Five Cheese Macaroni and Cheese

Five Cheese Mac -N -Cheese

This recipe is a stepped-up version of my old favorite Baked Velveeta Macaroni and Cheese.  While I still use some Velveeta I have added four other smooth melting cheeses of a richer taste.  Here I am using Gruyere, Gouda, Fontina, Cheddar, and Velveeta.   Other good cheeses would be Asiago, Colby, Monterey Jack, or Havarti. I wanted a little crunch on the top so I topped it with toasted Panko bread crumbs, crisp fried bacon, and sliced green onions. For a smoky flavor you can use a smoked cheese here I am using a smoked Gouda, but you could also use smoked Fontina or Smoked Gruyere.

As a general rule when creating a good Mac-n-Cheese keep these proportions in mind.
For each pound of uncooked macaroni use, 2 cups of cream, 1/4 cup of unsalted butter, and 1 to 1.25 lbs of cheese.  

The Ingredients 

1/4 lb of bacon

2 cups Heavy Cream 

1/4 cup unsalted Butter (1/2 of a stick)

4 oz Fontina

4 oz Gruyere

4 oz Gouda (for this recipe I found a Smoked Gouda with Bacon)

4 oz Velveeta

4 oz Cheddar cheese

1 lb Pasta (here I used Penne and large Elbow Macaroni)

1 cup Panko 

3 Green onions

Mixing and Preparation 

Fry the bacon until crisp, save the bacon fat.

Grate or cube the Fontina, Gruyere, Gouda and Velveeta cheeses and combine. 

Heat the butter and milk in a large saucepan over medium heat. In small batches add the first four cheeses to the milk and butter mix until thoroughly melted.

Cook the pasta according to the package directions.

Grate the Cheddar Cheese.

Combine the pasta and cheese sauce, pour the Cheese sauce into a baking dish approximately 9X12 inches.

Top with the grated cheddar cheese.

Toast the panko bread crumbs in a frying pan with 2 tablespoons of bacon fat until lightly brown.

Slice the green onions.

Combine the Panko, Bacon.  The evenly sprinkle on top of the Mac-N-Cheese.
Top with Sliced Green Onions

Bake in a 350° oven  for 30 minutes.