Italian-American Mac & Cheese

(Cliccate qua per la versione italiana.)

Photo: garantitaly.com

Macaroni & cheese is a dish with great Italian-American potential!  Seeing as pasta and cheese are two ingredients of which Italians are worldwide experts, this dish can easily be elevated to a delicacy.

Beware of the more complicated recipes that require broth, flour, crème fraîche, onions, mustard ... No, you need pasta and cheese.  (OK, maybe a little Speck. If you happen to have it.)  

1 lb elbows
16 oz. half & half
cheeses
black pepper, freshly ground
a pinch of nutmeg, freshly ground
(for the baked version) breadcrumbs and parmigiano/pecorino, freshly grated

Now, for the cheeses:
* In America one uses cheddar, which when it is of a high quality (e.g., Cabot, but even Cracker Barrel is very good) is stupendous.
* I use one half cheddar and one half Swiss cheese. (What Americans call "Swiss cheese" is usually a type of Emmentaler.) Then, I use a little freshly shredded mozzarella or scamorza (but only a little — it's too stringy). 
* To substitute cheddar for Italian cheeses, it's not so easy.  It's important to understand which cheeses are not suitable.  The ones listed below you cannot use:
- very sharp or salty cheeses (pecorino, parmigiano, Auricchio provolone)
- very soft cheeses (ricotta, mascarpone)
- cheeses that are too particular-tasting (chèvre, gorgonzola, brie)

Therefore, the choices would be semisoft cheeses that melt well:

- Fontina
- Branzi
- Bitto
- Toma
- Asiago
- Taleggio
- Bel Paese
- Provola
- Caciocavallo
- a cheese from your hometown similar to the above

* Then, if you want to add a pinch of something more sharp or salty (parmigiano, pecorino, provolone), for a little extra flavor, it won't do any harm.

Now, the recipe is very simple: 
Boil the pasta in the normal way.  If you plan to eventually bake it in the oven, take the pasta out a minute or so before the normal cooking time.

While the pasta is cooking, slowly melt the cheeses in the half & half, nutmeg, and pepper, on a low flame.

Now, you have two choices: (1) Stovetop version: add the pasta to the pan containing the cheeses, and buon appetito! (2) Baked version: combine the slightly al dente pasta and the cheeses in a buttered baking pan, cover the top with a layer of breadcrumbs and parmigiano/pecorino, and bake uncovered at 375º for 25-30 minutes, until the cheeses bubble and the top is brown but not burnt.

Let it sit for a few minutes, to solidify a bit.

There is an advantage to preparing the first version, a gluttonous recipe that you can make with the leftovers: macaroni & cheese bites!

Recipe for Mac & cheese bites
Put the mac & cheese in a cold part of the refrigerator – until it's hard enough to hold together, but not so frozen and the knife can't cut it.  Remove from the fridge and cut it in cubes approximately 1 in³. Dip them in egg, then bread them. Put the breaded bites in the freezer.  When they are hard enough, fry them in oil. Monitor the temperature carefully – high enough to brown them, but not so high that the outside burns and the inside is still cold. This is a truly decadent recipe. I love it!

See also Hollow fusilli with five cheeses