White Truffle Oil Mac and Cheese

I love me some cheese. Hell, I once took a class that was dedicated exclusively to bleu cheese. So of course, I love a good mac and cheese. I've made a few lighter mac and cheeses over the years which have been pretty good considering they didn't use cream and used less cheese than one would expect. I wish I could say this was one of them. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't inedible, but it also didn't jump out at me. Perhaps you can think of some additions to make this wonderful. But in the meantime I'll be eating leftovers from this vat of mac and cheese for the next several days.

But the one good thing I got out of this was a bottle of white truffle oil which I will definitely be using again!

White Truffle Oil Mac and Cheese (serves 6)

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided
• 2 cups sliced onion (about 1 medium)
• 1 bay leaf
• 12 oz uncooked elbow macaroni
• 2 TB all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded fontina cheese
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Comte or Gruyere cheese
• 1 1/2 tsp white truffle oil
• 2 oz French bread baguette, torn
• 2 TB grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 TB olive oil

Instructions

Heat 1 3/4 cups milk, onion, and bay leaf in a large saucepan to 180° or until tiny bubbles form around edges (do not boil). Cover and remove from heat; let stand 15 minutes.

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

Strain milk mixture through a colander over a bowl; discard solids. Return milk to saucepan over medium heat. Combine remaining 1/2 cup milk and flour in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Gradually stir flour mixture and salt into warm milk, stirring constantly with a whisk. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring frequently; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; let stand 6 minutes or until mixture cools to 155°. Gradually add fontina and Comté cheeses, stirring until cheeses melt. Stir in pasta and truffle oil. Spoon mixture into a 2-quart broiler-safe glass or ceramic baking dish.

Preheat broiler.

Place bread, Parmesan cheese, and garlic in a food processor; process until coarse crumbs form. Drizzle with olive oil; pulse until fine crumbs form. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture over pasta. Place dish on middle rack in oven; broil 2 minutes or until golden brown.