Gouda, Pecorino, & Peppadew Mac & Cheese

OH MY GOSH! This is what mac & cheese will taste like in heaven! Mac & cheese is probably my favorite food. We had it at our wedding, we always have boxes of it, and I've always wanted to make it from scratch (minus the breadcrumbs, I really don't understand them. Don't need 'em in my opinion)

The hubs used to work at Jungle Jim's in the cheese section (he cut off a tiny tip of his finger there and meet Mr. Jim himself :) But the best part is now he actually knows quite a bit about cheese. He knows what is good to eat plain and luckily for me the best cheese to make our own original mac & cheese!!

We doubled the recipe we made up (ha sounds funny) so we could eat it for lunch all week- we only had enough left for Monday...

This is the single recipe- serves 4
1 cup shredded gouda
1 cup shredded pecorino
2 cups milk
3 tbs. flour
1/4 cup butter; in slices
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 clove garlic; minced
6 peppadew peppers; diced
8 oz noodles of choice
6 chopped basil leaves
preheat oven to 350 degrees F

1   grease baking dish, will fit in 9x9
2   cook noodles in boiling water
3   in a LARGE saucepan over medium melt butter and then whisk in flour until it begins to thicken
4   slowly add in milk 1/2 cup at a time, stir constantly
5   then stir in cheese 1/2 cup at a time
6   place noodles in baking dish and mix in the peppers, garlic, basil, crushed red pepper, salt & pepper
7   then pour in cheese mixture- we ladeled it in to avoid spilling, and mix together
8   bake for 30-35 minutes

Then enjoy heaven- you actually taste all the flavors and it isn't dull in flavor- it has a small spicyness, with heaps of goeey cheese and a fantastic sweet pepper flavor!!

I think I give up naming them FOOD.x because now I have so many I want to share the recipes for and not just links. It is really thrilling to try to test your own and now they take up more space. So there will be more posts and more pictures. Pulling out the macro lens!