New Meal Fridays #66 ~ Croque Monsieur Mac and Cheese

Made: October 6th 2011
From: GEM

1/2 pound of ziti (pasta)
2 cups of milk
2 cups of coarsely grated gruyere cheese
1 cup of finely grated Parmesan cheese
2 large eggs
3 slices of white sandwich bread, roughly diced
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
kosher salt
8 oz of deli-sliced boiled ham

1 - Preheat oven to 425F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil Add the ziti and cook until al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl; toss with 1/4 cup of milk.

2 - Meanwhile ,combine both cheeses in a bowl. Beat 1/4 cup of milk and the eggs in another bowl; fold in the bread and add half of the cheese

3 - Melt the butter in a sauce pan over high heat. Add the onion and garlic; Cook, stirring, until just brown, 2 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour, cayenne, nutmeg and 1 teaspoon salt; cook , stirring about 2 minutes. Slowly add 34 cup of water and the remaining 1 and 1/2 cup of milk; bring to a boil, stirring until thickened. Remove from heat nd whisk to cool slightly. Whisk in the remaining cheese, then add the pasta and toss.

4 - Butter a shallow casserole dish. Add half of the pasta, top with some of the ham and cover with remaining pasta. Top with remaining ham, then cover with the bread mixture. Bake until golden and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Let rest a few minutes before serving.


Miranda's Mix Ups: I didn't have gruyere cheese, but I used the leftovers from the spaghetti one. I also didn't have white sandwich bread. I used the ends of a brown loaf and the end of my home made bread. It was YUMMY!!! Sooo good!