We usually have some sort of pasta with red sauce with our Christmas dinner. When I was flipping through my bookmarked recipes, looking for some inspiration for this year’s pasta dish, I came across this one.  It wasn’t what I was planning on making, but it looked too good not to try anyway.

This was one of the Christmas dinner favorites. It’s perfectly creamy and cheesy and the roasted garlic really makes this something special. I roasted the garlic the day before so I’d have less prep time when I actually made it.

Roasted Garlic Macaroni and Cheese
(from Annie’s Eats)
Serves 10-12 as a side

1 head garlic
1 tsp. olive oil
12 oz. dry pasta
3 T. unsalted butter
3 T. all-purpose flour
3 c. milk
1/4 t. dried parsley
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
8 oz. white cheddar cheese, shredded
4 oz. crumbled garlic and herb boursin cheese, divided
Salt and pepper

Cut about 1/2 in. off the top of the garlic. Cut the roots so that the garlic will sit flat. Remove the papery skin for the garlic, but leave enough so that the cloves stay together. Put garlic into a small casserole dish or baking pan, drizzle olive oil over it and cover with a lid or foil. Bake at 325F degrees for 1 hour. Remove garlic and let it cool until you can handle it. Squeeze all of the garlic out of the skins and smash with a fork to make a paste.

Increase the oven temperature to 400F degrees. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook the pasta until about 2 minutes shy of al dente according to the package directions. Drain in a colander. Return the pasta to the pot and set aside. Meanwhile in a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and the roasted garlic paste and cook, stirring constantly, until light golden, about 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk, dried parsley, and cayenne. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce comes to a low boil and thickens noticeably. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cheddar and about 3 ounces of the boursin. Whisk until the cheese is completely melted. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the sauce over the drained pasta and toss to coat well. Transfer to a lightly greased 2 quart baking dish and top with the remaining boursin. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the top is browned and the cheese is bubbling. Let cool at least 5-10 minutes before serving.