Recipes
Noodles and Cheese and Fruit, Oh My!
Description: 2007 Tillamook Macaroni and Cheese Contest, Sharman Schubert, Seattle, WA Regional Finalist

Instructions:
Heat oven to 350°.

Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add macaroni and cook until almost done (The outside is cooked and the inside is underdone). Drain well.

While pasta is cooking, butter or spray a 3 Qt casserole dish and set aside. Place bread crumbs and nuts in a little bowl and set aside.

Place the Vin Santo, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, zest and vanilla in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring well. Add the dried fruits, mix well and reduce heat to a simmer. Let cook for 10 minutes or until the fruit is tender. Pour into the casserole dish. Set aside.

Melt butter in a small sauce pan. Remove 3 tbs butter and transfer to breadcrumb bowl. Mix well and set aside. When butter in saucepan bubbles, add the flour. Cook 1-3 minutes stirring constantly. While still stirring, pour in milk a little at a time. Stir constantly until all milk is added and mixture bubbles and becomes thick. Stir in salt, pepper, seasoning mix and 2 cups Swiss and 4 cups Mozzarella cheeses and blend well. Set aside until pasta is cooked, then add to pasta pan and stir well.

Pour pasta mixture into casserole dish on top of fruit. Mix bread crumb bowl contents together and sprinkle over the top of the pasta. Baked until browned on top - about 30 minutes.

Serving Size: 8+

Ingredients:
Pasta Mixture
1 lb. macaroni or pasta of your choice
9 tbsp. Tillamook® Butter, divided
1 cup Italian style bread crumbs
5 cups whole milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 tbs. pasta seasoning spice blend
2 cups Tillamook® Swiss Cheese, shredded
4 cups Tillamook® Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup sliced almonds

Fruit Mixture
1 cup Vin Santo
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 cup dried apricots - chopped
1 cup dried orange flavored cranberries
1 cup dried figs - chopped
1 cup dried prunes - chopped