Baked Shells with Fontina and Parmesan Bread Crumbs

I was a bit under the weather a couple of weeks ago, and wasn't really up for making fancy meals, let alone making anything in my kitchen. My poor kitchen was deprived for several days :o( I had a lot of time to sit/lay around and look at my google reader, as well as search for recipes that I wanted to make when I felt a little better. I came across this total comfort food on Ezra Pound Cake. I knew it would be an easy meal to prepare, I just had to send the hubs to the store to get the ingredients! I often find that sending the hubs to the grocery can be very comical...especially when you are asking for things like "Fontina" cheese!! haha I usually get several phone calls asking all sorts of questions, but I would rather have that happen then him not get the right thing.

Baked Shells with Fontina and Parmesan Bread Crumbs

(from Ezra Pound Cake originally found From Jack Bishop’s “The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook”)

1 pound small shells
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces (about 2 cups) Italian Fontina cheese
Salt (I used Garlic Salt)
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Prepare shells according to package directions, but cook only until they are 1 to 2 minutes shy of al dente. Then drain.

Meanwhile, dice 4 tablespoons of the butter and place in a large bowl. Warm the cream in the microwave, about 1 minute. Cover to keep the cream warm. Shred the Fontina.

Stir the shells into the bowl with the butter. Toss to coat well. Stir in the warm cream and Fontina, and stir until the cheese starts to melt. Season with salt to taste and the nutmeg.

Pour the mixture into a greased 13-by-9 ceramic or glass baking dish. Combine the bread crumbs and Parmigiano-Reggiano, and sprinkle over the pasta. Dice the remaining tablespoon butter, and dot the crumb topping with small pieces of butter.

Bake until the sauce is bubbling and the topping turns golden brown, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

This meal was absolutely delicious! I haven't had a macaroni and cheese dish like this before, but I couldn't believe what I was missing out on. I do wish I had decided to cut the recipe in half, as it was MUCH TOO MUCH and after eating leftovers for like 3 nights in a row, I was macaroni and cheesed out! I hope you give it a try...PS - Fontina cheese is delicious!!!