Baked Macaroni and Cheese, minus the macaroni

My friends assure me that any pasta with cheese sauce can qualify to be labelled as "mac and cheese", even if you don't use the macaroni "elbow" shaped pasta. Fusilli has all these curves and holds sauces really well, which is why I stock it in the pantry. Anyhow. Be it fusilli, celantini, macaroni, or shells, it should all be equivalent in how much you cook for one 9" x 13" batch. I wouldn't advise using bowties or large pasta shapes to make mac and cheese.

Smoked Cheese and Pasta

I added diced green chiles to the cheese sauce to enhance the flavor; and while I only added two tablespoons, I think I should have added the entire 4 oz can. Compared to the smoky mac 'n' cheese that I had from Vancouver's food cart Esoteric BBQ, my version pales in comparison. There's no beating the smokiness of a real wood-fired smoker; plus Esoteric's might just have more salt in theirs.

This batch used 8 oz Gouda, 8 oz medium cheddar, and 4 oz Parmesan.

At any rate, here's the recipe I used. It makes roughly 9 servings.


Ingredients

1 lb dry pasta, preferably macaroni
1 qt whole milk
about 2 lbs of grated cheese
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted
1/4 c unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 lb cooked bacon, crumbled (optional)
2-4 tbsp (up to 4 oz) diced green chiles (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

0. Prepare a 9" x 13" baking dish by lightly buttering its sides. Set aside.

1. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook according to the package directions. For the fusilli, it was about 15-20 minutes. Drain and put cooked pasta into the baking dish. Set aside.

2. In the same pot that previously held the pasta, melt the stick of butter over low heat. You don't want browned butter for this. Add flour and stir with a whisk until no lumps remain.

3. Whisk in milk and cheese. Raise heat to low-medium. Cook until the cheese melts. When the sauce begins to thicken, it is ready to pour onto the pasta.

At this point, if you are using green chiles, add them to the cheese sauce now.

4. Pour cheese sauce over pasta. Be sure to submerge all the pasta under the sauce; otherwise the exposed bits get all crispy hard.

5. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes.

The pasta is done when the top is slightly browned and the cheese is bubbly. Enjoy!