Macaroni and Cheese with Ham

Serve with Chicken Cutlets with Herbs and Sautéed Greens n' Shrooms. Unbelievably smooth and silky and full of smoky flavors.

Ingredients

• Salt
• 1 pound cavatappi (hollow corkscrew shaped pasta) or other short cut pasta
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• Freshly ground black pepper
• A few grates nutmeg
• 1 cup shredded Gruyere
• 1 cup shredded white sharp Cheddar
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 pound French ham, deli sliced, finely chopped

Preparation

Heat a large pot of salted water to a boil, drop in pasta. Cook pasta to just shy of al dente.

Heat sauce pot with butter over medium heat, whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute, whisk in stock then milk, allow the sauce to thicken, and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir in cheeses in a figure eight motion. Stir in Dijon and ham and remove the sauce from heat. Drain pasta and combine with sauce.