The recipe is worth a million bucks.
Ingredients
- (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and: 8 Tbsp (divided)
- 1/2 cups roughly crushed buttery round crackers (such as Ritz): 1 piece
- (about 1 1/8 ounces) all-purpose flour: 0.25 cup
- 1/2 cups warm whole milk (about 105°F): 2 piece
- 1/2 cups warm half and half (about 105°F): 1 piece
- Dijon mustard: 4 tsp
- kosher salt: 2 tsp
- garlic powder: 1 tsp
- smoked paprika: 0.25 tsp
- (0.4-ounce) cube vegetable bouillon, very finely crushed (from 1 [2.1-ounce] pkg.) (such as Knorr): 1 piece
- ounces sharp yellow Cheddar cheese, shredded (2 cups): 8 piece
- ounces smoked yellow Cheddar cheese, shredded (1 cup): 4 piece
- ounces Colby-Jack cheese, shredded and divided (2 cups): 8 piece
- dried cavatappi pasta, cooked to al dente according to package directions: 1 piece (16 ounce)
- ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded (2 cups): 8 piece (divided)
- sour cream, at room temperature: 0.75 cup
- fresh chives: (chopped)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Gather all ingredients. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 13- x 9-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter.
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Stir together crackers and 3 tablespoons of the melted butter in a medium skillet; cook, stirring often, over medium until lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; set aside.
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Whisk together flour and remaining 4 tablespoons melted butter in a large Dutch oven over medium; cook, whisking constantly, until still blond in color but bubbly and somewhat toasty in aroma, about 2 minutes.
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Gradually add milk and half-and-half, whisking constantly, until combined. Cook over medium, whisking often, until milk mixture can very lightly coat the back of a spoon and hold a trail when a finger is dragged through, 2 to 4 minutes.
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Remove from heat; whisk in mustard, salt, garlic powder, paprika, and bouillon until dissolved and well combined.
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Gradually whisk in Cheddar, smoked Cheddar, and 1 cup of the Colby Jack, one cup at a time, until melted and smooth.
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Stir in cooked pasta until evenly coated. Spread half of the pasta mixture (about 5 cups) into prepared pan; top evenly with 1 cup of the mozzarella and 1/2 cup of the Colby Jack. Dollop and spread sour cream evenly over mozzarella mixture.
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Top evenly with remaining pasta mixture (about 5 cups); sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella and 1/2 cup Colby Jack.
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Sprinkle crushed cracker mixture evenly over pasta mixture.
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Bake in preheated oven until pasta mixture is bubbly around the edges, 25 to 30 minutes, loosely covering with aluminum foil to prevent overbrowning, if needed. Let stand on a wire rack 5 minutes.
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Garnish with chives and serve immediately.
