How to Make Four Cheese Macaroni

Here’s one of my favorite dishes for a cold, winter day… Mac ’n Cheese done up with some special cheeses. Enjoy!

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• 1 lb. macaroni
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 4 tbs. (½ stick butter)
• 4 tbs. all-purpose flour
• 2 ½ cups milk
• ½ tsp. salt
• pepper to taste
• ½ lb. fontina cheese, cut up
• ¾ cup Parmesan (freshly grated is lovely but we do what we can…)
• pinch of grated nutmeg (again, fresh is nice, but I understand if you use the little spice bottle kind)
• 1 ½ cups ricotta
• ½ lb. mozzarella, thinly sliced
• pinch of cayenne pepper

1. Boil large pot of water, add salt and olive oil.
2. Butter a baking dish.
3. Cook pasta three or four minutes until it’s al dente (firm but not mushy), then drain in colander.
4. Meanwhile, as the pasta cooks, melt the butter in medium sauce pan.
5. Add the flour to the butter, stirring until a paste is formed. Continue to cook and stir for two minutes.
6. Slowly add the milk ¼ cup at a time, whisking out the lumps.
7. When all the milk is added, cook and stir without boiling until the mixture is thick, about four minutes. Add the salt and pepper as you go.
8. Blend in the fontina, ½ cup of the Parmesan and the pinch of nutmeg.
9. Combine this cheese sauce with the macaroni.
10. Layer the buttered baking dish in this order:
    Half of the ricotta on the bottom.
    Half of the macaroni next.
    Then all of the mozzarella.
    Repeat layers with the remaining ricotta and macaroni.
11. Sprinkle the top with remaining Parmesan cheese and a little cayenne pepper.
12. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. It serves six hungry diners.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure your baking dish is large enough.
• A little cayenne pepper goes a long way.