Fancy Mac and Cheese: Cavatappi with Cheddar Beer Sauce

I love me some noodles.  I love them.  I used to eat them almost constantly, such that we had to make a long long stop in the noodle aisle on every grocery trip.  I cannot get enough.  And, of course, what is better on noodles than cheese?  Nothing!  Nothing, I tell you!

So, here's the basic recipe for my Mac and Cheese, though I make many many variations on this theme.  It grew out of a recipe for Cheddar Ale soup, thus the beer-y goodness.  I hope you like it as much as I do!

Fancy Mac and Cheese: Cavatappi with Cheddar Beer Sauce (And Gruyere!  And Parmesan!  And Caramelized Onions! And Sometimes Broccoli!  And Maybe some Crumbled Bacon!)


Nouns:
1 Pound Cavatappi Noodles
3 ounces Shredded Gruyere cheese (or more!)
4 ounces chredded cheddar (or more!)
2 ounces fresh grated parmesan or asiago cheese (or more!)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup beer ( a nice dark ale is best for this, but I'll admit that I've totally used Coors Light)
1/2 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, diced
olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/4 tsp paprika
salt and pepper

Optional:
1-2 crowns of broccoli, cut into small florets
4 strips of turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled

Verbs:
Boil salted water in a large pot.  Add the cavatappi when water is boiling, and cook until al dente.  (hint, if adding broccoli, throw in the florets for the last 2 minutes or so of pasta cooking, and then just strain them with the noodles.  Easy peasy!)  Strain the noodles and set aside.  Meanwhile, saute the onions and garlic over medium low heat in olive oil until onions get translucent.  Then add the butter.  Once butter is melted, add the flour and stir to combine.  Cook over medium low heat for several minutes.  (I know, I am basically making a Roux with garlic and onions in it, and that is so not chef-like, but it saves time and seems to work just fine!)  Add the beer and simmer, stirring to combine all the ingredients.  IF you did this right, the mixture will start to thicken!  If you did it wrong, then at least you have the rest of the beer to console yourself with.  Making sure that the mixture is not too hot to scald/curdle the milk, carefully stir in the milk.  Turn heat down if necessary.  Slowly add the grated cheeses, a little at a time.  Stir thoroughly and add more cheese once the cheese you've already added is all melted into the sauce.  I don't actually measure my cheese, I just add it until the sauce is thick and cheesy.  Then I pour it over the pasta and any extras, like broccoli or bacon, that I want to add.  Stir some more.  At this point, if you have massively impressive willpower, you could put some buttered crumbs on top and bake the mac and cheese in the oven to make it all golden-brown and delicious.  Mine never makes it to the oven, because once the cheese hits the noodles, I eat it.

Yes, you can use whatever curly pasta you prefer if you don't like cavatappi.  Actual Macaroni would work fine.  Or Rotini.  Or whatever.