Macaroni and Cheese with Pesto and Tomatoes

My Sunday began in Washington D.C. and ended knee deep in Macaroni and Cheese. I drove down to the capital to see my backyard neighbor Brenna who is currently living in another compound in Qatar but was in town for a conference.

After a leisurely 24 hours I packed things up and hit the road by 7am. There couldn't have been a worse morning for Daylight Saving to begin. We had exited the bar the night before at 2am which instantly became 3am and before I knew it I was waking up at 6am which was actually 7am. I was working on a record fast 3 1/2 hour trip when I got pulled over for speeding. My first ticket in 10 years! I was exhausted but remained in a good mood as I cruised along for the rest of the drive at exactly 65 mph because I wasn't going home to go to work, I was going home to cook my second Sunday Night Supper!

My new best friend Aaron again insisted on helping me and honestly I don't know how I would have done it without him, because before we knew it, it was 6pm and dinner guests were beginning to arrive.

Though I'm not Catholic, I gave up eggs and dairy for Lent so I've been trying to make every other Sunday Supper vegan. This weeks meal however was decidedly not. If you're trying to refrain from animal products, just stop reading now.

Macaroni and Cheese with Pesto and Tomatoes

Pasta - 1 lb (elbow macaroni with lines are great but penne is delicious too)
Butter - 3 tablespoons
Garlic - 1 tablespoon chopped
Flour - 3 tablespoons
Milk - 3 cups (anywhere from whole to skim)
Cheese - about 10-12 oz shredded (any mixture of mozzarella, provolone, cheddar, whatever)
Cottage Cheese - about 8 oz
Pesto - enough to spread a thin layer over the top
Tomatoes - 4 romas diced
Pepper - fresh ground (is there any other way?)
Salt

First, cook your pasta most of the way through, it will have plenty of time to continue cooking in the oven. Make a white sauce by starting melting the butter in a heavy bottomed sauce pan add the garlic and cook for a minute, then add the flour and cook for another minute to get out the floury taste. You could add any other flavors you like here too. If I was doing this mac and cheese straight up I would through in chopped onion and dry mustard instead of the garlic or with the garlic if you want to get crazy. Start slowly adding the milk and whisk frequently. You want the sauce to get a little bit thick but keep the heat on medium so it doesn't boil up and or burn. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile drain your pasta and run under cold water. You never want to rinse pasta if your going to eat it right away but in this case it stops the cooking and keeps it firm. Mix your chopped tomatoes with pesto (we'll make homemade pesto once basil season begins) and set aside to marinate.)

Grease a baking dish big enough to accommodate your selected pasta and dump it in. Mix in most of the cheese, cottage and otherwise, crack some more pepper in there while you're at it. When your white sauce is thickened, pour it over the pasta and cheese and mix everything together and smooth out the surface. Let the pan sit for a minute and then spread the pesto and tomatoes over top and cover with the rest of your cheese. Bake for about 1 hour or until browned and bubbly.

Serve with something green. (see photo by Peter Pawlowski which includes collards topped with caramelized onions)

This coming Sunday's Supper...
Chickpea, Tomato and Kale Stew with Orange and Ginger over giant garlic sourdough croutons with a mixed green salad with My House dressing.

Dinner starts at 6pm at the Brillobox, hope to see you there!