4-Cheese Baked Skillet Rigatoni

I try not to use recipes from others, whether it be cookbooks or blogs. I prefer to generate my own original creations and share them with you. But sometimes, I’ll be innocently scrolling through Pinterest, flipping through Food Network Magazine, or hopping from blog to blog, and I’ll come across a recipe so enticing that it grabs hold of my brain. It becomes all-consuming, haunting my every waking thought and shouting, “Make me! Make me!”

So when I saw this 4-Cheese Baked Skillet Rigatoni on How Sweet Eats, I was essentially hypnotized. This is a blog I read daily, and I have complex feelings about it. Jessica churns out the most creative, mouth-watering masterpieces, which I absolutely love. However, I must admit I’m bitterly jealous about it! Her recipe for this cheesy baked pasta took full control over my thoughts. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t shake the thought of this recipe. So I gave in and made the pasta-packed skillet for dinner one night.

Oh. My. God.

Everyone, say hello to my new favorite mac & cheese. I have found true love, and if they would only legalize marriage to mac and cheese, then I would have my soul mate. With fontina, gruyere, and white cheddar, this skillet is bursting with cheesy bliss. Plus, the fourth cheesy component, mascarpone cheese, adds undeniable creaminess. It is so rich, so cheesy, so pleasureful. I couldn’t even speak after my first forkful. I was went into a pasta-induced, trance-like state. Goodbye real world; hello 4-cheese baked euphoria.

Seriously though, why do people bother doing drugs when they could eat 4-Cheese Baked Skillet Rigatoni instead?

I also love how flavorful these cheesy riggies are. Some people think cheese sauce pasta means merely that: cheese + pasta. But this skillet yields the flavor powers of both garlic and shallots. Between that and the four kinds of cheese, all of your taste buds will be pleased.

Why are we still taking about this? Why aren’t you making it yet?

A Few Tips Before You Get Cooking:

1. Don’t overbake or you will dry out the sauce.
2. Make sure your pasta is cooked al dente so it doesn’t turn limp when you bake it.
3. I omitted the nutmeg because I’m really not a fan of it in savory dishes, but feel free to include it in yours. I also added more cheese because my sauce needed a little more cheesy flavor for my tastes.
4. Prepare this dish ahead of time then bake when you’re ready to eat.
5. The leftovers are practically just as good. I should know…I ate all of them.
6. Use whole wheat or whole grain pasta to grab some extra health benefits.
7. If you don’t have an oven-safe skillet, never fear! You can just cook the pasta in a baking dish instead.
8. I found my skillet wasn’t quite big enough to mix the pasta together with the sauce, so I transferred it to another pot to combine then put it back in the skillet to bake.

4-Cheese Baked Skillet Rigatoni
Slightly adapted from How Sweet It Is

serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 pound rigatoni pasta
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
• 1 cup freshly grated gruyere cheese
• 1 1/4 cups freshly grated white cheddar cheese
• 1 1/4 cups freshly grated fontina cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/3 cup seasoned panko breadcrumbs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine cheeses in a large bowl, reserving a 1/2 cup for topping. Boil water and prepare pasta according to directions, cooking for 3-4 minutes less than called-for time.
2. Heat a large oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add in olive oil and butter, then throw in shallots with a pinch of salt. Stir to coat and cook for 2-3 minutes, until soft. Add in garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add flour to the skillet then whisk constantly to create a roux. Let cook for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Pour in milk, whisking continuously for another 1-2 minutes. Whisk in mascarpone and all of the cheese, except for the reserved 1/2 cup. Stir continuously until mixture thickens, about 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then tasted and season more if desired. Add pasta to the skillet and stir to coat.
3. Sprinkle the top of the mixture with remaining cheeses and breadcrumbs. Bake covered for 15 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 15 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Serve immediately.

Buster Bar Ice Cream Cake

My dad is the most impossible man to please. Every time some gift-giving holiday rolls around, everyone in my family is thrown into a panic. My father never tells any of us what he wants, and it’s just about impossible to think of anything to get him. Then, when you finally figure out a gift and give it to him, he will wind up returning it 90% of the time. Even if you can get the man to actually tell you what he wants, he still goes and returns it! It’s an anxiety-filled, never-ending ordeal.

I had the same problem deciding on a cake for his birthday. For as long as I can remember, my father has requested an angel food cake. Somewhere along the line, it became a tradition. However, I was completely thrown for a loop when I asked him if he wanted another angel food cake this year and he told me to “surprise him.”

I really think my world crashed down in that moment.

I thought a lot about the foods my dad likes and pondered various ways to turn that into cake. I was particularly stuck on the Buster Bars I made way back when Smart Cookie wash just a baby. He loved those things, which makes sense considering their modeled after his favorite Dairy Queen treat, the Peanut Buster Parfaits. I suddenly realized I could turn those bars into an ice cream cake. Alas! I had figured out the perfect cake!

So what makes a Buster Bar Ice Cream Cake? Well, the original Peanut Buster Parfait has layers of DQ’s awesome vanilla soft serve, hot fudge, and peanuts. Therefore, all those elements come into play in this cake. Let me break it down: we start with a layer of my favorite, deep, dark, moist chocolate cake (it’s literally the best chocolate cake ever). Then, we smother it in gooey hot fudge and crunchy peanuts. Next comes a mountain of frosty, creamy vanilla ice cream, which is crowned with a final layer of more fudge and peanuts. The final product is a towering ice cream cake behemoth where all the layers come together in a mind-blowing manner. The components on their own sound good, but there’s something about putting them together. It creates the single most amazing taste and textural experience of your life.

This is the perfect ice cream cake.

My dad loved it, and I was quite proud. The rest of my family was in love with it too. In fact, my uncle dubbed it “the best ice cream cake ever.” Me? I ate a slice the size of my head, and I enjoyed every bite. With actual chocolate cake, gobs of gooey fudge, crunchy peanuts, and smooth vanilla ice cream, this cake is pure heaven.

Eat your heart out, Dairy Queen.

A Few Tips Before You Get Cooking:

1. Because you must freeze the cake several times during the layering process, you should make sure you give yourself enough time to make the cake. I suggest starting in the morning.
2. You can use homemade vanilla ice cream to make this even more incredible.
3. Yes, you could use a boxed cake mix, but I swear on my credibility as a chef that this recipe is some of the best chocolate cake you’ll have. Making it homemade makes a huge difference in how special and delicious this cake is.
4. This seems like a complicated recipe, but it’s actually super easy and fool-proof.
5. To cut out a perfect circle of parchment paper to line the cake pan with: Set your pan on top of the parchment paper then hold it steady as you trace around it with a sharp knife. Viola!

Buster Bar Ice Cream Cake
By The Smart Cookie Cook

Ingredients:

• 1 Chocolate Cake, recipe follows
• 2 16-oz. jars hot fudge
• 2 cups roasted & salted peanuts, divided
• 1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream
• rainbow sprinkles, for garnish

For the Chocolate Cake:

Cake recipe from The Pastry Queen

• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup regular cocoa powder
• 2 cups flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Make the Chocolate Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a round 8×8 pan with nonstick cooking spray and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, cook the butter, water, and oil until butter is melted. Remove from heat and set aside. In a separate bowl, stir together the sugar, cocoa powders, and flour. Whisk in the butter mixture until completely smooth. Then whisk in the eggs one at a time, followed by the buttermilk. Finally, whisk in the baking soda, salt, and vanilla. Pour into the prepared pan until 3/4 full. You will probably have extra batter, which you can bake into cupcakes.
3. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean (Note: if you make cupcakes, they will bake up faster). Let cake cool on wire racks for an hour. Then carefully invert the cake onto a cutting board lined with wax or parchment paper. Let cool completely.
4. When cake is completely cooled, use wax paper to line its circumference, creating a tall wall around the cake. Secure it with tape. Pour one jar of hot fudge over the cake and spread it out evenly. Sprinkle with one cup of the nuts and freeze until fudge is firm, about an hour.
5. 15 minutes before taking the cake out of the freezer, take out the ice cream to soften. Once the cake is frozen, top it with the softened ice cream and spread out evenly. Return to the fridge until ice cream is frozen, about 30 minutes.
6. Top ice cream with the remaining jar of fudge and the remaining cup of peanuts. Return to the fridge until firm, about 30 minutes. When ready to serve, carefully remove the wax paper from the cake. Let thaw for 5-10 minutes before eating. Keep stored in freezer in an airtight container.