Comfort Food

This week as part of our Barefoot Bloggers, Heather from Randomosity and the Girl chose Grown Up Mac and Cheese. This was a great comfort food recipe for us. I chose not to use the blue cheese but substituted dubliner Irish cheese instead along with some grated cheddar and Parmesan. I loved the combination of cheese in the recipe. I would like to try it with blue cheese at some point but have to wait until I have someone around that would eat it with me : ) My husband and daughter loved it. Our son wouldn't even try a bite since it didn't come out of the blue box. I have been trying to use more whole grain in our diet so I also used whole wheat Penney pasta instead of the macaroni noodles. The only problem with the switch was the pasta sucked up all of the sauce and it ended up being a little on the dry side. I loved the crumb topping. It was my favorite part of the dish. I will be making this again! Thanks for choosing a great recipe Heather.
Ina Garten courtesy of Food Network.com
4 ounces thick-sliced bacon

vegetable oil

Kosher salt

2 cups elbow macaroni

1 1/2 cups milk

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated

3 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated

2 ounces blue cheese, such as Roquefort, crumbled

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pinch nutmeg

2 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed

2 tablespoons freshly chopped basil leaves

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place a baking rack on a sheet pan and arrange the bacon in 1 layer on the baking rack. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the bacon is crisp. Remove the pan carefully from the oven - there will be hot grease in the pan! Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels and crumble when it is cool enough to handle. Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don't boil it. Melt the butter in a medium pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or 2 more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, blue cheese, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and crumbled bacon and stir well. Pour into 2 individual size gratin dishes.Place the bread slices in a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until you have coarse crumbs. Add the basil and pulse to combine. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the top of the pasta. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.