Cheddar-Swiss Mac & Cheese

There aren't many dishes that people of all ages seem to really appreciate. Our tastes change so much from childhood to adulthood – it takes something universally delicious to be exempt from the whims of our taste buds as they grow up. Macaroni and cheese seems to be one of those delicious exemptions. Even my family and friends who have the misfortune of being lactose intolerant (including myself to some extent) will happily down a couple Lactaid pills so that they can enjoy mac and cheese on occasion.

Admittedly, as a kid, my mom's homemade mac and cheese didn't appeal to me. I had eaten the boxed Kraft stuff so many times, I thought that was what mac and cheese was supposed to taste like. It took me until around age 12 to realize my great error. All the time I wasted preferring Kraft is one of my few regrets in life.

This recipe isn't exactly my mom's. It's my spin on my mom's recipe. One of the ways I've personalized her original recipe is by changing up the cheeses – I like to add an extra layer of flavor by splitting my cheese so that it's half cheddar and half swiss, which brings a subtle tanginess to the cheese sauce. If you can find (and afford) gruyere, which is a type of swiss cheese, use that. You will have no regrets.

To be fair, the taste of swiss may not be appreciated by little ones whose palates have not grown up enough yet. If you're serving this to a family with small kids, feel free to use whatever cheese(s) you'd like, in whatever proportions – just make sure you use a full pound (around 4 cups, depending on the cheese) in total. In rule form: don't cut the cheese.

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CHEDDAR-SWISS MAC AND CHEESE

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Bake Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 lb elbow macaroni

1/2 cup salted butter

1/2 cup flour

1 t dry mustard

1/2 t onion powder

1/4 t cayenne OR 1 t sriracha

salt & pepper to taste

5 cups milk

2 cups (or 1/2 lb) sharp cheddar

2 cups (or 1/2 lb) swiss OR gruyere cheese

1/2 t paprika

Directions

Cook your pasta and drain it. Add a small amount of either oil or butter to it so that it doesn't stick together, then put it in a 3-quart casserole dish. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grate your cheese if it's not already grated.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter on medium-low heat. Once it's melted, create a roux by mixing in the flour, cayenne, onion powder, dry mustard, and salt and pepper. Gradually stir in the milk (and sriracha, if you chose to use that instead of cayenne), and continue to let the sauce cook on the stovetop until it thickens – stir it constantly while you do this. Once the sauce has been steaming for a few minutes, you'll see it start to thicken up as you're stirring.

Add the grated cheese to your sauce and stir until the cheese has melted. Take your sauce off the heat and slowly pour over the macaroni in the casserole dish. Stir the macaroni and the sauce well so that you coat (and fill, to some extent) all of your pasta. Sprinkle paprika over the top of the macaroni and cheese.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the cheese sauce is bubbling. Eat on its own or serve alongside literally any other dish, because mac and cheese is delicious with anything.

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Happy Eating,

Natalie

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