Breaking my rule about Mac 'n Cheese

Allow me to apologize.....to myself. I've broken a rule in posting this recipe for Macaroni and Cheese because I'm a total purist and don't usually like 'stuff' in my mac 'n cheese that's not pasta and cheese and milk and ...you know. Anyway, I found this recipe and it sounds so good I had to post it regardless of the fact it's not REAL "Mac 'n Cheese" :-)

Ingredients:

8 slices bacon cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide strips

• 2 shallots chopped
• salt
• black pepper freshly ground
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 T all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 c whole milk
• 1 1/2 c heavy cream
• 6 ounces Gruyère cheese grated (about 1 1/2 cups lightly packed)
• 6 ounces Vermont white cheddar cheese grated (about 1 1/2 cups lightly packed)
• 1/2 c freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (about 2 ounces)
• 1 pound penne pasta or gemelli pasta
• 1 c shelled fresh English peas (from about 1 pound unshelled English pea pods)
• 2 T chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 3/4 c panko breadcrumbs
• 2 T unsalted butter melted

Directions

Cook the bacon in a heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat until golden brown about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels and reserve. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings.

Add the shallots to the bacon drippings. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and sauté until translucent about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the flour. Cook the flour for 1 minute stirring constantly.

Gradually whisk in the milk and cream. Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat about 10 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and gradually add the cheese stirring to blend.

Meanwhile bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the pasta in the boiling salted water for 8 minutes stirring often to prevent it from sticking. Add the peas and continue boiling until the pasta is tender but still very firm to the bite and the peas are bright green and crisp-tender about 1 minute. Drain the pasta and peas.

Stir the bacon into the cheese sauce.

Stir the pasta and peas into the cheese sauce. The sauce will look loose but will continue to thicken once the pasta is added. If the sauce begins to thicken too much add more milk or cream to thin it to the desired consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Butter 8 individual 6-inch-diameter casserole dishes or one 2 1/2-quart casserole dish. Transfer the pasta to the buttered casserole dishes.

Sprinkle the parsley over the pasta mixture then stir some of it into the pasta mixture.

Preheat the broiler. In a small mixing bowl toss the breadcrumbs with the melted butter to coat well. Season with salt and sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly over the pasta.

Broil until the topping is golden brown watching closely about 2 minutes.

Let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving.

Visit http://curtisstone.com

I don't know who Curtis Stone is, but I like to credit the people I find good stuff from!
I hope one of you makes this....maybe I will soon.

As some of you know from my politics blog, I did mention that I made Alton Brown's macaroni and cheese last week for six girlfriends.......they LOVED it. Well, I'll be blogging that recipe soon (made it again for an event tomorrow, as a matter of fact) but wanted to post this as a 'teaser'!!
ENJOY!

Z