Death Row Dinner
While surfing food blogs one day, I came upon a site devoted to last meals served to prisoners on death row and it got me thinking about what I would (hypothetically, of course) request for my last meal. When I was a child my birthday dinner request was always pork chops. I remember telling my mother that when I grew up I would eat pork chops for dinner every night. I don’t eat them every night, but my go-to comfort meal is macaroni and cheese, grilled thick-cut pork chops, and my guilty pleasure, canned spinach.
Creamy Cheesy Macaroni
Ingredients
- 8 oz. pasta (I suggest corkscrew, elbow, or campanelle
- 1-1/2 cups low fat milk
- 1/2 cup regular cream
- 2 Tbs. butter
- 2 Tbs. flour
- Dash of ground nutmeg
- Dash of Tabasco sauce
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1-1/2 cups shredded Irish Cheddar cheese (1/2 cup reserved for topping)
- 1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (1/2 cup reserved for topping)
- 2 Tbs. grated parmesan cheese
- 1 Tbs. dry bread crumbs
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Melt butter in sauce pan over low heat. Add flour and stir until smooth.
- Turn the heat to medium and start adding milk slowly, whisking.
- Simmer, whisking, until it begins to thicken. Add the cream and continue whisking for about 5 minutes.
- Whisk in the salt, pepper, nutmeg and Tabasco sauce.
- Remove from heat and stir in the cheddar and mozzarella cheese
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and add to the white sauce, mixing well.
- Lightly oil a shallow casserole and pour in the pasta mixture.
- Stir the reserved cheddar and mozzarella cheeses together and top the casserole.
- Stir the parmesan cheese and bread crumbs together and sprinkle over the top.
- Bake for 25 or 30 minutes, until bubbling and golden.
