Curtis Mac And Cheese Food

CURTIS' MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook the bacon in a heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat until golden brown about 5 minutes;using a slotted spoon transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels and reserve.
• Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings.
• Add the shallots to the bacon drippings, sprinkle with salt, red pepper flakes & black pepper and sauté until translucent about 2 minutes.
• Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir in the flour.
• Cook the flour for 1 minute stirring constantly.
• Gradually whisk in the milk and cream, bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat about 10 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to medium-low and gradually add the cheese stirring to blend.
• Meanwhile bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat.
• Cook the pasta in the boiling salted water for 8 minutes stirring often to prevent it from sticking.
• Add the peas and continue boiling until the pasta is tender but still very firm to the bite and the peas are bright green and crisp-tender about 1 minute.
• Drain the pasta and peas.
• Stir the bacon into the cheese sauce.
• Stir the pasta and peas into the cheese sauce.
• The sauce will look loose but will continue to thicken once the pasta is added.
• If the sauce begins to thicken too much add more milk or cream to thin it to the desired consistency.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Butter 8 individual 6-inch-diameter casserole dishes or one 2 1/2-quart casserole dish; transfer the pasta to the buttered casserole dishes.
• Sprinkle the parsley over the pasta mixture then stir some of it into the pasta mixture.
• Preheat the broiler.
• In a small mixing bowl toss the breadcrumbs with the melted butter to coat well.
• Season with salt and sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly over the pasta.
• Broil until the topping is golden brown watching closely about 2 minutes.
• Let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving.