Stout, Gouda, and Gorgonzola Mac & Cheese i.e. BLISS

It’s beyond decadent, it will haunt your dreams (in a good way), and it will be the best damn mac and cheese of your life! Bacon is optional. But really…it’s bacon.

Ingredients:

• 1 16 oz box of uncooked pasta (highly recommend ones with ridges to catch that creamy goodness, like Rotini or Shells)
• 3-4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup stout – I actually don’t recommend Guinness, but it’s not terrible. Go for a very dark, heavy stout that has more notes of nuts or even a milk stout (mad props to Dragon’s Milk here!)
• 1/2 cup half and half
• 1 1/2 cup milk (I use 2%, but you do you!)
• 2 Tbsp mustard (ideally not yellow mustard, but rather Dijon, German, or one made with beer for extra goodness
• 3 tbsp cream cheese (not right out of the fridge)
• 4 cups shredded smoked gouda
• 1-2 4 oz containers of crumbled blue cheese (I use 2)

Steps:

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot with heavily salted water until al dente (depending on the package instructions)
2. Drain and rinse the pasta with cold water, do not toss with oil as some recipes suggest as this will prevent the starches in the pasta to fully allow the sauce to cling
3. In another (or the same, I won’t judge) pot, melt the 3 tbsp butter
4. Once melted, add the flour and mix until it becomes slightly ‘paste-y’ i.e. becomes a roux
5. Add in the stout and mix a bit (30 seconds) to begin breaking up the roux
6. Add in the half and half, milk, and mustard (along with some simple salt and pepper) and begin to mix vigorously (shake it like a Polaroid…but don’t actually shake Polaroids) until it begins to fully incorporate together
7. Once the sauce becomes a single color and thickens slightly, add in the cream cheese and again mix like a Polaroid until the cream cheese breaks down into smaller chunks
8. Add about 2 cups of the gouda along with one container of the gorgonzola, now mix like a silk blanket until the cheese melts down
9. Add in the cooked pasta, stir to incorporate
10. Finish by adding the last 2 cups of gouda and the additional container of blue cheese, if using
11. Stir, stir, stir
12. Serve!
13. NOTE: If serving with bacon, at some point in the steps just microwave that shit until fully cooked and serve sprinkled on top so it doesn’t get soggy