Wine Lover's Mac & Cheese

Fall is here, so we have officially reached comfort food season! This week, we're savoring the last few days of September with our Wine of the Month, Reserve Chardonnay. For anyone looking to elevate their mac n' cheese to a sophisticated and gourmet dish, we have the recipe for you. Best of all, it incorporates dry white wine directly into the cheese—we used our Chardonnay, of course! 

Fondue Mac N' Cheese

Ingredients

• 1½ pounds Gruyère, grated
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 pound elbow macaroni
• 1 cup dry white wine
• ¼ teaspoon fresh-ground pepper
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 apple, cored and sliced
• Panko bread crumbs (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Fold garlic into butter in bowl. Grease casserole pan or baking dish with butter-garlic mixture.
2. Toss cornstarch with 1 pound Gruyère. Set aside. Bring pot of water to boil, and add salt. Boil macaroni for 10 minutes, or until al dente. Dunk pasta in cold water to shock, and let drain.
3. In same pot, warm wine over medium-low heat. One handful at a time, whisk in cheese until melted. Add pepper and nutmeg. Stir in cooked pasta. Transfer pasta mixture into buttered dish, and top with remaining cheese. If using bread crumbs, add atop and dot with extra garlic butter.
4. Cover with foil. Bake for 15 minutes, or until cheese bubbles. Remove foil, and bake 5 minutes until crisp. Let cool for 5 minutes. Serve alongside sliced apples. Serves 4.

Recipe from Jenn De La Vega for Wine Enthusiast

This recipe is truly a win-win. It combine our two loves: cheese and wine, and it also gives us a chance to revisit a childhood favorite and make it worthy of a nice dinner party. Our recommendation is to add a few chopped slices of cooked bacon into the mix just before baking. You can thank us later! Is this going into your comfort food rotation? Let us know @RubyHillWines!

If you want to make this recipe, we recommend our 2018 Reserve Chardonnay.
On sale for a few more days!