Cheesy Cavatappi Italiano

Cheesy Cavatappi Italiano Recipe

Ingredients

• 16 oz cavatappi pasta
• 6 cups whole milk
• 3 cups heavy whipping cream
• 12 oz Havarti, grated
• 12 oz smoked Gouda, grated
• 3 tbsp Cattleman’s Grill Italiano Seasoning
• 4 oz bread crumbs
• Kosher salt

Instructions

Preheat your cooker to 250°F. In a half sized steam table food pan, combine the uncooked cavatappi, milk, heavy cream, cheeses and Cattleman’s Grill Italiano Seasoning. You will probably have to turn up the edges of the foil pan. It will be very full. Carefully mix the ingredients with your hands. Place the pan in the cooker.

After one hour, stir the ingredients with a spoon. Make sure to get all the way to the bottom of the pan, so it doesn't burn.

After the pasta has cooked for about 2 hours (total), you should have a creamy mixture, with little standing liquid. Taste and add salt as necessary. Sprinkle the bread crumb topping over the pan, and cook an additional 30 minutes, until bread crumb begins to brown and the liquid is bubbling up through the topping. The finished product should be creamy, but not runny.

This play on macaroni and cheese uses Cattleman’s Grill Italiano Seasoning (a regular staple in our Italian sausages) to add an Italian flair to the dish. As the cream reduces and takes on smoke it also cooks the pasta.

After a couple of hours of smoke the pasta is topped with breadcrumbs to finish the dish with a crunchy exterior.