3 strips of good bacon. (I used Maple Bacon because I like the smell/flavor)
Kosher salt 2 cups elbow macaroni 1 1/2 cups milk 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 small cloves of garlic, chopped (the smaller the clove, the more intense the flavor)
6 oz. shredded Monterey Jack 6 oz. parmesano reggiano ? oz. smoked fontina --just say 6 oz. I guess 6 oz. White Cheddar Panko Bread crumbs
--Boiling the Mac First get your water boiling and add a big pinch of kosher salt to the water. Cover the pot to get the water going. You add the mac after the water boils. Be sure to use enough water to cover the macaroni by at least 2 inches. If you don't,
your mac will stick to itself. Now add the maceroni to the boiling water and stir immediately so they don't stick to each other. Boil the mac for 7 minutes on medium high uncovered constantly making sure they don't stick to the pot or each other. You want
al dente noodles because they're getting cooked a second time in the oven. 7 min for me on my stove gets me al dente.
Once your noodles are done, take them off the stove, drain them in a strainer and run cold water over the noodles to stop the cooking. If you don't your noodles will lose the al dente state and continue cooking to the mushy state. The Bacon-- cook the bacon
in a pan until crispy. Reserve the drippings for the rue or discard.
-The Rue You can make the rue using the two tablespoons of butter but I usually use the bacon drippings. Either one tastes delicious. So yeah, go with 2 tablespoons of the fat of your choice. For this recipe I'll call out the butter. Melt the butter in a *saucepan
and heat until the butter turns slightly brown and begins to bubble. Add the chopped garlic and cook until slightly tender. When you get it to that point, whisk in the flour. If there are lumps, just keep whisking. It will seem like it's sticking to the bottom
of the pan (and it is) don't worry, just keep whisking. Once your flour turns slighly brown (about 2 minutes) slowly whisk in the milk. If you whisk it in too quickly you will cool off your rue and it will be lumpy. Another way to avoid this is to microwave
the milk for a minute to warm it up--but still whisk in slowly. Once all the flour is whisked smoothly into the milk and butter, keep the heat on and stir the rue until it becomes the consistancy of paint. *use a saucepan because the cheese will be added
to the rue and a regular pan won't be able to handle the amount of cheese. -Cheese Sauce Chop ahead of time or crumble the bacon into the rue. Slowly add the cheeses to the rue constantly stirring. The only cheese to reserve is some of the Parm. At this
point, you can add whatever herbs you want. Maybe parsley, sage or whatever. I just use fresh ground black pepper and a little chili powder and smoked paprika. Just a little! --Bring it together In a large Pot or metal bowl, mix the drained noodles and the
hot cheese sauce. Transfer the mixture to a large casserole dish. (a round dish prevents hotspots/burning) For the topping, sprinkle with panko and reserved parm. Bake at 350 until the top turns golden brown.
