non-boxed comfort

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
Serves 8 after a mere 20 minutes prep time plus 1 hour and 40 minutes in the oven!! Also freezes will for those of you who are pre-planners for the sole reason that at some future date you will not have to pre-plan. If you are such a person, simply freeze in portion-sized OVEN SAFE (I made that mistake once...) containers. If you're more a "I'm-hungry-and-want-my-mac-and-cheese-now-and-only-now" kind of person, follow the recipe and then bake the last 20/30 minutes uncovered until golden and bubbling.

1 pound macaroni or other smallish pasta
Coarse salt
6 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 cups shredded sharp white cheddar cheese (12 ounces)
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (2 ounces)
3 cups very coarse fresh breadcrumbs

1. Cook pasta (if you don't know how to do this, stop now). Drain, rinse, and return to pot.
2. Meanwhile, heat 4 tbsp butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour; whisk for 1 minute. Add milk, cayenne, nutmeg, and 2 teaspoons salt; bring to a simmer...but never a boil. Cook/whisk until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (2-3 minutes). Whisk in cheeses until smooth. Give the past a nice bath in the cheese. Put in baking dish(s).
3. Melt remaining butter (2 tbsp) and toss with breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over pasta. (Now, if you're the freezing type, pack up your dinners and freeze 'em.)
4. Preheat oven to 375° and put the dish (frozen or unfrozen). Cover with foil and bake until bubbling - 60-70 minutes for large dishes, 40-50 minutes for small dishes. Remove foil and continue baking until the top is golden.