Homemade Mac and Cheese – Bacon a Fuoco

For the cheese sauce: Heat the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the flour into the melted butter and whisk until a roux has formed. Once a roux has formed, slowly add the milk, and continue to whisk. When the mixture comes to a simmer, add the grated cheeses in parts. Stir slowly to keep the mixture moving, preventing it from burning. Add a pinch of sea salt and some ground black pepper to taste.

In the meantime, boil the pasta in a large pot with the olive oil added to the water to keep the shells from sticking.

When the cheese sauce has thickened, remove it from the heat. Stir the sauce occasionally as your pasta boils to keep it from forming a film on top.

When it’s done drain the pasta, rinse it and pour it into a large baking dish (I used a deep 9×12 dish). Pour the cheese sauce on top, add the hot peppers and bacon, then stir until ingredients are evenly distributed.

With the oven set to a low broil, place the baking dish on the top rack and broil until cheese bubbles and, if you want, until it browns on top and forms a bit of a crust. I stress that you stand next to the oven and watch the dish very carefully, because broilers can burn your food quite easily. Every broiler is different, but I kept mine in for approximately 5-7 minutes. This may be different for you, so be careful.

I prefer using the broiler as opposed to the oven because it’s a quick zap of heat to the top of the dish as opposed to an evenly distributed heat that dries out the entire dish. I don’t know about you, but I like my mac ’n cheese thick and creamy!

This serves well as a side or as a main dish.