Today's Recipe 2/20/2012

Civil War Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

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Ingredients

·         4 cups whole milk

·         1/2 pound elbow macaroni pasta (2 to 2 1/2 cups)

·         4 Tbsp butter

·         2 cups, packed, grated parmesan cheese (about 1/2 pound)

·         Freshly ground black pepper

·         Nutmeg

·         1/4 to 1/3 cup bread crumbs

·         Cayenne (optional)

Method

1 Heat the milk in a large saucepan until steamy. Stir in the dry macaroni pasta. Let come to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer. Pay attention while the macaroni is cooking in the milk as the milk may foam up and boil over if the milk gets too hot. Cook the macaroni for 15 minutes or until done. The macaroni should absorb almost all of the milk.

2 Preheat oven to 400°F. As soon as the macaroni is close to being done, melt the butter in a separate saucepan, stir in the grated cheese, black pepper to taste and a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg. Once the cheese has melted, pour the sauce into the macaroni and milk mixture and stir to combine. Taste and add salt if needed.

3 Place macaroni and cheese mixture into a baking dish. Sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs. Sprinkle lightly with cayenne (if using). Bake in a 400°F oven for 20 minutes or until the top is lightly browned.

Yield: Serves 4