Our 21st day recipe is a Mimolette and Parmesan mac and cheese. Topped with Asiago crisps and mini croutons, this recipe is sure to please. Using Cheese in Mac and Cheese When you take a bite of cheese, pay attention to when the flavor starts to come out. Sometimes it’s immediate but it fades away quickly. These are what I call opener cheeses. You want to include an opener cheese in your recipes so when you take a bite, you’re immediately hit with cheesy flavor. Other cheeses take a few seconds for the flavor to develop but it carries throughout the bite. These are what I call closer cheeses. Recipes should include closer cheeses so the flavor carries throughout. Mimolette Mimolette is an orange french cheese that makes a great opener. It’s slightly sweet, slightly nutty and great for opening up a bowl of mac and cheese. Parmesan Parmesan is one of my favorite cheeses to use as a closer. It’s easy to get your hands on and pairs beautifully with a variety of opener cheeses. Cavatappi Pasta in Mimolette and Parmesan Mac and Cheese One of the most important decisions when designing a mac and cheese is the pasta type. Noodle size makes a huge impact. If your pasta is too large, your dish will be cumbersome and difficult to eat. On the other hand, if your pasta is too small, you run the risk of your dish becoming a soupy mess. Dan Pashman coined the phrase “forkability” and it perfectly describes the perfect noodle size. It’s one that you can easily get on a fork, and eat without too much effort. I used cavatappi in this recipe. These corkscrew shaped noodles offer a great texture and plenty of ridges to hold onto sauce so every bite is full of cheesy goodness. Toppings The right toppings can take a mac and cheese from good to great. Toppings add new layers of texture, color, and flavor giving you an even better experience. In this recipe I used mini croutons and Asiago crisps. The Asiago crisps add crunch and extra flavor while the bread crumbs add some more color and crisp. Reheating Mimolette and Parmesan Mac and Cheese Mac and cheese is notoriously difficult to reheat. You always wind up with a gross, greasy mess. However, I’ve noticed that roux based mac and cheese reheats beautifully. A minute or two in the microwave and you’ll have perfect, creamy mac and cheese. In fact, letting your ingredients marinate together overnight will yield even better mac and cheese than the day you made it. Add a Fork Mimolette and Parmesan blend together beautifully with mini croutons and Asiago crisps for a mac and cheese packed with flavor that is sure to impress.