Fancy Mac and Cheese

(from castro15’s recipe box)

Categories: Pasta

Ingredients

  • 16 oz white button mushrooms, quartered
  • Olive oil, for drizzling
  • Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
  • 8 slice thick-cut bacon
  • 2 yellow onions, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced
  • 5 tbsp butter
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
  • 1/2 cup grated Gruyere
  • 1/2 cup grated Fontina
  • 4 oz goat cheese
  • 1 1/2 lbs macaroni
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup half-and-half
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 4 oz crumbled Gorgonzola or other blue cheese

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 425. Drizzle the mushrooms with olive oil, then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Roast them in oven for about 20-25 minutes. Set aside.

  2. Next, fry thick slices of bacon until chewy but not yet crisp. Chop up the bacon into bite-size bits. Set aside.

  3. In a large skillet over medium-low heat, saute the onions in 1 tbsp butter, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Set aside.

  4. Grate the Parmesan, Gruyere, and fontina cheeses. Unwrap the goat cheese.

  5. Cook the macaroni until just undercooked. Set aside.

  6. To make the sauce, melt the remaining 4 tbsp butter in a large pot over medium heat. Sprinkle in the flour, whisking to combine. Let the roux cook for a minute or so, whisking constantly. Then pour in the milk, whisking constantly. Cook the white sauce for 3-5 minutes, or until thick and bubbly. Next, add the half-and-half, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.

  7. Spoon some of the hot sauce into the beaten eggs to temper them, stirring with a fork to incorporate the mixture without cooking the eggs. Pour the tempered eggs into the white sauce, stirring constantly as you add them. Add the Parmesan, Gruyere, fontina and goat cheeses. Stir until the cheeses melt.

  8. Add the cooked macaroni and stir to coat. Splash in a little milk or hot water if needed for thinning.

  9. Preheat the oven to 350 and butter a 9×13-inch baking pan. Lay on half the onions, half the macaroni, half the mushrooms, half the gorgonzola and half the bacon. Repeat the layer, ending with the bacon. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until bubbly and hot.

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