Theron’s Mac And Cheese

Ingredients

12 oz box pasta (elbow, fusilli, or some type that will hang on to sauce)
2.25 cups water
1.5 cups milk
3 cups cheese
use a mix of hard cheeses and melty cheeses
I have been using gruyere, cheddar, and mascarpone
nutmeg
ground mustard
pepper flakes (or cayenne pepper)

Preparation

Put milk and water in sauce pot large enough to hold the pasta and cheese and slowly (SLOWLY) heat
really slowly
no, really slowly
like start on the lowest setting and when pan is warm to the touch, increase to next highest heat
do this until incremental increase in temperature to avoid scalding until mixture is just boiling

Add uncooked pasta and reduce heat to a simmer
cook pasta until just past al dente, 6-8 minutes
season with pepper flakes (or cayenne pepper), ground mustard, salt, and white pepper

Add ~1 cup of high-water shredded cheese (such as deli American or mozzarella)
when melted, remove the pot from heat
add ~1 cup of denser cheese (such as gruyere or cheddar)
stir until melted
add mascarpone cheese (or Neufchatel or Philadelphia cream cheese)
stir until mixed

You can stir in any mix-ins at this point. I like to add ground beef or tomato sauce.