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Company Special Macaroni & Cheese

To make this macaroni and cheese special enough for company, start with using tri-color pasta. A fancier cheese sauce is from scratch using a semi-soft cheese such as Gouda instead of cheddar cheese. Cooked pasta is mixed with the cheese sauce and placed in a casserole dish. Bread crumbs are sprinkled on top and this pasta dish finishes cooking in the oven.
Course Pasta
Cuisine Southern
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  • 12 oz dried tricolor bow tie pasta, penne, rigatoni and/or other short tubular pasta (4 cups)
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tbsp butter or margarine
  • 2 tbsp AP flour
  • 2 cups milk
  • 8 oz Port du Salut or other semisoft cheese shredded (2 cups)
  • 1 cup shredded American cheese 4 oz
  • 2 tbsp snipped fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried oregano crushed
  • ½ cup soft light rye or wheat bread crumbs

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook garlic in hot butter over medium heat for 30 seconds. Stir in flour. Add milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly; reduce heat. Add shredded Port du Salut and American cheeses. Stir until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in cooked pasta and oregano. Spoon mixture into an ungreased 1 ½ to 2 quart casserole. Top with bread crumbs.
  2. Bake, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe Notes

Gouda was substituted for Port du Salut because that cheese was unavailable in my grocery store. Only cook pasta half of the suggested time, the pasta will continue cooking in the oven.