda cheese, then chard. Top with remaining macaroni mixture; spread evenly.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter. Place breadcrumbs in medium bowl. Drizzle butter over; toss. Add 1/2 cup finely grated Gouda and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture over mac and cheese.

Bake mac and cheese until breadcrumbs are golden and edges are bubbling, about 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes.