Saturday, January 3, 2009

"Italian" Mac N Cheese 1



My sister is vegetarian, so I always like to make her something non-turkey related for Thanksgiving. (this is how behind I am in my posting!) This year she found out about a whole slew of food allergies (including nuts, onions, avocados and other yummy things) so I asked her what she thought I should make, and she requested Mac n' Cheese~
I have been messin' with finding "my" mac n' cheese recipe that will be my go to favorite, earlier in November, I made MAC N' CHEESE 1, which was good but still wanted to try something different. Nate suggested the gemili pasta (one of his favorites) and replacing the cream cheese from the previous batch with ricotta- hence, Italian Mac N' Cheese. (minus the garlic which was on the allergy list, next time I'll make it with roasted garlic and some chili flakes added, and the mascarpone cheese suggested in my previous Mac n' Cheese post!! THANKS!)

Sweet Life Italian Mac N' Cheese 1
1 package Gemili pasta
1/2 cup Ricotta
1/3 + cup shredded Sharp Cheddar (shred at least 1/2 cup and add more as you stir)
1/3 cup shredded Mozzarella
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
1/8 cup shredded Romano
3-4 oz Velveeta cheese
2-4 T heavy cream or whole milk
salt

In a large pot bring water to a boil and cook the pasta about 8 minutes, or until aldente according to package instructions. Drain and set aside, pour out all water and add Ricotta, cheddar, mozzarella, Parmesan, Romano and Velveeta to warm pasta pot. Pre-heat oven to 350 Begin stirring and slowly add drained, cooked pasta until well combined, add 2 T heavy cream and stir. Add additional cream & cheddar until thick, creamy and delicious~ Pour into a casserole and top with shredded Parmesan. Bake for 25 minutes or until the top is golden and bubbly.


3 comments:

Sharona May said...

Your Mac and Cheese looks very good and creamy!! YUM

What's Cookin Chicago said...

I love the combo of cheeses you used - looks fantastic!

Karen said...

Sounds like a good combo of cheeses. Would bacon and bleu cheese be good in mac & cheese??