Four-Cheese Pasta

[eelo]

This is a killer mac-n-cheese recipe.

Four-Cheese Pasta
(or, Killer Mac and Cheese)

5 cups uncooked penne pasta (16 oz)
½ cup butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
4-1/2 cups milk
1 cup shredded provolone cheese (4 oz)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (4 oz)
½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese (not the grated kind in the can)
½ cup shredded fontina cheese (2 oz)
1/3 cup fresh parsley
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 cup panko bread crumbs (the Japanese kind)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13x9-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. Cook and drain pasta as directed on package.

Meanwhile, in 4-quart saucepan or Dutch oven, melt ½ cup butter over low heat. Add garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring frequently. With wire whisk, stir in flour and salt until smooth. Increase heat to medium; cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in cheeses. Cook until melted, stirring occasionally. Stir in pasta and parsley into cheese sauce. Pour mixture into baking dish.

In 6-inch skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat; stir in bread crumbs. Cook and stir until crumbs are golden brown. Sprinkle over pasta mixture.

Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly.

Yield: 6 servings (1-1/2 cups each)

******************************************
This is a good mixture of cheeses for a killer mac. If you wanted, you could cut the different cheeses and use 2-1/2 cups of cheddar cheese, but the other cheeses add good flavor (especially provolone).

A 4-quart saucepan or Dutch oven is a large pot with a lid (the kind I make turkey soup or boil noodles in)

I always add chicken bouillon to the water when I make pasta or rice. It adds an interesting flavor. For a large pot of noodles, I drop in about 5 chicken bouillon cubes.

[Elizabeth]

I am soooo trying this! I dunno if I can find those specific bread crumbs at our Commy? Can I use Italian?

[eelo]

Originally Posted by Elizabeth I am soooo trying this! I dunno if I can find those specific bread crumbs at our Commy? Can I use Italian?

Your commissary probably has those bread crumbs. They'd be in the Asian foods section. They're a little bigger and drier, and they're usually used for tempura or things like that. Describing them, I'd say they look like the little shards of plate when you drop a Corelle platter on a ceramic tile floor. ;-)

If not the commissary, try an Asian or Oriental grocery. I don't think Italian crumbs would work as well because the size, taste and texture are completely different. But hey, use what ya got, and maybe you'll come up with a different recipe!

[truzbabygirl]

That sound sooooooo yummy!!! LOL but if one eats that.. wow.. they better not eat for the rest of the day!! All that ooooie gooieeeeee nummy n the tummy cheese!! YUM!

[Rain.]

That sounds so delicious

[SarahElizabeth]

That sounds amazing...

[Elizabeth]

Originally Posted by eelo Your commissary probably has those bread crumbs. They'd be in the Asian foods section. They're a little bigger and drier, and they're usually used for tempura or things like that. Describing them, I'd say they look like the little shards of plate when you drop a Corelle platter on a ceramic tile floor. ;-) If not the commissary, try an Asian or Oriental grocery. I don't think Italian crumbs would work as well because the size, taste and texture are completely different. But hey, use what ya got, and maybe you'll come up with a different recipe!

I live in Italy and our commy is pretty dang small, but I will check. We have a tiny asian food section, hopefully it will be there.

[sailors.love]

this sounds so yummy... mmmm

[Alisha]

Yummy! It's hard to go wrong with cheese and pasta.