Shells and Cheese

So,

Backstory. My wife works at an association (the American association of blankety blank) as a meeting planner. As such, she travels regularly and plans luncheons, receptions, etc. She is actually very good at this (despite her perceived need to seek my approval of her menu selections).

So, last year she was at an banquet event sponsored by a member company of her association, which she was not allowed to plan. This was a pretty big event, with several hundred attendees and dignitaries. Did I say dignitaries? Yes, including a head of state no less, the President of Panama. Now, what would you figure they would serve at a banquet with a special guest of such stature? Roast beef? Seafood? Chicken? Something exotic? No, the people who planned this banquet were definitely on a BUDGET, and served shells with cheese, ham and peas (a poor man's Carbonara I guess).

Now, it's not so much that the food wasn't good, but somehow this has become a running joke in her organization. So. Why I am writing about this? Well, the American Association of Blankety Blanks is having a halloween banquet, and as the wife is mildy allergic to cooking, it falls on me to improve upon this classic dish, shells with cheese, ham and peas. I would like to report successs!!

2 lbs of cooked shell pasta (yes two whole boxes)
1 3oz block of good white cheddar, shredded
1 quart of milk (or so)
3/4 stick of butter
1/2 cup flour
1lb Maple smoked ham steak diced into cubes
1 small bag of frozen peas
1 tsp thyme leaves
1/2 tsp finely chopped rosemary
Fresh Grated Nutmeg to taste
Salt
Pepper

So this is a basic Roux based cheese sauce.

Melt butter in a 2 qt or larger saucepan. Add Flour slowly, whisking continuously until the consistency of peanut butter. If you add too much flour, it will almost turn into dough, and you may need to add some oil to thin it out. Let this cook, whisking regularly over medium heat for a few minutes, just until the color starts to change (we don't want a dark roux, just a gold colored roux).

Slowly add the milk, whisking continuously until smooth and all milk is incorporated. At this point bring the heat up to high and whisk slowly until the sauce thickens and just begins to bubble. Reduce the heat to low, and then add the cheese in 2 batches, whisking all the while until smooth and cheeserrific. Add the nutmeg, herbs and salt and pepper to taste (this is a lot of sauce, don't be afraid of the salt and pepper!).

The ham is better if you brown it in a skillet, but you don't have to.

Cook the peas in the microwave following the instructions on the package.

Mix the peas and the ham into the sauce and then mix the sauce into the pasta.

Enjoy :-)

Thanks
- John