Directions
1.    Preheat oven to 450 degrees and butter a 13×9″ baking dish. Bring a large pot of water to boil for the pasta.
2.    Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan and reduce to 3/4 cup over high heat. Bring the cream to a boil in another large heavy saucepan and reduce it to 1-1/2 cups.
3.    Melt the butter and olive oil in another large heavy saucepan and cook onions and garlic until translucent and tender. Cook the pasta until al dente and drain.
4.    Add the reduced cream and reduced broth to the onions, then add the mustard, cheddar, Gouda, Gruyere, and Brie cheeses and whisk until melted and blended. Add the seasonings. Add the pasta and mix well. Spoon into the baking dish. In small bowl, mix bread crumbs, 3 tablespoons melted butter and Parmesan cheese; sprinkle over casserole. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes until the top browns and casserole is bubbly.

Directions

1.    Preheat oven to 375 deg. F. Add oil to a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook 6 to 8 min. until done. Drain well. At the same time, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but DO NOT boil. In a large (4-qt) pot, melt 6 T. buter and whisk in the flour. Cook for 2 min.
2.    While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for 2 min. more, or until smooth and thickened. Take off the heat, add the cheeses, salt, pepper, nutmeg and lightly diced tomatoes.
3.    Add the cooked macaroni and stir well. Pour into a buttered, 3-quart baking dish (I used my lasagne porcelain pan.) Melt the remaining 2 T. butter, add the fresh bread crumbs and stir. Remove from heat and sprinkle on top of the casserole.
4.    Bake for 30 or more min. or until bubbling and brown on top. Instead of the above method of making the breadcrumb topping, I tore up pieces of bread and chopped them in the ol’ Cuisinart…poured melted butter over the crumbs and added about 1/4 C. parmesan.
5.    Gave it a few whirls and voila! Buttered breadcrumbs! I really believe the parmesan added something special to the overall flavor. This is really good.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F.
2. Bring a generous pot of salted water to a boil.
3. While the water is heating up, melt butter in a heavy skillet over moderately low heat.
4. Add flour and cook, whisking, until the mixture starts to turn light golden (about 3 minutes).
5. While whisking, add milk and bring to a boil.
6. Add mustard and spices. Cook until thickened, stirring occasionally (about 2 minutes).
7. Add macaroni to the pot of boiling water and cook until al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain the macaroni and transfer to a 2 quart baking dish.
8. Stir in sauce, grated cheese, 1/2 C Parmesan, and anything else that strikes your fancy. Smooth down the top.
9. Mix the bread crumbs and remaining Parmesan together.
10. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the casserole.
11. Dot with the butter.
12. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the dish is bubbling and the topping turns golden brown.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. In a large skillet cook chicken, Italian or desired seasoning blend, salt, and pepper in hot oil over medium heat until chicken is no longer pink.* Remove chicken from skillet; set aside.

2. In a large pot or kettle cook pasta according to package directions until just tender. Drain; return pasta to pot.

3. Meanwhile, in the same skillet in which chicken was cooked, cook onion and garlic in 3 tablespoons hot butter over medium heat until tender. Stir in flour until well combined. Stir in tomato paste. Add milk. Cook and stir until mixture is thickened and bubbly; reduce heat. Add the shredded cheese. Stir until cheese is almost melted. Remove from heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add sauce and chicken to cooked pasta in pot; stir to coat. Spoon mixture into a 2-quart square or rectangular baking dish.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small bowl stir together bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and 3 tablespoons melted butter. Sprinkle crumb mixture over pasta mixture. Bake, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes or until crumb mixture is golden and edges are bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Makes 6 servings.

Cooking Club Directions: Prepare casserole as above for each member, except divide the bread crumb mixture into small resealable plastic bags or moisture- and vapor-proof plastic freezer bags. Do not bake. Cover pans with foil to refrigerate, or wrap with moisture- and vapor-proof wrap to freeze. Refrigerate up to 24 hours or freeze casserole and bread crumb mixture up to 1 month.

Test Kitchen Tip: Use a blender or food processor to make soft breadcrumbs. About 1-1/2 ounces of break makes 1 cup of crumbs.

Reheating and Serving: < Thaw casserole, if frozen, and bread crumb mixture in refrigerator overnight. Bake refrigerated or thawed casserole, covered with foil, in a 350 degrees F oven for 20 minutes. Uncover and top with bread crumb mixture. Bake, uncovered, for 35 to 40 minutes more or until crumb mixture is golden and edges are bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

200g elbow macaroni
40g butter
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
300g shredded red cheddar cheese
1 piece of plain bread
2 cups milk
3 tsp grated parmesan cheese (optional)
1 bay leaf (optional)
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder (optional)
1/2 tsp nutmug powder (optional)

Directions
1. Cook macaroni till al dente according to package instructions. Drain the macaroni in a colander, rinse with cold water and lay them flat on a roasting tray/casserole.
2. Use a food processor/blender to grind a piece of bread till it resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.
3. In a heated saucepan/wok, melt butter. When all the butter has melted, add in the flour and stir gently.
4. Add milk, bay leaf (optional) and continue stirring till mixture thickens.
5. Add salt, pepper and if you like the taste of the following, add them as well – cinnamon powder and nutmug powder. Add half the shredded cheese and reserve the other half for later.
6. When all the cheese has melted and the mixture is even (it should be of a slightly thick consistency), taste a bit of the mixture and season accordingly if needed. Pour the mixture over the macaroni. Stir to make sure that the macaroni is fully coated in the sauce.
7. Top the macaroni with the remaining cheddar cheese, followed by breadcrumbs (you don’t have to use all) and parmesan cheese.
8. Bake at 180C (360F) for about 30 minutes, till the sauce is bubbly and the top is slightly browned.

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the macaroni and cook, stirring often, for 8 minutes, or until tender but still firm to the bite. Drain, reserving 3/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Toss the macaroni with the melted cheese in a large bowl, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten and coat the pasta. Transfer the macaroni mixture to an 8-inch square baking dish. Cover and bake for 20 minutes, or until heated through.

Meanwhile, chop the bread in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Toss the breadcrumbs with the parsley, olive oil, garlic, and pepper in a bowl to coat. Uncover the hot macaroni and cheese and sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over. Continue baking, uncovered, for 15 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and crisp.

Serves 6 to 8.

Cashew Cheddar Cheese

INGREDIENTS
1 1/4 cups raw cashews
1/2 cup nutrirional yeast
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
3 1/2 cups unsweetened plain soymilk
I cup agar flakes (about 2 ounces)
1/2 cup canola oil (heidi note: I don’t like canola – used a mild tasting olive oil)
1/4 cup yellow miso
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about I lemon)

DIRECTIONS
Using the pulse button, finely grind the cashews in a food processor; don’t allow the cashews to turn into a paste. Add the nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt, garlic powder, and white pepper. Pulse three more times to blend in the spices.

Combine the soymilk, agar, and oil in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until the agar is dissolved. With the food processor running, gradually pour the soymilk mixture through the feed tube and into the cashew mixture. Blend for 2 minutes, or until very smooth and creamy, and then blend in the miso and lemon juice.

For grated or sliced cheese, transfer the cheese to a container, cover, and refrigerate about 4 hours, until very firm. Once it’s firm, grate or slice the cheese as desired.

For melted cheese, use the cheese immediately as melted cheese. Alternatively, make the cheese in advance, cover, and refrigerate. When you’re ready to use the cheese, melt it in a saucepan over medium heat until smooth and creamy, stirring frequently. If needed, add more soymilk for a thinner consistency.