Macaroni and Blue Cheese

I know, I know.  I already have a post about mac and cheese.  It's good.  It's cheesy.  You should make it. http://ahawker.blogspot.com/2012/08/macaroni-and-cheese.html

But...this is mac and cheese with blue cheese!  That ingredient alone makes it - I don't know - fancy, elegant, refined.

This journey into the before uncharted territory (for me anyhow) of messing with perfectly good mac and cheese started very innocently.  I purchased a hunk of blue cheese from Costco. I only needed about 2 Tablespoons to make the baked pears (http://ahawker.blogspot.com/2012/11/roasted-pear-salad.html), so I didn't need this big hunk o' cheese, but it was such a good price and surely the kiddos would eat the rest.

Well, here is an interesting fact.  Kiddos that like just about anything don't necessarily snack on blue cheese just for fun.  I know.  It came as a surprise to me, too. *sigh*

Anyhow, I had this hunk of blue cheese.  Then a friend sent me a copy of a recipe for Chocolate Bread Pudding from a magazine. (That will be coming later after I play with it a little.)  On the same page was a partial recipe for Blue Cheese Macaroni and Cheese.

Eureka!

Here's what I did.

Macaroni and Blue Cheese

1 pound elbow macaroni (or whatever you want to use)

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups half and half

1 cup milk

3 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups crumbled blue cheese

3-4 shakes of Tabasco (or your favorite pepper sauce)

1/2 cup fried onions (like French's), optional

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 13x9 baking dish with nonstick spray.

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Stir in milk and half and half.  Simmer until the milk thickens slightly, stirring frequently.

Add grated cheese and 1 cup of the blue cheese.  Stir until the cheese melts.  Add the Tabasco and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Combine the pasta and sauce.  Stir it up.

Put the mixture in the prepared baking dish.

Sprinkle with the remaining blue cheese and the fried onions.

Bake at 350 degrees until the sauce begins to bubble, about 30 minutes.