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1
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
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2
Line a large baking sheet with foil and lay each slice of bacon down with at least 1 inch of space between each slice.
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3
Place the baking sheet full of bacon on the lowest rack of your oven and let it cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until crisp but still pliable.
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4
It will crisp even further once its baked, so dont crisp it too much at this stage.
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5
Drain on paper towels and chop into bite-sized pieces.
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Set aside.
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7
In a large pot, boil water for the pasta.
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Once it starts to boil, season with about 1 tablespoon of salt and stir to dissolve.
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Add the pasta and boil for 5 minutes.
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10
Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water just in case.
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11
Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process.
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Dont toss the pasta around, just let it sit while you rinse it this helps keep some of the starch in place.
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13
Drain the cold water and let the cooled off pasta hang out on the sidelines while you make the cheese sauce.
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14
Rinse the pot you boiled the pasta in with cold water to cool it off completely then place back on top of the stove over medium heat.
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15
Add the butter to melt; once it starts to foam/sizzle, its ready for the flour.
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Add the flour and whisk vigorously until smooth and lump-free.
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Let this cook for 1 minute to get that raw flour flavor out.
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Add 1 cup of the half-and-half and continue to whisk vigorously until smooth, about 20 to 30 seconds.
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Add the remaining half-and-half and continue whisking.
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Add the rosemary, thyme, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, and minced garlic; mix well.
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Taste it!
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Adjust the seasoning as you need to.
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Increase the heat to medium-high and allow the mixture to come up to a simmer, whisking the whole time.
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The mixture will thicken very quickly so dont walk away from it.
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25
It should take about 5 minutes to start simmering.
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Once the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, remove it from the heat completely.
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Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano and cheddar cheese and stir gently until its melted and smooth, about 1 or 2 minutes.
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Either in the same pot or in a separate large bowl, combine the cooked and cooled pasta with the cheese sauce.
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Gently fold together until its completely coated.
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Mixture should be slightly loose but very creamy and easy to work with; if its too thick, thin it out with a little of the starchy pasta water.
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31
Fold in the basil and green onion at the last minute.
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32
Transfer half of the pasta and cheese mixture to a lightly greased baking dish (I used about 4 quick sprays of Pam cooking spray).
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Sprinkle half of the mozzarella cheese over the first half of the pasta/cheese mixture, then pour the remaining pasta/cheese mixture on top as a second layer.
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34
Add the remaining mozzarella cheese on top.
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35
Gently swirl a spoon or run a butter knife thru the mac and cheese mixture to ensure the mozzarella cheese is evenly combined throughout the dish.
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Sprinkle the top with the bacon and breadcrumbs.
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37
Bake in the 400 degrees F oven on the middle oven rack for 25-35 minutes, or until golden brown on top and bubbly all over.
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38
Allow the dish to cool for about 10 minutes before you dive in (trust me, its molten-lava hot!
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39
).
