Oktoberfest 2012 What a Party

Another great Falcon's party into the history books.  There was great beer, great music and great friends. 

I have had many a request for the mac&cheese recipe.  Here it is:

Mac & Cheese

2 tbs butter

2 tbs flour

2 cup heavy cream

1 tsp Coleman’s dry mustard or 2 tsp Sierra Nevada mustard

1 or 2 bay leaf

salt & pepper

hot sauce (Tabasco, Frank’s, etc), to taste

2# cheese (sharp cheddar, gruyere, parmesan, mozzarella)

Make your roux by melting the butter in a sauce pan, then whisk in the flour to form a paste.  Let the flour cook for a minute or 2 on medium heat until it turns blonde.  Add the cream and whisk to combine.  Bring to a boil, add the mustard, bay leaf, hot sauce and salt & pepper.  If the sauced becomes too thick, add more cream. 

Whisk in the cheese and allow to melt.  Add the cheese a handful at a time to make a smooth and creamy sauce.   Mix into your cooked pasta an d put into a casserole dish.  Top with Panko breadcrumbs and shredded parmesan.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Enjoy.

I usually use penne, shells or elbow pasta. 

Variations:

Add 1 package frozen broccoli or 1 bunch asparagus chopped (a great way to get kids to eat veggies)

Add 1 package spinach, 1# cooked and diced chicken, 3 rashers bacon, cooked and chopped. 

Add 2 shallotts chopped and sauteed, 1# cooked and chopped chicken, 1/2# diced ham and serve with a buerre blanc sauce (Chicken Cordon Blue mac & cheese)