Four Cheese Baked Skillet Rigatoni. {Video!}
Oh friends.
Someone did something… foolish.
This foolish thing that someone did, well… was to swing by Starbucks in the airport last night at – get ready for it – 7PM. You know, this certain someone who doesn’t drink coffee? But decided that since she went to great lengths to get a big, drippy ice cream cone this weekend and nearly bawled after each attempt failed, that a deliciously frozen white chocolate mocha frappuccino would suffice? Oh, as dinner too. Yes, that would suffice as dinner.
Very wise this person is.
Soooo now it’s like 2AM and this someone is wide awake and bouncing off the walls which is just fabulous because her cumulative amount of sleep over the last six days is probably somewhere around 12 hours. Oh and this is after her massive jitter attack on the plane when she started to have cold sweats like crazy and go weak in the knees since her last meal was ten hours before and mainly composed of mimosas and even though caffeine alllllllways does this to her she assumed !this time would be different! because she developed magic powers or something.
I’m about to punch myself in the face. Or ingest a bottle of Nyquil. Or maybe both? Because I’m pretty sure that would knock me out. But but but I don’t want it to wipe away my memory of the last six hours because the highlight of my life occurred tonight when the man next to me on the plane asked me if I was “coming back to Pittsburgh from my college spring break.”
Ummm no I’m not nice man but thank you for transporting me back eight years. What tipped you off? Was it my dirty hooded sweatshirt? My broken out face? My hair piled on top of my head and my overall general dirtbag appearance that resembled every Friday and Monday morning of my collegiate years?
This was all great and good and wonderful especially after he asked me for the second time “so you’re really not in college?”… only to tell me five minutes later that he is having retina issues and his vision is so blurry that he can barely see 6 inches in front of his face clearly. Ah well.
Who wants some mac and cheese? I would have to say definitely me, if only for the hopes of falling into a food coma because if you haven’t realized it yet, I’M WIDE AWAKE in the middle of the night.
And now I’m just hungry. By the way, do you even KNOW what kind of infomercials are on TV at this time? What?!
Since everything is ten thousand times better when it comes out of a cast iron skillet, you should absolutely drop what you’re doing and make this. If you recall, we are quite enamored with lobster mac and cheese and while I’ve been making a version of my own for years, the minute my husband took a cheesy bite of these baby rigatonis he deemed the recipe the “closest to Capital Grille’s lobster mac” he’s tasted.
While it’s lacking in lobster, the texture and consistency of the sauce came out nearly identical to one of our favorite treats. Because of the mascarpone’s high fat content, the dish will accumulate a bit of oil, but if you’ve ever had said lobster mac, you know this is a common feature. I chose to use these adorable short and fat mini rigatoni noodles, but you can certainly play around with a few other pastas if you wish. Just make sure you have a big skillet for this amount of sauce + pasta (mine is over 13 inches in diameter) or have a baking dish on hand to catch the overflow and simply bake the rest.
Then just… devour it. And sing me to sleep when you’re done?
Four Cheese Baked Skillet Mini Rigs
Ingredients
- 1 pound mini rigatoni pasta
- 1 shallot, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressde
- 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
- 8 ounces freshly grated gruyere cheese
- 8 ounces freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 8 ounces freshly grated fontina cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grate cheeses, placing them together in a large bowl. Boil water and prepare pasta according to directions, cooking for 3-4 minutes less than called-for time.
- 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, stirring continuously for another 1-2 minutes. Add in mascarpone and almost all of the grated cheeses, reserving about 1/2 cup of the grated cheese. Stir continuously until mixture thickens, about 3-4 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, then tasted and season more if desired. Add pasta to the skillet and toss thoroughly to coat.
- Sprinkle the top of the mixture with remaining cheeses and breadcrumbs. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until top is golden brown and bubbly. Serve immediately.
Notes
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242 Comments on “Four Cheese Baked Skillet Rigatoni. {Video!}”
Oh, Jessica, Jessica, JESSICA!!! I could bathe in this right now it looks so dang inviting!!! OK, maybe not BATHE in it’s but it really, truly does look incredibly delicious! Oh, yum!!
You know, they do make decaff. coffee, and from what I’ve heard, it’s pretty good. :-)
What a wonderful thing for that man to say to you! He just should have stopped before he mentioned the retina issues.
oh my word. I need this right now!! a great use for my cast iron skillet…..
Oh goodness, this looks amazing. I have to find these mini rigatoni!
This looks so good! Do you think it will keep in the fridge/reheat well? I just made your springtime jasmine rice and it was delicious!
It does! It’s not as delicious as when you first make it, but reheat it with a little splash of milk and it’s yummy.
I need this in my face right now.
This is like the pot calling the kettle black, but I think it’s a compliment he thought you were a young, vivacious 20-year old college girl. I roll my eyes when people think I’m that age still, though.
OMG! I am making this, like tonight! This looks amazing… maybe add some shrimp or lobster? YUM!
I’ve been looking at this recipe all morning thinking about making it for dinner, the only thing holding me back right now is what to substitute the marscapone with … it’s so expensive here.
Try cream cheese!
MY GOSH. I need this, but it might give me a heart attack!
So. At least the guy at the airport thought you were young enough to be in college…right!? Yeah. Maybe not so much. Every year that passes I realize the farther apart in age I get from those “kids” and I still feel like I belong with them. Loving this pasta. Of course, it has cheese so that’s kinda a no brainer for me!
Oh My Goodness AMAZING! Now I have to make this… NOW.:) My kids are going to LOVE it
It’s settled. I absolutely HAVE to make this. This week.
Wow, this dish looks amazing!!! Yum, I so need to try this, looks incredible! Gorgeous photos!
I want to toss a straw into that bottle Nyquil for you so that it will give me ample opportunity to take a fork and (Steal and) eat that entire skillet of mac and cheese all. to. myself. Oh holy dayyummm girl does that look EPIC, in every sense of the word. YUM!!
O yeah, this is happening. I love that you are using the cast iron to make it too. I love using my cast iron.
the third picture make me want to jump into my screen to eat this dish. And I am a vegan.
I hope you feel better after that “adventure”!
Oh sweet Moses. This looks AMAZING.
O dear. This might be the undoing of any attempts of healthy eating we ever thought about having this summer….
OMG this looks amazing
Your photos are fantastic! They are making me so hungry right now!
I think this might be one of my favorite recipes you’ve posted! Looks amazing :) I can’t wait to try it.
And I know what you mean, I can’t drink coffee after about 1pm…Unless I want to be awake all night.
I agree; cast iron skillets make everything cooked in them better! And I so hear you on the caffeine. I can’t have any after 5pm or I just won’t sleep that night!!
I need to make more stuff in my big skillet. I guess it needs to be…this. Right here. The end.
It looks very very good. :) i think i will try it tomorrow, thanks :)
You are just the BEST food blogger around. I love this blog – and I’m going to make this delicious looking cheesy-goodness rriiiiiight now. Thank youuuuu
Mascarpone, gruyere, fontina, and sharp cheddar… I can only imagine how wonderful the result is when all these 4 cheeses are combined!
Be careful what you wish for ;-) Me singing you to sleep could result in you jumping out the window. Pictures are wonderful!
Wow, this looks amazing and so comforting!! I have to get a cast iron skillet…and some cheese :) Hope you get some rest!
Crave worthy! Looks so delicious. Hope you’re well rested now.
i’m sorry to hear about the whole wanting to punch yourself in the face thing, but seriously, insomnia has inspired one of your most awesome recipes to date.
i might be sending you a starbucks gift card. :)
THAT was one of the most entertaining things I have read in years… THANK YOU.
OH MY GOSH!!! This looks amazing! I cannot wait to try out this recipe.
Thank you for inspiring me to cook…if you knew me, you would know how rare that happens!
Awesome! you amaze me with your work !
Freaking nice haha looks so delicious :)
Ok, I’m in a food coma just LOOKING at this…YUM. YUM.. YUM.
And I came looking for a recipe for something like ‘Asian style steamed fish’ to make for dinner in, like, half an hour…and now I want thiiiisss!!!!
*hurumph* not fair.
The food from Fl/Disney World looks absolutely amazing!! How were the whoopie pies? I’ve always wanted to try one or make one but never have! Thank you so much for sharing! Love your blog doll face…you college student you!! Lol ;-) Have a fabulous day! Hope you got some sleep!
you are the absolute laughter to my mornings, Jessica! your humor is undefined and sooooo refreshing! and you are adorable. love your blog…forever!
I can honestly say that after seeing this cheesy drippy gooey deliciousness, this is the first time I have ever wanted macaroni for breakfast…….thanks a lot! :)
That looks ridiculously good. Wow. I love mac and cheese, and those images are making it quite difficult at work right now :).
Oh, and I don’t want to alarm you, but you seem to have forgotten the bacon :).
I’m drooling at my desk just looking at these photos. This sounds amazing and oh-so-sinful! It was so nice meeting you at FBF this past weekend!
WONDERFUL meeting you too!! :)
I’m not allowed near caffeine either so I do sympathise. This looks absolutely amazing, you don’t precook the pasta then? :)
my a** thanks you.
This is what I should be doing with my insomnia!! This looks delicious!
I think you are the only person in the world who can make me want “mac & cheese” for breakfast! And I love your iPhone photos! which app did you use for the little creepy guy on the tree? and are you on instagram?
I used Colorsplash for the tree one and yes I am on Instagram – howsweeteats!
That looks so amazing! Do you like using your cast iron skillet. I was tempted to buy one the other day… do you use yours alot? What type of things do you usually cook in it?
I wish I could take a bite of that through my screen.. this looks amazzzzzing!!!!!!
This looks amazing!
You know there’s no coffee in frappuccino’s, right? :p
made this tonight. UNREAL. we can’t stop eating it.
ooey gooey goodness! I want a bowl right now and I just dinner! Looks fantastic:)
I saw this and it literally made my mouth just water…I have a problem though, I live in Japan and I don’t think that they sell the fontina cheese or gruyere cheese is there anything I could substitute either one of them with. I really want to make this<3
If there’s anything I can’t turn down, it’d be cheese and pasta. This looks sensational, definitely trying it out over the weekend. Thanks!