Thanksgiving Mac & Cheese

That isn't a tradition for us, or anything. My dad called a few days ago and asked if I wanted to bring anything to Thanksgiving dinner, and I decided on mac and cheese. We actually just made this for the work potluck two days ago, so we already had all the ingredients! This time, Ollie wanted to share the recipe with everyone.

Step One

Step One: Get a pot of water boiling for your pasta. Boil a 1/2 pound of pasta (we use rotini because it holds the cheese so well in its little ridges) according to package instructions and drain. Also, preheat the oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet (with raised edges!) with foil and parchment paper, and lay bacon in a single layer. When the oven is ready, bake bacon for 15 minutes, then check on it. (We usually let it cook another 5 minutes but I like to check it at 15 just in case.)

Step Two

Step Two: Look at that beautiful bacon! Sneak a piece because nobody else is up yet, and it just smells so good... plus, this is about twice as much bacon as we actually need. Let it cool for a minute, then layer paper towels and bacon to pat the grease off it. Then chop the bacon into little pieces. It will be going in our crispy topping!

Step Three

Step Three: Speaking of our crispy topping, it's time to make the rest of that! In a small pan, melt 1 Tbsp of butter. Add 1/4 cup of panko crumbs and stir to coat with the butter. Add Parmesan (I usually add almost 1/4 cup) and stir well. When it's almost all toasted, add garlic powder to match your personal tastes, and finish toasting. Turn off the heat and add the chopped bacon. Let it sit on the side until later.

Step Four

Step Four: By now, your pasta has finished cooking and been drained. Hang on to that pot! Melt 1/4 cup butter in it. Then add 1/4 cup flour and whisk well to remove large lumps. Slowly add 2 cups milk, stirring as you go. Let the milk mixture warm for a couple minutes (not boil!). Add 3 cups shredded cheese (we have 2 cups Italian mix - Provolone, mozzarella, Gouda, and Parmesan - and 1 cup sharp Cheddar here, my favorite combo) one handful at a time, stirring to let each melt before adding the next. When the cheese is all melted, add the pasta back to the pot and stir to coat.

Step Five

Step Five: Pour the now-cheesy pasta into a baking dish (mine is an 8" square metal pan and it fits PERFECTLY) and top with the panko/Parmesan/garlic/bacon topping. Bake at 350F for 5-10 minutes (it should be starting to bubble around the edges when you take it out). Let it cool before posing any LVs with it for photos.

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!