Spicy Mac n' cheese

If anyone in this world is a connoisseur of Macaroni and Cheese, it would be me. Earlier today I had my TV set on foodnetwork and Sunny Anderson was making this spicy mac n' cheese and it looked SO good to me so I decided it needed to be made for dinner tonight :)

It did not dissapoint. Nguyen loved it because it had some kick, and the homemade croutons on top were the perfect touch! This is definitely a keeper!


Ingredients

2 cups elbow pasta, cooked until almost al dente
16 ounces Cheddar cheese, 1/2 cubed, 1/2 shredded
8 ounces Monterey pepper jack cheese, cubed
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
4 tablespoons sour cream (fyi, I didn't have any and it didn't matter...still good without!)
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup half-and-half
4 slices bread
1 tablespoon butter
Special equipment: 2-quart baking dish

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, toss together pasta with the cheese cubes and pour into the baking dish. In a large bowl mix together the flour, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, dry mustard, nutmeg and sour cream, egg, heavy cream and half-and-half. Pour over the pasta and cover with shredded Cheddar. Bake uncovered until top is just beginning to brown, about 35 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the bread into crouton-sized squares. In a skillet over medium heat, melt butter, add cubes and toast until golden. Sprinkle the bread cubes on top of the macaroni and cheese and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes more.