Panera Mac 'n Cheese

If any of you have had Panera Mac 'n Cheese, you'll know exactly why I have to share this recipe. Periodically they will put their recipes on their website for a day so I grabbed this one while it was "up for grabs." 

Try it out and let me know what you think. If you are not completely taken over by it's creamy goodness, than I'm going to form a very strong opinion about you. Okay, not really, but you get the picture on how awesome this is. 

1 16-ounce Package package of Rigati pasta (or other small pasta shells)

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups milk (2% or whole)

6 Slices white American cheese (chopped)

8oz extra-sharp white Vermont cheddar (shredded)

1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon hot sauce

Step 1

Prepare pasta according to package directions.

Step 2

Melt butter over low heat. Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute, whisking constantly.

Step 3

Gradually whisk in milk; cook over medium heat, whisking until mixture thickens and bubbles. Remove from heat.

Step 4

Add cheeses, mustard, salt, and hot sauce, stirring until cheese melts and sauce is smooth.

Step 5

Stir in pasta and cook over medium heat for 1 minute (or until thoroughly heated). Serve immediately.

I actually omitted the hot sauce the second time around because I thought it was too much. I'm not a fan of mustard either, but I think it gives it a bit of the zing this mac and cheese needs. So instead I used about 1/2 tsp of mustard powder.