Friday, January 8, 2010

Asiago and Provolone Macaroni and Cheese


In my family, it's a tradition to have Macaroni and Cheese at Thanksgiving. I never gave it a second thought, but later in life found out that not many people eat Mac and Cheese on Thanksgiving. Keeping with the Mac and Cheese at the holidays theme, I decided to make a variation on Christmas day. I had a huge block of Asiago to use up, and a bit of Provolone. I knew this would create a sharp tasting Macaroni and Cheese, but since those are two of my favorites, I decided to try it out and hope everyone else would appreciate the slighty stinky Mac and Cheese. It was great, easy to make ahead of time and reheat, and made a huge tray with plenty of leftovers.


Asiago and Provolone Macaroni and Cheese

1 1/2 lbs. cavatappi or any short cut pasta
1 stick of butter
1 small yellow onion, grated
1/3 cup AP flour
1 tsp. ground white pepper
1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
4 cups 2% or whole milk
3 cups grated asiago cheese
1 cup grated provolone cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt heavily, add pasta and cook until al dente.
Drain well, set aside.
In a large stock pot, melt butter over low heat.
Grate in onion, sweat onion for 2-3 minutes.
Sprinkle in flour, whisk and cook for 2-3 minutes, until it is a light brown color.
Add milk, whisk, bring to medium heat.
Sprinkle in cheese, whisking in completely before the next addition.
Add pepper and nutmeg.
Pour pasta into a casserole dish, pour cheese sauce over top.
Stir to distribute cheese.
Transfer to a 350 degree oven, bake for 25-30 minutes, until crisp and bubbly.

4 comments:

~Amie~ said...

I am definitely going to try this one! Looks amazing!

Amanda (Two Boos Who Eat) said...

my family makes mac & cheese for holidays too. I love it!

Karen said...

I think those two cheeses would be great in mac & cheese!

Kim said...

I made this recipe this week and it was a hit at my house! I gave you a little shout out on my blog too!
http://kim614.blogspot.com/2010/02/kim-in-kitchen.html
Thanks for all the great ideas!