Not your mama's mac and cheese.

Not your mama's mac and cheese., originally uploaded by *April*.

Ingredients:

1 box rotini
1 cup skim milk at room temperature (you can use a higher fat content milk, we just don't ever have any in the house, so I used what we had)
2 cups shredded cheese (you can use any type - I used about 1 cup of a gouda infused with vegetables, and then 2 slices of crumbled muenster and 1 cup of a mix of monterey jack, medium cheddar, queso quesadilla and asadero cheese)
1 heaping tbsp white flour
2 tbsp butter
1/3 white onion, diced (can be omitted if your family won't eat onions, but the taste won't be as rich)
freshly cracked blacked pepper
2 tsp brown mustard (NOT yellow mustard - do not omit)
4 flatbread crackers (or 8 regular crackers) - crushed

Put a large pot of water on high heat to boil. In another large saucepan, melt butter. Add onions and stir until translucent. Make a roux by adding one heaping tbsp of white flour and stir constantly until flour is incorporated completely and golden brown. Turn oven on to 325F. Add milk and cheese to roux. Stir in 2 tsp brown mustard to sauce - I promise you will not taste mustard in the finished product, but it will taste much richer than regular mac & cheese. Stir constantly until sauce is smooth. Drain pasta, pour into a buttered casserole dish. Pour sauce over pasta and stir to coat. Sprinkle with crushed flatbread and bake at 325 for 15 minutes until heated and bubbly with a slight hint of golden brown on the top.

This makes a LOT of food. But it's very good. A hint - if you're reheating it, put a little milk in the pasta before you reheat it so it doesn't dry out.

Served with a raddichio and butter lettuce salad with peeled english cucumbers, rainier cherries (a yellow fleshed fruit that's a cross between a Bing and a Van cherry) and diced purple sweet peppers, with a basic balsamic dressing.