Cowgirls' Classic Mac & Cheese with Wagon Wheel & Bacon
This recipe features our own Wagon Wheel cheese. We like to make this with the wheel-shaped pasta called rotelle. Bacon makes it even better, as bacon always does. - Sue Conley & Peggy Smith (Co-Founders)
Ingredients
Serves 6 to 8| 1 tbsp | Kosher Salt |
| 1 Ib | Large rotelle pasta |
| 8 tbsp | Unsalted butter |
| 1/2 cup(s) | All-purpose flour |
| 4 cup(s) | Whole milk, at room temperature |
| 1 1/2 Ibs | Coarsely shredded Wagon Wheel cheese |
| 8 oz | Coarsely shreedded sharp white Cheddar |
| 5 slice(s) | Bacon, diced, fried crips, and drained |
| 1/2 tsp. | Ground white pepper |
| 1/2 tsp. | Freshly ground nutmeg |
| 1/2 tsp. | Mustard poweder (such as Colman's) |
| 1 cup(s) | Fresh bread crumbs |
| 4 | Medium red heirloom tomatoes, cored and sliced |
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375F. Butter a 3-qt baking dish.
- Bring an extra-large pot of water to boiling. Stir in the salt and rotelle. Cook pasta until it's just shy of being tender, 6 to 7 minutes. Drain well.
- In a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat, melt 6 tbsps of the butter. When the butter is bubbly and fragrant, whisk in the flour to form a smooth paste. Cook, whisking, until the mixture turns golden, 2 to 3 minutes. While still whisking, slowly pour in the milk. Whisk over the heat until the mixture thickens and bubbles, another 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- With a wooden spoon, stir in both cheeses, the bacon, pepper, nutmeg, and mustard powder. Add the cooked pasta: mix well but gently.
- Melt the remaining 2 tbsp butter in a small pan, remove from the heat, and combine with the bread crumbs. Set aside.
- Transfer the cheese mixture to the prepared baking dish. Arrange the sliced tomatoes in wagon-wheel fashion over the top of the pasta mixture. Sprinkle with the buttered bread crumbs.
- Bake, uncovered, until the top is a nice golden brown and bubbling on the edges, 30 to 35 minutes. Let the dish cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
