So “The Katie”, the dish from the last “My Friends and Food” feature was finally made. It was so good! I’ll throw the recipe up on here too just to make things easier. Enjoy!

• 1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
• 1-2 spicy italian sausages
• 1 hot red pepper and 1 hot green (or jalepeno) pepper, diced very finely
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• a good grind of fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 cup shredded pepperjack cheese
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup grated fresh parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs (from old marbled rye bread)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and add your pasta. Cook until al dente, and drain.

While the pasta is boiling, cook your Italian sausages and hot red and green pepper (as much as you’d like) in a frying pan over medium-high heat. When they’re done cooking, set aside.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and add your flour and whisk together. A little at a time, whisk in the milk, dry mustard and salt and pepper. Bring the sauce to a boil for about 1 minute, and then remove from heat. Add in the pepperjack, cheddar and parmesan and whisk until smooth. Stir in the cooked pasta to the cheese sauce, and pour into a shallow baking dish.

Now slice your cooled Italian sausage and add this and your cooked peppers into the macaroni and cheese. Mix in.

Finally, take the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and cook in the same frying pan used to cook the sausages the butter and 1/3 cup of rye bread crumbs. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture on top of the macaroni and cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes!

It was just as spicy, filling and cheesy as I’d hoped it would be! It’s definitely comfort food, too…which is perfect for days like today (snowy spring days, is what I’m referring to, of course).

xoxo

Mariel