Celebrate Your Love for Mac and Cheese, Perfectly!

• 3 tablespoons white truffle oil 
• 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 1/4 pound Swiss cheese, grated
• 1/4 pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/4 pound Fontina cheese, grated
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 8 ounces orecchiette pasta or elbow macaroni
• 6 Ounces of Baby Bella Mushrooms *optional (sautee these ahead of time in 1Tbsp of butter)
• White Truffle Savings *optional

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. In a small bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon of the truffle oil, the breadcrumbs, and the Parmesan and set aside.
3. In a large, heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
4. Add the flour and whisk for about 3 minutes, or until the flour blends with the butter.
5. Whisk in the half-and-half, bring to a simmer, and cook for 3 minutes.
6. Stir in the Swiss, cheddar, Fontina, and mustard.
7. Remove the sauce from the heat once the cheeses have melted.
8. Stir in the remaining truffle oil (*and add the mushrooms if you have chosen to add them). 
9. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
10. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil over medium heat and cook the macaroni for about 7 minutes, until al dente.  Drain the pasta and add to the saucepan with the cheese sauce. Stir well.
11. Pour the macaroni and cheese sauce into a 1-quart buttered baking dish. (At this point you could refrigerate the casserole dish for up to 24 hours, or freeze your portions for use at a later time)
12. Top the casserole with the breadcrumb mixture and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the casserole is bubbling.  *Top with Truffle Shavings to taste.  (You can also top this dish with thin sliced fried onion rings as an alternative flavor option.) 

Now that you have the recipe there are a few tips that I want to share. 

I do use a food saver vacuum sealer in order to ready my dishes for the freezer but that is just my preference and sometimes a freezer bag works just as well. If you are looking for a vacuum sealer, I recommend this small affordable one from amazon basics, with a price tag less that $50 its a great way to start using a vacuum seal system, you can purchase it here.  (Don't forget to pick up the bags too) 

 

I very often make this in smaller muffin tin size dishes, so that you don't have to serve the whole recipe at one time.  This also works out well if you have kiddos and want to use this as a lunch option. You can even make this ahead of time and freeze the smaller portions prior to the baking step.  This will ensure the creamiest version when you do cook it because they will be fresh baked every time and not reheated.

Lastly, I like my Mac and cheese to have a little crunch to it, so I cook mine in cast iron casserole dishes, I have a few different styles to choose from, but my all time favorites are these individual ones, because they go right from the oven to the table, and make for such a cute presentation. 

 

 

 

Do you love the recipe of the week? If you made it, be sure to leave me a comment below and tell me what worked for you, or the tips you have to make it better!   We love to feature and collaborate with our growing community so subscribe to our mailing list, shoot us a message or use the links below to follow us on social media and join in on the discussions, contests, challenges!