Serves: 10 - 12

Ingredients

1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup Panko (Asian) breadcrumbs
1/3 cup All purpose flour or Whole Wheat Flour
3 cups milk
3 cups heavy cream
4 cups grated (1# piece) Fiscalini Old World Aged Cheddar Cheese
2 cups grated (8oz piece) Fiscalini San Joaquin Gold Cheese
2 cups grated (8oz piece) Fiscalini Lionza cheese
¼ Tbs. cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 pound elbow macaroni, (Can substitute Whole Grain), cooked al dente
(add a bit of olive oil to the cooking water to prevent sticking)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly coat or spray inside of a 3 quart casserole baking dish with olive oil. Set aside.

2. Melt ¼ stick butter in large saucepan. Add breadcrumbs and stir until thoroughly coated. Transfer breadcrumbs to bowl. Wipe out saucepan with paper towel, being careful not to burn fingers. Place back on low heat and melt remaining butter until in begins to bubble. Whisk in flour, stirring for about three minutes. In another saucepan, scald milk and cream; slowly pour into flour mixture, whisking until well blended. Continue whisking until sauce is smooth and begins to thicken (8-10 minutes). Remove from heat.

3. Mix three cheeses together with cayenne, salt and black pepper. Add about ¾ of cheese mixture to sauce, stirring until cheese is melted. Add cooled macaroni to sauce. (Taste to check if seasoning is correct). Pour into prepared casserole: top with remaining cheese and breadcrumbs. Bake 30 minutes or until bubbling. (If top doesn’t turn golden brown, place under broiler and watch carefully to finish the crust) Let casserole sit about 10 minutes, before serving.