Mac N Cheese For Grown Ups

This was sent to me in a william sonoma magazine and it's a nice variation on an old classic that tends to be a more grown up taste (imho) it calls for cavatappi pasta (a fancier elbow looking pasta) but i couldn't find it so just used elbow. has more steps than most mac-n-cheese i've made but i feel it's worth it and hope you do too.

Steps

Preheat oven to 375.

Butter 3-4 quart square baking dish.

In 4 quart saucepan over medium heat , melt 6 tablespoons of butter.

Stir in flour , cook , stirring , 1 minuted.

Add bay leaf.

Slowly whisk in milk until smooth.

Simmer , whisking occasionally , 14-16 minutes.

Discard bay leaf.

Whisk in creme fraiche and 1 1 / 2 teaspoon fleur de sel.

Bring to simmer.

Off heat , stir in 1 1 / 2 cups each mozzarella and cheedar.

Season with fleur de sel and white pepper.

In large bowl , combine pasta and cheese sauce.

Stir in 2 cups mozzarella.

Transfer to prepared casserole dish.

Sprinkle with remaining 1 / 2 cup mozzarella and cheddar , then with bread crumbs.

Bake 30 minutes.

Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Ingredients

unsalted butter, all-purpose flour, bay leaf, milk, creme fraiche, fleur de sel, mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, white pepper, cavatappi pasta, breadcrumbs