Swiss Mac and Cheese

Yes, you read that right. Swiss Mac and Cheese. A little background to wet your appetite.

 About 17 years ago, my husband, my mother and I traveled to Zurich, Switzerland. It was a work trip for my husband and a pleasure trip for my mother and I. During the day, my mom and I would drive to other towns and countries to take in as much as we possibly could in the short week we were there. We drove most of Switzerland, Lichtenstein and Germany. We tried to go to Italy, but there was an avalanche that closed the tunnels on the day we were headed that direction, so we changed our plans and spent most of our time Lucerne instead.

One day, driving back to Zurich from Lichtenstein, we stopped at a rest area (they are very different there than here - I like theirs better) for fuel, and found that they have cafes and permanent food stands as well. The fuel stations are at ground level, and there is a tunnel underground that houses a food court and such. So, we decided to have lunch there as we hadn't found a place yet to pull over to eat. I don't even recall what my mom chose to eat, because my lunch was so great, it was all I could think about or even remember now.

There was a food stand that offered made to order pasta. Or Swiss Mac and Cheese. You could choose what went in it. I asked him to fix his favorite for me. He added chunks of Ham and shavings of Hazelnut. The sauce of course, was made with white, Swiss cheeses. With a grinding of nutmeg, salt and pepper. Absolutely perfect! This was so exciting to me because I had something new to try and recreate upon returning home. I was a little worried because neither of my children (2 boys) would eat Mac and Cheese. (I know, weird, right?)

They ate it the first attempt! I've changed up the cheeses I use since, according to what I find available here and every time, it's a winner. And the flavor is always so similar to what I remember, that I don't feel the need to stick with a particular blend of cheese... so long as the overall flavor is that nutty, salty, Swiss-y-ness I fell in love with. Here's the basic recipe I developed. Please adjust it to your liking.

Box of  Macaroni Noodles
Pot of boiling water
Salt and Oil
*Add the Salt and Oil to the boiling water before adding the noodles. Cook the noodles 6-8 minutes, until just al dente. Drain and set aside while you make the cheese sauce.

3 T. Butter
3 T. Flour
2 c. Milk, heated - keep warm until ready to use
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg
3 - 4 c. Grated Cheese (Depends on desired cheesiness)
       I like to make sure that Asiago or Parmesan is one of the cheeses I use. I try to use 1 c. of a soft cheese, 1 c. of a medium hard cheese and then the Asiago or Parmesan. If I have more than 3 kinds in my fridge, I'll use more than 3.
*Melt the butter, add the flour and while stirring with a whisk, cook the flour/butter for at least 2 minutes to get rid of that flour taste. Then add in the hot milk, continuing to whisk. Once everything is incorporated well, begin adding the cheeses, about a cup at a time to allow melting time without decreasing the overall temperature too quickly. Once all the cheese is melted, add in your seasonings and optional items (below). Then, add in the pasta and stir to evenly and thoroughly coat all of the macaroni with this cheesy goodness. At this point, it's ready to eat. However, you could put it in a baking dish and top with more cheese, crumbled potato chips or sliced tomatoes, or any other topping that sounds good to you and bake it (at 350 for 20-30 minutes) before serving. Just depends on how long you can hold out before eating it.

Options:
Ham or other meat
Grated Onion (I grate it so as not to have bites of onion in the cheesy goodness)
Minced Garlic
Other Seasonings
Chili Peppers (we like chilis, and it's no exception when making Mac n Cheese)

Have fun with it and enjoy!