Macaroni and Cheese

When my younger son was little, I bowed to the tyranny of a two year old and made mac & cheese from the blue box. But honestly that stuff is expensive and full of strange ingredients. Plus I dislike using canned soups a great deal. In fact, you could say I downright hate it. Fortunately this mac & cheese recipe doesn’t rquire cans of anything.

Ingredients:

2 cups pasta (we prefer gemelli but if you like elbow macaroni, have at it)
4 T butter
¼ C all-purpose flour
3 C milk
2 C shredded semi-hard cheese (cheddar, Gouda, Monterey Jack—whatever you have on hand and feel free to mix it up)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2/3 C freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions:

• Preheat the broiler.
• Cook your pasta OR follow my "no humidity added to the house" method described below. Drain well.
• In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over low heat.
• Whisk in the flour until a paste forms.
• Gradually whisk in the milk until smooth.
• Bring the sauce to the boil over moderately high heat, stirring or whisking constantly, until thickened.
• Remove the pan from the heat and add in the shredded cheeses until melted (not the Parmigiano-Reggiano just yet).
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Stir in the cooked pasta and then put the mixture into a 9 x 13 glass or ceramic baking pan.
• Top with the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.
• Broil about four inches from the heat for about four minutes or until richly browned.
• Let the dish sit for about five minutes before serving.

*Bonus no-humidity method for cooking pasta:

• Bring the water to the boil in a covered saucepan.
• Add the pasta, cover and immediately turn off the heat.
• Let sit, covered, on the stove for 20 minutes.
• Drain and enjoy your humidity-free home.

Caveat: Angel hair pasta doesn’t really need the full 20 minutes and gemelli may take up to 25 minutes.