Mac & Cheese and the End of Summer

While Labor Day signals the unofficial end of summer, my memories of September are filled with mild mornings & evenings and warm, sunny days that extend through the majority of the month.  Based on the past couple days here in New York, I wonder if my memories might be a little hazy, and maybe they're more wishful thinking that anything else.  As Labor Day weekend came to an end earlier this week, it feels like the last days of summer left along with it.  Face-warming, sunny, 80-degree days have been quickly been replaced with a few dreary, rainy days with the temperature barely climbing to 65.

I didn't expect this to happen to fast!  Does summer usually up and leave so suddenly?  I can't remember.  What's more unexpected though, is how much I love this change!  Instead of pining for a few more summer days, my excitement for all things autumn has been growing by the minute.  In fact, it feels like autumn can't get here fast enough.

I'm looking forward to pushing my flip flops to the back of the closet and dusting off my boots, packing away my shorts and returning to my staple "uniform" of leggings, tunics, long sweaters and tall boots....ahhhh.  I look forward to grabbing a scarf off the back of the door as I rush out of the apartment in the morning.  I love the cool, crisp air, the smell of falling leaves and of course all things apple and pumpkin (especially these!).  I can't wait to start my mornings with pumpkin spice coffee and pumpkin oatmeal.  Maybe this year I'll add pupmpkin scones to the line up...yum. 

Way back, when I started this blog, I promised one of my faithful readers (also a fellow triathlete and sweet-tooth) a good mac & cheese recipe.  It might take a while sometimes, but ask and you shall receive.  A cool, rainy day, like today, feels like a great time to dive into a rich, gooey bowl of mac & cheese.


This mac & cheese starts off with a classic bechamel sauce recipe, to which a generous amount of cheese is added, making it a creamy mornay sauce....mmmm.  Toss it with your pasta, bake in the oven until it's bubbly and golden and you have yourself a velvety, rich, delicious, French-inspired mac & cheese.

Print Recipe

Mac & Cheese

Serves 2 as an entree

1/2 pound (1/2 box) pasta

2 tablespoons butter 

2 tablespoons flour

2 cups whole milk, at room temperature

pinch of cayenne pepper

pinch of nutmeg

salt & pepper, to taste

1/2 cup gruyere

1/2 cup white cheddar

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook until al dente.  Drain pasta and set aside.

To start to the sauce, make a roux, by melting the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat.  When the butter is fully melted, add the flour and stir thoroughly to combine.  Cook the roux for 1-2 minutes, until it resembles wet sand.  The mixture should not obtain any color.  Remove from the heat.

Slowly add the milk to the roux, whisking well.  Return the pan to the heat and bring to a boil (this will thicken the mixture).  Once the mixture has come to a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring often.  Season with cayenne pepper, nutmeg, salt & pepper.

Stir in the cheese, and whisk until melted.

Combine the pasta and cheese in a heavy bottom ceramic dish.  Top with panko breadcrumbs.  Bake, uncovered, until the top s golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Enjoy!