One of the most popular items at The Smith is our Mac + Cheese. Served sizzling, straight from the oven in a cast iron skillet, the cheese bubbling. A perfect golden crust. You break the crust, dig the spoon in to find a mecca of glorious string cheesy, salty perfection.

Oprah.com recently asked us to share our recipe with them, which we did happily. And we figured, hey, why not share with you too?

To enjoy when you just can’t make it to the restaurant:

yield: 8 servings
active time: 30 minutes
total time: 55 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound elbow macaroni
• 2 ounces unsalted butter
• 2 ounces all purpose flour
• 12 ounces heavy cream
• 12 ounces whole milk
• 3 ounces cheddar, shredded
• 3 ounces fontina, shredded
• 3 ounces gruyere, shredded
• 1 ounce parmigiano reggiano, shredded
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 ounces  shredded parmigiano reggiano to finish

Directions

Preheat oven and shallow ovenproof baking dish to 400° F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook pasta to al dente. Strain, do not refresh.

Simultaneously, in 2 quart heavy bottomed stockpot, whisk butter and flour together over medium heat to blonde roux. Add milk and heavy cream to roux; whisk until boiling. Add all cheese, reserving 2 ounces of parmigiano reggiano; stir until mixture is melted evenly throughout.

Add cooked pasta to cheese mixture, season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Remove hot baking dish from oven, butter evenly while hot. Add entire contents to buttered baking dish, sprinkle top with reserved parmgiano reggiano. Bake in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes, until top is browned. Serve immediately.