Sage Butter Macaroni and Four Cheese (Food Network Recipe)

I regret that I was lax in the photographic documentation of this delicious Sage Butter Macaroni and Four Cheese recipe, but it is too good a recipe not to share anyway. I've made it three or four times now, varying slightly each time. I've never bothered including the mascarpone, and maybe that's some hideous culinary sin, but I think it turns out splendid without it. This most recent endeavor was conducted on a stricter budget (i.e. my mother was not in town buying the ingredients for me), so I had to scale back on the quality of cheese -- which is, of course, what makes or breaks this dish. We decided to settle on regular old Giant Eagle Swiss instead of the Gruyere, and went with a mid-range natural Cheddar. We also substituted Pecorino Romano for the Parmigiano-Reggiano, because my love for Romano borders on the obsessive. There's no getting around the sage, though -- it has to be fresh for this, or you may as well omit it altogether.

Perhaps it doesn't do it justice, but nevertheless, I give you... the mac n' cheese:


Hungry yet?