Recipe: Poole's mac and cheese

I found the recipe for Poole's Diner's famous mac and cheese and I knew I had to try making it for the holidays.

On Thanksgiving, I got to work and discovered it isn't nearly as difficult as I had expected.

Here's the recipe chef Ashley Christensen shared with Food Republic last year:

Poole’s Diner Mac And Cheese

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Recipe serves four

Ingredients

• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 pound macaroni, cooked al dente and drained
• 1 cup Jarlsberg, shredded and divided
• 1 cup Grana Padano, shredded and divided (I couldn't find this cheese, but got a similar one at Whole Foods)
• 3 cups white cheddar, shredded and divided
• sea salt, to taste

Directions

• I did all of my cheese shredding and grating the night before to save time.
• Set a rack in the oven about 4 inches from the broiler, and preheat broiler.
• In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, reduce cream by a fourth.
• Lower heat to medium.
• Stir in the macaroni and 3/4 cup each of the Jarlsberg, Grana Padano and white cheddar.
• Stir with a wooden spoon while tossing the contents of the pan in a saute motion.
• Transfer mixture to a baking dish
• If you want to add extra ingredients (i.e. roasted tomatoes, caramelized onions), they should be layered between the pasta and the cheese topping that follows.
• Sprinkle the remaining Jarlsberg, Grana Padano and white cheddar over the top, distributing them evenly.
• Place the dish under the broiler. Watch it carefully, as you will need to rotate the dish to create an even crust. This will take from 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the strength of your broiler.
• Remove gratin from the oven and season with fresh cracked black pepper. Serve immediately.