grown-up mac and cheese

Mom's homemade mac and cheese is her most requested menu item when we go home.  It's not complicated or fancy, but like the chocolate sheet cake, there's no real recipe that exists.

I've tried to make it a few times, using this poor excuse for a recipe that's wasting space in my recipe box, but it's just the biggest let-down for me.  My attempts have not been mom-honoring.

None will ever replace Mom's, but I love some mac and cheese, and can't in good conscience continue to massacre her un-recipe.

There are a gazillion mac and cheese variations out there.  I've tried simple ones, and I've tried harder ones.  I've tried ones with gourmet cheeses, and I've tried ones with four cheeses.  I've tried stove-top versions, and I've tried oven-baked versions.

This one is not too heavy, very simple, and has the best topping that gives it the perfect crunch.

Grown-Up Mac and Cheese

1 lb. small shell pasta
4 Tbsp. butter
8 oz. heavy whipping cream
8 oz. Fontina cheese, grated*
Salt, to taste
Fresh nutmeg
1/3 c. panko bread crumbs
1/4 c. Parmesan Reggiano cheese, grated

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
 
2. Cook your pasta, 1-2 minutes shy of al dente.  Drain.
 
3. Dice the butter, and set in the bottom of a large bowl.  Pour the hot, drained pasta into the bowl and toss to coat with the butter.
 
4. Heat the cream in the microwave for about one minute.  Pour over the pasta.
 
5. Add the Fontina cheese and stir until the cheese begins to melt.  Season with salt and a few grates of the fresh nutmeg, until it tastes great to you!
 
6. Pour pasta into a greased 9 x 13 pan.
 
7. In a separate bowl, mix the panko crumbs and the Parmesan Reggiano cheese.  Add EVOO until you get a nice crumbly texture (about 4-5 tablespoons, maybe?), and use the mixture to top your pasta.
 
8. Spray the top with cooking spray, so it will turn pretty and golden in the oven, and bake for about 20 minutes.  You'll see that cream bubbling up on the sides and in the bottom.
 
9. Enjoy immediately!

*This recipe made a big deal about making sure the Fontina cheese was Italian.  Mine was made in Wisconsin.  I'm sure it's great either way!  And, in honor of Mom, I went with the "you can never have too much cheese" philosophy and just grated up a whole wedge's worth.  I have no idea how much was there.

Cheers to comfort food, y'all.  Who says you have to wait for cold weather?