Love is a Bowl of Cheese [baking sheet macaroni and cheese]

Love is a lot of things, depending on whom you ask.  According to Peanuts, it’s walking hand in hand.  And if you could ask Andy Williams, he’d tell you it’s a many splendored thing.  Anna would burst into song, letting you know that love is open door (and to be honest, dear readers, I’d do that too, especially if you were riding in the car with me).  But the other night, for AGOMYR and me, love was a bowl of cheese.

She sketched this while were cooking dinner.  Shouldn’t she branch out into Sharpie-lettering?

As I was tagging AGOMYR in Food 52’s Instagram of this recipe, she was tagging me.  That’s the kind of connection we share.

So after work one evening, we got together in the name of all things cheesy.  We boiled water, cooked noodles, and grated 24 ounces of cheese.  24.  Ounces.  Of cheese!

This recipe is amazing.  It takes no time at all to make, and it produces a vast quantity of macaroni and cheese.  She and I had seconds, my husband had an initial portion that was equal to both of ours, and we’ve still got leftovers.  And, oh, the crispy cheese.  Because it bakes with more surface area there’s almost a 1:1 ratio of creamy sauce to crunchy cheese.  And that’s perfect.  Get this on your dinner table this week.

To make macaroni and cheese for a crowd, you will need:

 

• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 12 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
• 12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
• 1 pound pasta spirals (or other small shape)
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• Salt
• 2/3 cup whole milk

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.  Use butter to grease a rimmed 11 x 17 baking sheet.  Combine the grated cheeses and set aside a heaping 2 C for topping (this is the crunchy part).

Cook pasta for 6 minutes, and drain.  Combine with the cheeses, cayenne, salt, and milk.  Spread on baking sheet, and top with reserved cheese, and another sprinkling of cayenne if you’re feeling spicy.

Bake until golden and crisp, about 15 minutes, and serve immediately.