Jared and Izzy's Wedding Macaroni and Cheese

State Representative Jared Golden and his wife, Izzy, enjoyed this recipe at their wedding reception.  I can see why. Not only is it tasty, but you don't have to boil the pasta!

When I saw "uncooked pasta" in this recipe, I could hardly wait. Mostly because, yes, I've tried such recipes before and the pasta failed to cook through. In my experience, "uncooked pasta" is a promise that rarely comes to fruition. So, I just had to see. You know, you want your local legislators to be truthful in all things, including recipes. A seasoned legislator will surely be comfortable with the citizenry testing out his recipe for truthfulness.

I am happy to report that the pasta does, indeed, cook through, without benefit of boiling separately. In fact, I tried a small substitution, and that worked like a charm. I used mini ziti pasta in place of elbow pasta, with no problems at all.

The recipe is covered with foil for the first half of the baking time, then uncovered the other half. I kept an eye on the uncovered baking, and removed it at half the time the recipe indicated, and it was perfectly done. Any longer and I'm afraid it might have burned. 

This is a nice "true" mac and cheese which lends itself well to additions. One might enjoy it plain, or get creative, adding most anything you like to complement the pasta and cheese.

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