Spicy Mac 'n Cheese

Yesterday I was asked by my amazing friend to post the recipe for "that mac 'n cheese from the slideshow!" I'm glad someone asked because I probably would have waited until I made it again to post the recipe. It's really easy, and we loooved the spicy version of mac 'n cheese.

This past winter I kept telling the other blogger how much I wanted to make my own mac 'n cheese. I grew up eating Kraft, and although I love it, I wanted to make my own. I found this Sunny Anderson recipe on foodnetwork.com. We used a different technique than she did, but it came out very well regardless.



Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
2 cups pasta, cooked until almost al dente (we used cavatappi - the large spiral pasta)
16 ounces Cheddar cheese, 1/2 cubed, 1/2 shredded
8 ounces Monterey pepper jack cheese, cubed
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
4 tablespoons sour cream
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup half-and-half
Bread crumbs
1 tablespoon butter

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cut 1/2 of the chedder cheese and all the montery pepper jack cheese into smaller cubes, so they melt quicker.
3. Cook the pasta al dente. Drain and put in your baking dish.
4. In a large bowl mix together the flour, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, dry mustard, nutmeg and sour cream, egg, heavy cream and half-and-half.
5. Heat a large saucepan over the stove to medium/medium-low heat. In the saucepan, combine the last mix of ingredients with the cheese cubes.  Stir until mixture is smooth.
6. Pour cheese mixture over the pasta and cover with shredded Cheddar (we always add more cheese than called for when it's a topping).
7. Bake uncovered until top is just beginning to brown, about 35 minutes.
8. Sprinkle the bread crumbs on top of the macaroni and cheese and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes more.