Baked Penne Mornay

Pasta and cheese. What's not to love? The idea behind this type of dish is a sort of classed-up mac and cheese. I was originally inspired to try a recipe like this when I saw something similar on an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. My version isn't quite as extravagant, and I've added Italian sausage. The recipe for the cheese sauce is derived from one found in The Joy of Cooking, but with more cheese.

Ingredients

Pasta

• 2 1/2 cups dry penne pasta
• 3 links Italian sausage
• 2 tbs half and half
• Extra Parmiggiano-Reggiano

Sauce

• 2 tbs butter
• 2 tbs flour
• 1 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1/4 cup grated Emmentaler
• 1/4 cup grated Parmiggiano-Reggiano
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Get some salted water boiling and cook the pasta for about 10 minutes. Drain, rinse, and set aside. Heat pan on medium-high. De-case the sausage. Break it up and add to the pan. Cook until well browned and set aside.

Clean out the pan. We'll now make the sauce. Melt butter on medium heat. Add flour and mix together. Cook until the roux darkens slightly. Add milk and whisk together. Simmer the sauce while grating the cheese. Add grated cheese and stir together until melted and integrated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Combine the pasta, sauce, sausage, and half and half in a casserole dish. Mix thoroughly to coat the pasta. Cover the top with more grated Parmiggiano. Bake for 20 minutes. The top should be a little crunchy, while the interior will be creamy and cheesy.