No Boil Mac & Cheese

Being a die-hard fan of delectably gooey Velveeta-based stove top macaroni and cheese usually keeps me away from any baked version, but I had to give this one a go. I found the inspiration for this recipe in January's Bon Appetit and added a bit of flair to it. Check it out, it's a real walk in the park (full of spicy cheesy goodness).

Ingredients
1 stick butter
3 cu whole milk
1 tbs salt
1 lbs rotini/elbo/ziti
2 cu cheddar, shredded
1 cu jack, shredded
1/4 cu flour
1 cu panko
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 jalpenos, diced
1 orange pepper
1 cu peas
1 tbs smoked paprika

Melt half the butter and whisk in flour to make a roux. Let the roux lightly brown then whisk in the milk, garlic and 1 tbs of salt, let simmer for 5 minutes and take it off the heat. Mix the cheddar, pasta, jalapenos, peppers and peas in a large baking dish and then pour the milk mixture over it, stir and put into the oven at 350 F for about 20 minutes or until the past is done.

In a pan, melt the remaining butter, add paprika, pepper and salt (to taste) then mix in the panko so that it absorbs all the butter. Remove the dish, cover with panko mixture and jack cheese, return to the oven and cook until browned on top. Once done, let the dish sit for 10 minutes to ensure it doesn't all turn into liquid.

Enjoy a steaming pile of this with some stout.