Five Cheese Mac & Cheese

One of my friends has been raving about macaroni and cheese that is served at a local watering hole in Raleigh, North Carolina. She goes there just for the macaroni and cheese. All I know about it is that it's made with four cheeses. She has asked for the recipe, but they're not sharing. So when she came to visit recently, I made five cheese macaroni and cheese.

I didn't get it quite right. Not surprising when one considers the vast numbers of cheese available. Each one brings it's own distinctive taste to mac and cheese. When she tasted mine, she shared that the one she likes so much has ham in it. Aha. That would change the flavor. But, she said, that wasn't what she likes so much. It's supposedly very creamy. She thought that might be from sour cream. However, she liked my creation and especially liked that it wasn't as rich. I did use a triple cream cheese for some added creaminess, and I think that worked very nicely. The shredded cheeses together totaled about 2 1/2 cups of cheese.

When I was shopping for the cheese, I couldn't find plain old elbow pasta in the store. All kinds of fancy pasta, but no elbows. I finally went with Ancient Harvest's quinoa and corn blend elbow pasta. It happens to be gluten free. My tasters absolutely could not tell that it wasn't regular pasta. And believe me, they are picky about such things!

Krista's Five Cheese Mac & Cheese

8 ounces elbow pasta
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk (nonfat is okay)

.30 pound triple cream cheese (like Prince la Fontaine)
3/4 cup Comte
3/4 cup medium cheddar
3/4 cup goat Gouda
1/4 cup Apple smoked cheddar cheese

1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to directions. Preheat oven to 350. Slice the triple cream cheese and shred the other cheeses.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the garlic. Cook briefly until fragrant. Stir in the flour and add the milk. Stirring constantly, cook until thick and bubbly. Reduce the heat and add all cheeses except Parmesan. Cook and stir until the cheeses have melted. Remove from heat and add cooked pasta.

Pour into a 1 1/2 or 2 quart casserole. Top with Panko bread crumbs, then top with Parmesan.

Bake uncovered for 25 minutes.