So... my update didn't upload and save last night... but here's a great "Mac and Cheese" recipe!

I'm not going to say it was due to the 1 or 2 or 3 glasses of wine I had last night.  Or that I started writing the post after 10 pm. Or I was exhausted after a busy weekend with family and friends.  However, I did have my post all made up last night and I did hit the publish button late last night.  I figured that was that.  However, when I went to check on my blog today and see if anyone had left any comments, I saw there were none.  Doing just a two second check, I saw my new post was nowhere to be found.  It wasn't published, it wasn't in my drafts, it was nowhere at all.  With that said, here's my second attempt.  I know it will be quicker for me to write it up again since I know what I want to say, but I know I'm not going to put in as much effort.  However, I'm sure if you make this recipe (or a variation of it), I'm sure you'll think it was worth the wait.  For your pleasure, here's a great homemade 4 cheese "mac and cheese".

Very tasty homemade 4 cheese "mac and cheese"

What food stuff you will  need for the homemade"mac and cheese" (6-8 servings):
Several cups of water for the pasta
~500 g of pasta (rigatoni or spiral)
~2.5 cups heavy cream
~1 cup of milk
1.5 cups total of different cheeses (if you only use one cheese in this, just use goat cheese or a flavoured cream cheese)
- I used goat, cheddar, Parmesan and epoisses
1 teaspoon of butter or olive oil
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 tablespoon oregano
Pinch salt
Pinch pepper
Dash of cayenne pepper to finish
Optional: bacon or other protein such as chicken pieces

What "equipment" you will  need for homemade "mac and cheese":
1 spatula
1 large pot
1 large sauce pan
1 colander
1 cup measure
1 spoon
1 large casserole dish
1 cheese grater
1 teaspoon measure
1 tablespoon measure

Directions:
1)  Fill a large pot with several cups of water, a pinch of salt and turn on to high heat to bring to a boil.

2) While the water is heating, measure out ~2.5 cups of heavy cream and ~1 cup of milk and heat in a large sauce pan on high heat. (If you like it really creamy and thick, just use cream and forget the milk)

Milk and cream in a large sauce pan

3) As the milk/cream mixture is heating, add in rosemary, oregano, a pinch of pepper and a pinch of salt. 

Milk and cream with herbs and spices

4) As soon as the cream mixture starts to boil, turn the heat down to medium and let the mixture reduce in volume to about half.  You'll have to mix it periodically to avoid a "skin" forming on the surface. You'll know when the mixture is done when you place in a spoon and the back remains coated with the cream mixture (see video.... yes video! The future is now!)

5)  When the cream is done, turn to low to keep warm.

6) By now your water should be fully boiling (if not sooner). As soon as the water starts boiling, add in your pasta and let cook until it's 2-3 minutes less the cooking time on the package. Spiral or large rigatoni will hold the sauce and stand up the best to the cooking you'll do with it.
Note: companies of good pasta have spent a lot of time and money to get the best cooking time for the pasta.  It will be posted somewhere on the packaging.  This is the one time I'm going to say don't experiment with cooking times, just refer to the directions.  Most pastas will be about 10-12 minutes, but please, read the package for the pasta you're using and then do 2-3 minutes less.

7) With 2-3 minutes to go on when the pasta "should be done", take about 1/2 a cup of the pasta water and put it to the side. Drain the rest of the water using a colander and shock the pasta with cold water.

8) If you didn't set them out before, set up your cheeses now.  The important part is the cheese volume is approximately 1.5 cups in the end.  You can see below I used goat cheese, shredded old cheddar, 2 year old parmesean and epoisses (to give it an earthiness). I used the ratio of 3 parts goat cheese, 1 part cheddar, 1 part epoisses and 1 part parmesean for a total of about 1.5 cups of packed cheese.  Other great cheeses to substitute or use would be a Gruyere or Havarti.

The 4 cheeses I used (going clockwise from top left): Epoisses, old cheddar, goat cheese, parmesean

It really doesn't matter what cheeses you use, but I highly recommend a creamier cheese at the main cheese.  Back in 2010, I remember watching chef Michael Symon on Food network suggesting goat cheese for his recipe at Lola.  I was skeptical, as I'm not always a fan of goat cheese, but let me tell you, with the rosemary and oregano in this recipe, it mellows it right down and tastes so incredibly good.  Alternatively, you can use a flavoured cream cheese.  If you mainly want to use a harder cheese, such as cheddar, make sure you shred it as fine as you can and add an extra splash of cream to the mixture when heating.

9) Take the pasta and place it back in the large pot and turn on a low heat.

10) Add in the cream mixture to the pasta, along with a teaspoon of butter or olive oil (to help tie everything together) and stir to fully coat the pasta.


11) Once all stirred, start adding in your cheeses one at a time. Wait until the each cheese is fully incorporated before you add the next cheese.

Pasta with cream mixture and goat cheese just added

All the cheese have been added and mixed in making it look so creamy and tasty

12) Once all the cheeses have been added, add in 1/3-1/2 cup of the pasta water in the pot and stir. If you want to add bacon bits or chicken pieces, this is the time to do it.

13) Pour the pasta and sauce into casserole dish. Top the pasta with some fresh parmesean and pepper and place in an oven at 400F for 5-8 min.

The pasta with creamy cheese.  As it bakes for a few minutes at 400F the pasta will become fully cooked.  The moisture from the sauce will cook the pasta on the bottom and steam to the top.  Also, the pasta on the top will firm from being exposed to the direct heat.

14) After you remove the pasta from the oven, stir the pasta and sauce all together to make the pasta recovered with the creamy cheese sauce.

The final baked dish, ready to be re-stirred and served

15) Scoop the mixed pasta into an individual bowl and top with some more fresh Parmesan or cheddar cheese.  I also like to add a dash of cayenne pepper to give a little kick.

16) Give to the person that will be enjoying it!

That's it!  This makes a great homemade pasta and cheese.  There is a lot of possibility for alterations and experimentation.  So, this week, release your inner kitchen chemist and see what you can do with this great recipe!

Enjoy!

The Canadian Cooking Chemist