baked mac and cheese

whilst without stove, my neighbor colleen brought us dinner. her baked mac and cheese was very good, and after receiving the recipe this week i made it the same day it arrived in my email. per the new york times recipe the noodles went in uncooked, removing one step from my normal mac and cheese. the resulting dish was so yummy that i think i will be making it as often as my arm has strength to grate two pounds of cheese. :) of course, i changed a few things AND made the recipe bigger (who wants to make an 8x8 pan of mac and cheese???).

baked macaroni and cheese

2 C cottage cheese (not lowfat)
2 C milk (not skim)
1 onion, chopped
2 t dry mustard (i used deli-style brown mustard)
pinch cayenne (i did not have this)
pinch nutmeg (i did have this)
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
2 lbs sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated (i used 1 lb mild cheddar, and 1 lb vintage white cheddar...hand shredded)
1 lb elbow pasta, uncooked
4 T butter

preheat oven to 375 degrees and position an oven rack in center of oven. butter a 9x13 baking pan.

in food processor or blender, purée cottage cheese, milk, onion, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg and salt and pepper together. reserve 1/2 - 1 cup grated cheese for topping...this will not go on top until after the first baking. in a large bowl, combine remaining grated cheese, milk mixture and uncooked pasta. pour into prepared pan, cover tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes.

uncover pan, stir gently, dot with remaining tablespoon butter (i forgot this step and it still turned out wonderfully) and sprinkle with reserved cheese. bake uncovered 30 minutes more, until browned. let cool at least 10 minutes before serving...if you can wait that long.

it was so good. enjoy!