• Yield: 4 servings and doubles easily

  • Time: 15 minutes, plust time to cook pasta prep, 25 minutes cooking, 40 minutes total


This is comfort food at its finest -- and most simple. Enjoy this delicious remake of a childhood favorite.



Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound (2 cups ) raw penne pasta, cooked and drained

  • 1 large egg

  • 1 cup milk

  • 1 small clove garlic

  • 3/4 medium onion, coarsely chopped

  • 1 generous cup (5 ounces) shredded good quality, extra-sharp cheddar cheese

  • 5 ounces cream cheese, crumbled

  • 2/3 cup (3 ounces) shredded Gruyere cheese

  • Generous 1/8 teaspoon each hot red pepper flakes

  • Generous 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • Generous 1/4 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 12 saltines, coarsely crumbled

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a shallow 1 1/2 quart baking dish, and add cooked pasta.

2. In a blender or food processor combine egg, milk, and garlic, and process 3 seconds. Add onion, cheeses, peppers, salt, and paprika, and blend 10 seconds. Turn into dish, folding into macaroni. Casserole could be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated up to 24 hours at this point.

3. To bake, bring casserole close to room temperature. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Coat crackers with butter and spread over top of casserole. Bake about 20 to 25 minutes, or until thick yet creamy. If top is not golden, slip under broiler for a minute. Remove from oven, let stand about 5 minutes, and serve.

Lynne Rossetto Kasper
Lynne Rossetto Kasper has won numerous awards as host of The Splendid Table, including two James Beard Foundation Awards (1998, 2008) for Best National Radio Show on Food, five Clarion Awards (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014) from Women in Communication, and a Gracie Allen Award in 2000 for Best Syndicated Talk Show.