Curried Mac and Cheese

I'm not the type of person that can eat the same thing everyday. I've learned through trial and error that one dish three times in a row is my limit! I was discussing this with my boyfriend, and he said it depended on the dish. Japanese food is definitely a cuisine he doesn't get sick of as easily. I guess being Japanese American, eating Japanese food growing up makes it easy for us in that aspect. He did mention that he can probably eat curry for 2 weeks straight and not get sick of it. The way he said this made me think is that he knows this fact from experience not just a "what if" situation.

When I saw this recipe for Curried Mac and Cheese on the blog Within the Kitchen, I thought "Wow, how can I go wrong? My BF loves curry ... and Mac and Cheese ... What guy doesn't love Mac and Cheese?" He loved it! As he was happily munching away on the the Mac and Cheese he said "I feel like a kid eating dessert!"

Recipe for Curried Mac and Cheese

3 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
4 T butter
1 onion, chopped
4 T flour
2 T white wine (optional)
2 c whole milk
2-3 cups shredded cheese*
1-2 t curry powder**
1/2 t paprika
salt and pepper to taste***
1/8 cup breadcrumbs (from the tin)

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Cook macaroni according to directions on the package. Do not salt the water since you do not know how salty the cheese sauce is yet.

Saute butter and onions in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat until softened. Add flour to make a paste, and allow to cook a bit to get rid of the floury taste. Add wine and mix until smooth. Add milk 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until smooth before adding more. Add all but one cup of cheese and mix until melted and smooth. Then mix in the curry powder one teaspoon at a time and tasting to check the flavor. Add paprika, salt, and pepper to your liking. Mix the sauce with the cooked macaroni.

Grease or use cooking spray**** a 8 inch square pan. Put the mac and cheese mixture into the pan. Mix the remaining shredded cheese with the breadcrumbs and about 1/8 teaspoon of curry powder. Sprinkle this mixture on top of the mac and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbling and warmed through. If the top does not have a nice crispy top, place in broiled for about one minute.

*I used mostly sharp cheddar and some havarti, since that's what I had in the frig and needed to use up.
**Depends on how strong your curry powder is. Be careful not to use too much, you'd like it to subtly taste like curry ... think curried mac and cheese, not curry with a hint of mac and a sprinkle of cheese. Curry flavor also starts developing more as it cooks
***Also be careful with the salt since some cheese tend to be extremely salty. You can always add more salt, but you cannot unsalt a dish.
****I really like to use those floured cooking sprays for baking for casseroles. It really keeps the creamy sauce from sticking to the pan.