The Recipe...

Ask and ye shall receive!!! Below is the heavenly mac and cheese recipe. Moonegirl - please email me the chocolate divine brownies! :)

Thanks for the game show contestant entries!!!

The real winner is me, I guess!!! The little starburst turns out to be from Eastern Blooms. Wahoo!!

I will be so organized tonight!

1.5 sticks butter
6 slices good white bread, crusts removed, torn into little pieces
5.5 cups whole milk
1/2 cup flour
3 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 - 1 tsp cayenne pepper - I use 1/2 tsp
4.5 cups sharp white cheddar, grated (you can use sharp yellow cheddar but it needs to be very sharp, not Kraft sharp)
2 C. Grated Gruyere or 6 oz. Pecorino Romano
1 C shredded Havarti, Smoked Havarti, Gouda or smoked Gouda
1 lb elbow macaroni

Preheat oven to 375. Butter a 3 quart casserole dish. Put bread in a bowl and coat with 2-3 TBS melted butter. Set aside.

Start cooking macaroni with 1 tsp salt in water. (You can also cook your macaroni in chicken broth - I cook all pasta and rice in chicken broth instead of water.)

Warm milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Melt 1 stick butter in a high sided skillet over medium heat. When it bubbles, add flour a little at a time, whisking constantly, cook for a minute or so. Still whisking constantly, add hot milk a little at a time, making sure it's smooth between additions. At one point it will form a paste - no worries. Keep going. When blended, lower heat to lowest setting and add spices and cheese. Stir until it's yummy cheesy goodness. Combine with cooked macaroni and pour into buttered pan. Top with more cheese and buttered bread. Bake for 30 minutes until golden and bubbly. Watch breadcrumbs on top - if your oven heats unevenly they might brown too early.

As always, feel free to send me your snail mail and I will put you on my card mailing list!