This easy to make macaroni and cheese is a popular dish of Americans in winter. You can serve it as lunch or dinner.

Serves: 12
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• Elbow macaroni 1 pound
• Sharp white cheddar cheese 4 ½ cups (about 18 ounces), grated
• Gruyere cheese 2 cups (about 8 ounces), grated
• Unsalted butter 8 tablespoons (1 stick), plus more for the dish
• Milk 5 ½ cups
• Good white bread 6 slices, crusts removed, torn or diced into ¼ to ½ inch pieces
• All-purpose flour ½ cup
• Salt 2 teaspoons
• Freshly ground black pepper ¼ teaspoon
• Cayenne pepper ¼ teaspoon
• Freshly grated nutmeg ¼ teaspoon

Directions:

• Heat your oven to 375 degrees F, butter a 3-quart casserole dish and set aside.
• Place bread pieces in a bowl.
• Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the microwave and pour over bread and toss, set aside.
• Pull out 1 ½ cups of cheddar cheese and ½ cup of gruyere cheese and reserve.
• In a large pot, bring salted water to boil and cook the macaroni according to package directions, drain and set aside.
• Heat milk in the same pot you used to boil the macaroni.
• Meanwhile in a medium saucepan melt remaining 6 tablespoons of butter over medium heat.
• When the butter starts to bubble stir in flour and cook, whisking for 1 minute.
• While whisking the flour mixture slowly pour in hot milk, continue cooking, and whisk continuously until the mixture becomes thick and bubbly.
• Remove pan from heat and stir in salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, 3 cups of grated cheddar cheese, and 1 ½ cups of grated gruyere cheese.
• Stir in macaroni until fully combined.
• Pour this mixture into a prepared casserole dish.
• Sprinkle reserved 1 ½ cups cheddar cheese, and ½ cup gruyere cheese, and bread mixture over top.
• Bake for 30 minutes or until browned on top.
• Serve hot.