Ina Garten's Macaroni and Cheese (GrownUp Mac and Cheese)

Ingredients:
Kosher salt to taste
veggie oil (I use EVOO)
1 pound of pasta, you choose the shape, prepared to package directions

Mean while:

12 oz, Gruyere cheese, I substituted aged Swiss as the Gruyere is about $20.00 a pound at HyVee
8 oz. sharp cheddar

Grate both of these, use your food processor. Set aside.


1 qrt whole milk, In a sauce pan large enough to contain it. Don't boil it just heat it

In a large stock pot;
6 Tbsp butter melted
1/2 C. flour
1 Tbsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg, OK, I grated it in from the whole seed, smells wounderful
Whisk this until smooth, Cook this about 2 minutes, just enough to cook the flour

Add in the milk and stir continually until the mixture thickens and is smooth.

Off heat, add in that cheese that you worked so hard to grate. Stir until the cheese is melted and well blended.

Add in the drained cooked pasta.

Pour the whole mess into a 9x13 baking dish or a 3 quart baking dish.

4 Roma tomatoes, washed and slices evenly. Arrange these slices over the top of the mac and cheese.

Back at the food processor, you don't need to wash it until you are done.

5 slices of bread chunked up and ran through the processor to make fresh bread crumbs, pour them it a bowl
 2 Tbsp of butter, melted and poured over the top of the bread crumbs
1/3 C. grated parmesan cheese

Mix well and spread evenly over the tomato topped Mac and Cheese.

About here I would add that a bit of Sweet Basil would hit a sweet note with all of this but I didn't think of it until just this minute, darn.
Bake at 375 for 35 minutes.

This makes a pretty full 9x13 so you might want to use a cookie sheet under it and save your oven.