Fat Friday: Baked penne and cheese
November 13, 2009 by Cyndi Lavin
Filed under Food, Recipes
This is mac and cheese for grownups! Kids will like it too, but it’s really for us 
Baked Penne and Cheese
1 lb penne pasta
Salt
1/4 c butter
3 large leeks, chopped
1/4 c flour
3 1/2 c milk
1 pound extra-sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
1 T prepared Dijon mustard
1 t Tobasco sauce
2 eggs
Boil the pasta to the al dente stage in a large pot of salted water. Whisk eggs in a medium bowl and set aside. Grease a 15 x 10 baking dish.
Melt the butter in a large heavy saucepan. Add the leeks and cook until tender but not brown. Add the flour and stir into the leeks and butter. Add milk slowly, stirring into the mix and bring to a simmer. Add cheese, mustard, and Tobasco. Stir until all the cheese is melted and remove from heat.
Stir a small amount at a time of the cheese sauce into the eggs, being careful not to curdle them. Stir the egg mixture into the rest of the cheese sauce in the pan. Add drained pasta to the saucepan, mix together and transfer to the baking dish. This much can be done ahead of time if needed.
Preheat oven to 400. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the tops of the pasta are lightly browned. Let it stand for 10 to 15 minutes to set.
