Saturday, May 2, 2009

Baked Mac & Cheese with Ham and Sage Breadcrumbs

For the last 6 weeks or so I've been absent. We've been eating a terrible diet, let's suffice it to say they wouldn't even let me into a Michael Pollan lecture. E-mails have gone un-answered and I have clean laundry that just won't put itself away.
Maybe craving comfort or maybe just the weather, I woke up this morning wanting to cook something comforting, filling and familiar. But what to cook? What to cook? I didn't want to go to the store, I should be able to find something in the larder. It's actually because it's been 10 days since I've bought groceries. And if I start making a list it will force me to get my shopping done, and I don't want to do it today.
On my way to get Jake from his friend Jonathan's house i was thinking about what I had on hand. Can I just interject here that Jake's social calendar has suddenly become full and it's weird, maybe I have early onset Empty Nest Syndrome.
Anyway, I decided to make macaroni and cheese with ham and sage breadcrumbs.

I decided to try putting the noodles in the cheese sauce uncooked -

set oven at 350f

Make white sauce; I usually use a 1 to 1 ratio

In a sauce pan over medium heat
2 T. butter
2 T. flour
3/4 t. dry mustard

Melt butter and cook with flour and mustard for a few minutes until it starts to turn a little darker.

3 C Milk - for a thinner sauce since I was using uncooked elbow macaroni

Add milk and whisk until smooth, stirring until it starts to thicken -

1 1/2 C shredded cheese - whatever I have in the fridge

Add to sauce and stir until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth.

Add 1/2 C diced ham - I used thin cut deli ham - it was good.

Mix sauce, and a little more than 1/2 a box (16 oz) of elbow macaroni. Set aside

1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs, 1 T butter and 5 or 6 small sage leaves 9 used fresh, so I would guess about a 1/4 t or less of dry.

Bake in a baking dish for about 45 minutes or until top is browned and bubbly.

Very good, I think maybe next time I would substitute some vegetarian broth for some of the milk.

I would make it again- I asked Jake for one word to describe it and he said, :delish".

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