To kick off our cheese celebrations, we are featuring Cypress Grove cheeses. Located on California’s North Coast in Humboldt County, Cypress Grove are purveyors of premium goat cheeses. Founded by Mary Keehn, a single mother of four, who was searching for a healthy milk to give her children. One of her neighbors owned a farm that used goats to maintain the brush. After inquiring about purchasing two, the neighbor stated that if she could catch them, then the goats are hers. After a bit of work, Esmeralda and Hazel the goats became a part of Mary’s life. Soon, the goats multiplied and so did the milk. Curious about making cheese, Mary began to travel around the world to learn from the cheese making masters. Cypress Grove opened their doors in 1983 and have been honing their cheesemaking skills over the years to adapt to the changing tastes of the customer. In 2010, Cypress Grove built their own dairy, making the animal’s happiness and health the primary focus. This mindset earned Cypress Grove the American Humane Association’s endorsement of Humane Certified with a score of 100% three years running. With so many delectable cheese from Cypress Grove, it’s only fitting there’s a mac & cheese recipe featuring the award-winning Midnight Moon.

Midnight Moon Mac & Cheese

Homemade mac and cheese at its very finest.

Ingredients

• 1 cup grated Midnight Moon cheese
• 2 cups grated cheddar cheese, medium or sharp, your preference
• 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, or mozzarella
• 1 lb. rigatoni noodles
• Olive oil, for noodles
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 2 1/2 cups half and half
• 1/2 tablespoon salt, more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika, more to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease a 3-quart baking dish with cooking spray. Set aside.

 

Fill a large pot with water and sprinkle with salt. Bring water to a boil.

 

Combine the grated Midnight Moon and cheddar cheeses with the shredded Monterey Jack in a mixing bowl. Toss to combine.

 

Separate the cheese into three piles. One pile should be 3 cups of cheese for the sauce. The other two piles should be close to 1 cup each, one pile for inner layer and the other for the topping.

 

Once the water is boiling, add in the rigatoni noodles. Follow the package directions for cooking but subtract 2 minute for al dente noodles. Drain the water and transfer noodles to a large bowl. Drizzle a little olive oil over the noodles and stir.

 

Bring a saucepan to medium heat. Add butter and flour to the pan, cook for 1 minute, whisking regularly. Pour in about half of the whole milk and the half and half, whisking until smooth. Pour in the remaining whole milk and half and half, whisk until well incorporated and has thickened.

 

Add half of the larger cheese pile to the sauce pan and season with salt, ground black pepper and paprika. Stir together until cheese has melted. Once melted, add the remaining cheese from the larger pile and stir until melted and smooth. Season with more spices as needed.

 

Pour the cheese sauce over the cooked noodles in the large bowl. Stir to combine. Pour half of the cheesy noodles into the baking dish. Sprinkle noodles with one cup of the cheese mix. Add the remaining cheesy noodles on top. Sprinkle the last cup of cheese mix over the noodles.

 

Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and a light golden brown.

 

Servings 6