Cheddar Bacon Penne

What could be better than the classic mac and cheese recipe? How about adding bacon! This might not be healthy, but it sure does taste good. Why feed your family the standard boxed macaroni and cheese when you can prepare this dish with ease in your very own home.

Cheddar cheese is one of the most popular types of cheese in the world. Cheddar cheese is a hard, pale yellow to orange, sharp-tasting cheese originally (and still) made in the English village of Cheddar, in Somerset.

The traditional Mac-N-Cheese dish is as classic as apple pie. Do you have any favorite twists on the classic recipe?

1 cup uncooked penne, or other pasta
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon butter
4 1/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 cup 2% milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cooked bacon strip, crumbled

Cook the pasta according to the package directions and drain.
Meanwhile, in a small greased non-stick skillet, saute the onion and garlic until tender and set aside.
In a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth; gradually add milk.
Bring to a boil; cooks and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened.
Stir in 1 cup of cheese until melted.
Add the pasta, bacon and onion mixture to the sauce; toss to coat.
Transfer to a 3-cup baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Bake uncovered at 350F for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

2 Servings
Nutrition Facts: 528 calories, 29 g fat, 87 g cholesterol, 712 mg sodium, 42 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 32 g protein.

Cheddar Has A Uniform Butter Color

Cheddar says he adds less than 1 percent salt, considerably less than most other producers, and that he gets faulted for it in competitions. Cheese needs salt to preserve it and to keep it from tasting bland, but the Daisy cheddar certainly doesn't taste bland to me. Cheddar puts the young wheels in Cryovac bags after just a few days of drying, so they do not develop a rind or any surface mold. Without exposure to air, the wheels age slowly and retain moisture. Cheddar keeps them for at least a year, and visitors to the Cheddar Cheese Co.'s shop in Sonoma may occasionally find older wheels.

Daisy cheddar has a uniform butter color, subdued aromas of cultured milk and what I would call a sweet dairy smell, for lack of a better descriptor. The cheese is moist yet firm, creamy and mellow on the tongue, with that familiar cheddar tang but no bite. It strikes me as mild enough for a child's snack, yet compelling enough to put on a pre-dinner cheese board with some green olives and salumi. Open a bottle of Sonoma County Zinfandel - I like the juicy 2004 Sausal Alexander Valley Zinfandel - to pair the cheese with a wine from its neighborhood.

Look for Daisy Cheddar at Cheddar Cheese in Sonoma and at some Whole Foods.