Truffled Macaroni Cheese

One of the things I miss the most while living in Turkey is cheddar cheese. It's not impossible to find here...but you'll end up spending about your entire paycheck for that really awful, dyed orange cheddar. That's just not worth it. Luckily I have friends who love me and the last time E was in the US she brought back a TWO pound brick of extra sharp white cheddar for me.

2 pounds!! There was happy dancing.

Kasar, cheddar, and Parmesan

What do you do to thank the friend who brings you two pounds of cheese? Make macaroni cheese of course! Macaroni cheese is the most amazing comfort food. It could only have been better if I'd had some friend chicken too. Preferably made by Lauren. Lauren makes amazing friend chicken. You will not be surprised to learn that I have a high cholesterol count. A few years ago my doctor told me to stay away from cheeses, cream, greasy and fatty foods etc. I was all: "No. No just give me some drugs please and I'll either eat a lot of oatmeal with the drugs or will die young but happy and full of cheese." Give up cheese. There's laughing in my head.

This turned out pretty well if I do say so. While I add nutmeg I'm not really sure why; just seems to work. Baking it at the end both keeps it warm for serving and has the added advantage of crisping up the top layer of pasta for texture. Even after all the cheddar I've eaten and making this batch of macaroni cheese...I just might have enough cheddar left to make it again!

*Nom nom* I really should have made more. The recipe made enough for four of us to each have a very generous bowl and with a side salad no one went hungry...but I totally would have eaten more after my gusts left had there been any more!

Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons truffle oil
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 3 Tablespoons flour
• 1 Teaspoon sea or table salt
• 2 Teaspoons truffle salt (optional)
• 1 Teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 Teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
• 1 Cup milk
• 1 Cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 Cup grated mild cheese (I used kasar but Fontina would be great)
• 1/2 Cup grated Parmesan
• 1 Package pasta of your choice

Instructions: 

1. Cook pasta as per the package directions.
2. While pasta is cooking, heat a stock pot or deep sauce pan over medium heat. Combine oil, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and flour and whisk until a thick paste forms. 
3. Reduce the heat to low, whisk in half the milk until a paste forms; then whisk in remaining milk. 
4. Add the cheeses, reserving half the Parmesan, whisking thoroughly and add truffle salt (if using) to taste. I find that the flavor is usually more mild than I expect it to be.
5. Combine with drained pasta.
6. Optional last step: pour macaroni cheese into a baking dash, sprinkle the remaining Parmesan on top, and bake near the top of the oven (or broil) at about 250F for 10-15 minutes. Gives you time to prepare a salad if you're pretending to care about health.