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Good Day Cafe: butternut mac n' cheese

It's not just any macaroni and cheese on the menu when it's prepared by celebrity chef Todd English. He stepped into the Good Day Cafe on Friday and cooked up butternut mac n' cheese.

Ingredients:

Unsalted butter, 2 Tbsp.

Butternut squash, 4 cups peeled and diced (about 1 lb)

Penne Pasta, 3 ½ cups (12 oz.) uncooked

Heavy cream, 2 cups

Ground nutmeg, 1/8 tsp.

Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, ½ cup finely grated, divided

Ricotta cheese, ¼ cup

Kosher salt, 1 tsp.

Freshly ground black pepper, ¼ tsp.

Amaretti cookies, 2 crushed

Panko breadcrumbs, ½ cup

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add squash, and cook, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until golden brown. Add 2 cups water; cover and cook 5 minutes or until squash is tender. Drain.

2. Prepare pasta according to package directions.

3. Meanwhile, stir together cream, nutmeg, and ¼ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, 7 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken. Stir in squash. Process mixture with a handheld blender until smooth. (Or, let mixture cool 20 minutes, and process, in batches, in a food processor or blender until smooth.) Stir in ricotta, salt, and pepper.

4. Stir together hot cooked pasta and squash mixture. Pour into a buttered 11 x 17-inch baking dish. Stir together cookies and panko, and sprinkle over pasta mixture. Top with remaining ¼ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Cover tightly.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 7 minutes or until top is browned. Serve immediately. 6 to 8 servings