Recipe of the Month: Baked Apple Mac n' Cheese

This is one of our most recent recipes, created for a client who wanted a casual autumn supper. This just might be the perfect addition to your holiday table, a new holiday tradition, a dish that both adults and children will gobble up with delight.

Baked Apple Mac N Cheese

Serves 8-10

1 pound Small elbow noodles

1 T Salt

5T Unsalted butter

6T All purpose flour

¼ tsp Hot Sauce

¼ tsp Sugar

½ tsp Minced garlic

6 cups Whole milk

¼ tsp Salt

¼ tsp Pepper

1 ½ pounds cheese, shredded (we used cheddar, swiss, and Parmesan)

3 cups Curry Roasted Apples (recipe follows)

1 tsp dried thyme

For the Pasta:

1) Bring 4qt of water to boil over med high heat. Add the elbow noodles and 1 tablespoon on salt. Cook until the pasta is tender. Drain the pasta in a colander and set to the side.

For the Cheese Sauce:

1) In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium- high heat until it is foaming. Add garlic, sauté for 1 minute, add the flour. Whisk well to combine. Continue whisking until mixture has a nutty fragrance, and cool deepens, about 1 minute.

2) Gradually whisk in milk and hot sauce; bring to a boil, constantly whisking. Mixture must come to a full boil for mixture to thicken properly. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, whisking occasionally until thickened to consistency of heavy cream, about 5 minutes.

3) Remove pan from heat, add in the cheese whisking to fully incorporate and all the cheese has melted.

4) Add the cooked noodles to the melted cheese mixture; add thyme and curried apples. Taste and add the salt and pepper as needed.

5) Pour the noodle and cheese mixture into a prepared baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

6) Bake in pre-heated oven set at 365 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Until mixture is bubbly and golden brown on top.

Roasted Apples

6 apples, medium dice (we like Fuji)

2 stalks celery

¼ cup olive oil

2 tbs curry powder

1 tsp sugar

Kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper

1) Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

2) In a large bowl, toss all ingredients together. Pour the apples onto a sheet tray, and bake for about 25 minutes, or until they are just soft.

*Note you can do some of the prep ahead of time, just keep the apple mixture and the macaroni mixture separate. On the day of your meal, mix the two together and bake.