Broke-Ass Kitchen: Goat Cheese and Rosemary Mac & Cheese

Today’s recipe is a dish I’ve had not once, or even twice, in the past 6 days, like a person who respects themselves and sustaining their life span, but three times because I just ran a marathon and don’t give a fuuuu.  I’ve been on a week-long caloric bender to celebrate my unlikely completion of the NYC Marathon, and so far its highest (or lowest, rather) points was just a simple reminder that you can never, ever go wrong with pasta and cheese.

After falling for the Mac & Cheese with goat cheese and rosemary at Earl’s Beer & Cheese  in NYC’s UES, I made my own version for a pot luck the next day. Let’s just say I won the pot luck. Enjoy!

Broke-Ass Kitchen: Goat Cheese and Rosemary Mac & Cheese

Ingredients: 1 16 oz bag of elbow pasta, 1 10.5 oz log of goat cheese, 1 stem of rosemary, 1 cup of heavy cream, 1/3 cup of flour, salt & pepper. Optional: nutmeg or cinnamon, or garlic and red pepper flakes.
Cost: Around $8-$10
Time: 20 minutes
Soundtrack: Stereolab’s Mars Audiac Quintet
The Plan: First, slide the “leaves” off the rosemary stem and then chop them into tiny pieces and set to the side. Next, make a roux by pouring the heavy cream into a saucepan over low heat, then stir in the flour. (Note: this isn’t a traditional roux but works here because it gets thickened up with the goat cheese.) Add the rosemary and let that simmer and slowly thicken up.

In a larger saucepan, heat water until it’s boiling to cook the pasta. Add about a TBS of salt to the water when you add the pasta for flavor. Turn the heat to medium and stir occasionally until cooked. Next, cut goat cheese log up into many small pieces and spread out in the bottom of a baking dish. When pasta is cooked, drain and then pour on top of the cheese. Next, pour the thickened heavy cream sauce over the pasta, and stir it all together. Add salt and pepper, and other spices if you want (I added about 1 TBS of nutmeg to mine. You could also add garlic and/or red pepper flakes). Once it’s evenly distributed, dig in! And prepare to forgive yourself if you end up eating it 3 days in a row.

Photo Credit: Veggies by Season