Emeril's Smoked Gouda Macaroni

Finally found my favorite, most ultimate comfort food! This is published in Emeril's Everyday's A Party Cookbook. It's my favorite of all his books because my old house is in it. Our old house, which was under 8' of water for 3 weeks after Katrina, was such a great place to entertain...ahhh, the memories. Anyway, Emeril calls for 1/4 lb of grated smoked gouda but we liked half cheddar, half gouda so it isn't too smoky. Serve with some fried catfish fresh from the pond and a tall iced tea with mint.

• Ready In: 55 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 6  cups water
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 1⁄8 teaspoon  vegetable oil
• 1  lb  small elbow macaroni
• 2  tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1⁄2 teaspoon unsalted butter
• 2  tablespoons flour
• 2 1⁄2 cups milk
• 1⁄4 teaspoon white pepper, freshly ground
• 1⁄4 lb smoked gouda cheese, grated

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Put the water, 1/2 tsp salt, and the oil in a large heavy saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil.
3. Add the macaroni and cook, stirring occsionally, until tender, about 8 minutes.
4. Drain and rinse under cool water.
5. Set aside.
6. In a small, heavy saucepan, melt 2 tbs of the butter over medium heat.
7. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
8. Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly.
9. Add the remaining 1/2 tsp salt and the pepper and continue whisking until the sauce is smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 8 minutes.
10. Remove the white sauce from the heat and stir in the cheese.
11. Continue stirring until the cheese melts.
12. Lightly grease a 6.5x10" casserole dish with the remeining 1/2 tsp butter.
13. Combine the cheese sauce and macaroni in a large mixing bowl and mix well.
14. Pour into the prepared casserole and bake until lightly golden on top, about 20 minutes.
15. Remove from the oven and serve hot.