Au Gratin Mac and Cheese

I’ve been craving some bougie macaroni and cheese lately. *Very kid-friendly!*

The best mac and cheese I’ve ever had was at Chef de France in the France Pavillian at Epcot, however they have taken it off the menu. Lordt only knows why??? It was really the only thing my kids ate at that restaurant, we went one time with it off the menu and I don’t know if we’ll ever return. wahhh.

That being said, I found a copycat recipe on an old blog from 2014 and decided to take my own spin on the dish. The important ingredient here is nutmeg. Do NOT skip this ingredient, and if you don’t have some already, purchase some on your next outing. It’s a strong spice so a little goes a long way, but it’s very important to the overall taste of this dish.

WARNING: this will not last! Serve it as the main course or as a side to steak or beef tips.

Let me know if you give this recipe a whirl. And don’t forget to subscribe to my blog for daily M-F recipe inspo!

AU GRATIN MAC & CHEESE

COOK TIME: 15 MINUTES
PREP TIME: 20 MINUTES
TOTAL TIME: 45 MINUTES
SERVES: 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

• Box of rigatoni or macaroni noodles, for this recipe I like the rigatoni noodles best
• 3 cups whole milk
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup flour
• ½ teaspoon of nutmeg
• ⅓ cup heavy cream
• 2 cups shredded gruyère cheese
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper – to taste
• Fresh parsley for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400°
2. Cook noodles al dente, or slightly underdone, drain and set aside
3. While noodles cook, heat milk in a small saucepan over medium heat, set aside
4. Melt butter in a medium saucepan, add flour to melted butter and stir rapidly for about a minute until mixture is thick and brown
5. Slowly whisk in warm milk, add nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste and cook on medium/low heat for about 5 minutes until thick
6. Add heavy cream and half of the gruyère cheese, stir until cheese is melted
7. Add noodles to sauce
8. Pour cheesy noodles into the large greased baking dish and top with remaining gruyère and parmesan cheese
9. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese begins to boil and brown
10. Serve warm with steak or your choice of protein!