Soul Food version of Mac and Cheese

I decided that as Matt is away I would make a comfort dish that I wouldn't usually make when he's around: i.e a high fat dish.
One of my favorite dishes growing up was my Mum's Spagetti Cheese.
So I decided to do my own version, using gnocchi. I first had gnocchi when visiting my big sister who at the time was living in Udine, Italy.
It's a potato food, that you can use whenever you would use pasta. It's more satisfying that pasta as it has more to it, it's thick, chunky and holds sauces very well.
In my current mood I chose not to follow a recipe, but just to go with what I know: butter+flour+milk = bechamel sauce.
I started by melting some butter (approx 3 tablespoons) with chopped garlic

Then I added about 3 tbsp of flour to get it to this consistency. Remember, the lumps here are garlic.

I added about a cup of milk and when it was all blended I added a good dollop of spicy brown mustard.
Don't skimp on the stirring here. It may get tiring, but think of the those extra calories you get to burn and hence the reduced amount of guilt you need to feel about eating this later ;)

Add 'some' cheese.....I used extra sharp cheddar and extra sharp 'New York' cheddar. I have never seen 'New York' cheddar before, but apparently it's white cheddar.

Cook till melted..... then realize you've made too much sauce. So quickly par-boil some whole grain rotini pasta to supplement the gnocchi. Add this delicious cheese sauce to your gnocchi/pasta

Ah now, see! There's green stuff! In the eyes of my 12 year old Step-son this practically makes it a health food!!

 

Dump into a greased (haha!) casserole dish

Cover and bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 375F.
Then uncover and continue to bake at 425F for another 10 minutes. Enjoy the smell that greets you when you remove the lid at this time!!! Mmmmmm.

And finally, the finished product... HOT AND CHEESY!

I have got to say that it was soooooo good! The cheese, garlic and basil really pleased the pallete while the density of the gnocchi was satisfying.

On a side note, I've started a "Pinterest" account. It is a website where you "pin" images of things that interest you, or things of your own that you want to display (photos, recipes...) to virtual pinboards. People who follow you can then pin it to their own if they so desire.
It's fun! Check it out by clicking on this button....