4cupsgrated cheesecombination of cheddar & gouda or gouda & Swiss
1small red onion
1/4cbutter
1/4cflour
4cmilk
1TbWorcestershire Sauce
1bay leaf
1/2teaspoonnutmeg
1/2teaspoonsalt
1/2teaspoonpepper
1teaspoondry mustard
about 1/2 cup softfresh bread crumbs
Instructions
To begin, grate your cheeses. I used half Sharp Cheddar and half Gouda. You could use cheddar & Swiss, or any combination you choose. Just please use real cheese. We are really trying to move away from blue & yellow boxes here.
Mix your cheeses together and set aside about 1 1/2 cup.
Dice up the onion. While you are cooking the sauce, go ahead and start the water for your pasta. Heat your oven to 375.
In a saucepan, melt the butter and toss in the onions, letting them cook in the butter until they are just tender.
When your water is ready, start cooking your pasta. I used Cavatappi, but you can use regular Macaroni or any similar pasta.
When the onions are tender, whisk in the flour. When the mixture is bubbly, whisk in the whole milk. Add in the Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and dry mustard.
Continually stir and cook this over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Then remove the pan from the heat, but stir for another minute or so, as you don't want it to scald on the bottom of the hot pan.
Then begin stirring in your grated cheese, melting it into the sauce. When your pasta is done cooking, strain it and pour it into a heat-safe bowl.
When all of your cheese is melted into the sauce (minus the portion you set aside) discard the bay leaf, pour the sauce into the pasta and give it a stir. Ladle the mixture into 8 ramekins. (If you don't want to do this, you can pour it all into a 9x13 baking pan.) Top with the reserved cheese. And the final touch, top with some fresh bread crumbs.
Into the oven!
Bake these for 20-25 minutes or until they are bubbly and the crumbs begin to get golden. Enjoy!
Notes
This can also be made in a 9 x 13 baking dish instead of the ramekins.