This week I made Sauce Mornay from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. And what goes better with Sauce Mornay, aka cheese sauce, than PASTA?! Basically, I made Mac and Cheese. If you're not making homemade mac and cheese, you should be. It's so easy, and it's so much better.

I started by making breadcrumbs. I don't bake this version of mac and cheese. Sometimes, baking mac and cheese can cause it to get dry. I wanted the sauce to really shine since I'm concentrating on the sauce. I wanted the texture you usually have with baking mac and cheese and a little freshness for such a rich dish — the perfect solution, breadcrumbs. I toasted the fresh bread crumbs in a little olive oil, so they get crispy and brown, which gives a good texture. Mix the crispy breadcrumbs with grated parmesan cheese and chopped parsley. The cheese provides a little saltiness and umami. The parsley adds a little freshness. Perfect.

The cheese sauce is effortless to make. Start with butter and flour. Melt the butter and then whisk in the flour. You want to cook this for a solid three minutes over low heat. You cook the flour to remove the flour taste, but you don't want the roux to start to brown. The roux should be a light, golden color. Roux, the French term for a mixture of fat (in this case, butter) and flour, is used for the base of most sauces. Once you have your roux cooked, slowly add in heated milk. I use whole milk for cooking because fat equals flavor. I add four ounces of milk at a time. Allow the roux to absorb the milk before adding the next ladle of milk. Once all of the milk is added, bring the mixture to a boil. Once the sauce comes to a boil, cook for a minute, continually whisking, so it doesn't burn on the bottom of the dutch oven. Turn off the heat and stir in grated cheese, salt, pepper, and nutmeg until melted and incorporated fully. And that's it! You have Sauce Mornay.

While making the sauce, cook the pasta. I prefer to use Cavatappi because I like the shape, and it holds the sauce well. However, you can use any short tubular pasta. Stir the cooked pasta into the Sauce Mornay. Divide the pasta into four bowls. Top with the prepared breadcrumbs. Serve with a fresh spinach salad and lemon vinaigrette. Mac and cheese is a heavy, cheesy dish, so it's essential to serve it with something fresh and acidic. Bon Appetit!

Next week I will be making Tomato Sauce.