Our day 9 recipe is a black truffle cheddar and Colby mac and cheese. Truffle isn’t an ingredient I tend to reach for, but it really adds something special to a mac and cheese.
Note: This article contains affiliate links to products that I love and use to make mac and cheese in my own kitchen. When you click links here and make a purchase from retailers like Instacart or Amazon, I receive a commission at no additional cost to you. For more information, see my Affiliate Link Policy.
Using Cheese in mac and cheese
When you take a bite of cheese, I want you to pay attention to when the cheese starts to develop. Sometimes the cheesy flavor takes a few seconds to develop, and it carries throughout the end of the bite. These are what I call closer cheeses. Other cheese has the flavor hit you immediately. These are opener cheeses.
Well rounded mac and cheese makes a balance between both opener and closer flavors so you’re never bored while eating it.
Black Truffle Cheddar
I’m cautious using truffle. It can overpower a dish quickly, so all you taste is truffle. But this cheese is mellow and balances perfectly in a mac and cheese. It opens up with cheddar flavor and closes with the truffle, so you could use this cheese as either an opener or closer
Colby
Colby is an American cheese that melts beautifully and adds a great opener flavor to mac and cheese.
Trottole Pasta in Black Truffle Cheddar and Colby mac and cheese
While your cheese and pasta choices are important, they won’t’ make a difference if your pasta choice is bad. If your pasta is too large, your dish will be cumbersome and annoying to eat. If your noodle shape is too small, you run the risk of your pasta becoming a soupy mess.
Trottole is a great mac and cheese vehicle. It’s shaped perfectly between too large and too small, and the ridges offer plenty of pockets to hold onto sauce making sure every bite is full of flavor.
Toppings
The right toppings can take a mac and cheese recipe from good to great. Toppings add extra pops of flavor, color, and texture and help elevate your mac and cheese into something special.
Crispy onions can be found in the salad section and they add a great crunch and another layer of flavor you wouldn’t see in just pasta and cheese sauce.
Reheating Black Truffle Cheddar and Colby mac and cheese
Reheating mac and cheese tends to yield a greasy nasty mess. It’s almost not worth having leftover mac and cheese if It’s not going to let you enjoy it a second day. However, roux based sauces like what we have here reheat well. A minute or two in the microwave and you’ll have delicious, creamy non-greasy mac and cheese. In fact, when you let your recipe mingle in the fridge, the ingredients have a chance to meld together and you’ll have even better mac and cheese the next day.
Add a fork
Black truffle cheddar and Colby meld together into a beautiful mac and cheese topped with croutons for the right balance of texture and flavor.
Black Truffle Cheddar and Colby mac and cheese
Ingredients
- 1 pound trottole or other medium sized pasta
For the Sauce
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 3 tbsp Flour
- 3 cups Whole milk
- 4 oz Black Truffle Cheddar
- 4 oz Colby
- 1/2 tbsp Better than bullion Chicken flavor
- 1 tsp Ground mustard
Toppings
- Mini croutons or breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions in well salted water. If you think it’s salty enough, add more.
Prepare the Sauce
- Pre heat your milk in the microwave for 45 seconds – just enough to take the chill out of it.
- Melt butter in a sauce pan over medium heat and let it heat until it becomes foamy.
- Mix in flour. Cook it for a minute while stirring constantly
- Slowly add warmed milk to the butter mixture 1/4 cup at a time. Whisk it continually until combined. Stir in mustard powder and Better than Bullion
- Once all of the milk is added, cook for a few minutes while whisking it. Do not let it boil. You will feel the sauce start to thicken. It’s ready for cheese when you rub a small amount between your fingers and it feels silky.
- Remove from heat and stir in your cheese until it’s melted and mixed into the sauce.
- Once the cheese is incorporated, use a cooked noodle to taste your sauce. If it doesn’t taste cheesy enough try adding a little more salt to bring out the flavor.
- Combine the pasta and sauce.
Plate Your Mac and Cheese
- Layer pasta with mini croutons. Serve immediately.
