• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 cups sliced shallots
• 1 bunch of broccoli heads (approx. 3 cups)
• 8 ounces cubed ham
• 8-10 ounces elbow macaroni
• 1-2 cups half and half
• 2-3 teaspoons hot sauce
• 8 ounces grated smoked Gouda cheese
• 6- 8 ounces crumbled goat cheese
• 8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 tablespoons flour

Preparation: 

Preheat oven to 400.  Start water to boil for macaroni. In a large pot over medium high heat, melt butter with shallots, cover and stir occasionally for approximately 5 mins.  Reduce heat to medium, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover and cook shallots until nice and brown.  Stir as needed.

While shallots are browning, slightly undercook macaroni, steam the broccoli and rinse the cubed ham to remove added salt from package. Combine all three cheeses with flour and toss to coat.

When shallots are ready, add 1 ½ cup half and half and stir in hot sauce and bring to a simmer.  Test for spice level and don’t be afraid to add more hot sauce if necessary.  Add cheese mixture and stir.  Check for spice level again.  Add more half and half as needed to keep it somewhat smooth.

When the cheese sauce is to your liking, add broccoli and stir to break up the heads.  Add the ham and stir.  Add macaroni and combine.  Place into a baking dish and bake for 20 mins.

Note:  Jon used 4 large shallots and 1 medium yellow onion.  For the hot sauce, he ended up using 1 teaspoon Sriracha and 2 teaspoons of a homemade roasted Serrano pepper/garlic hot sauce.  You’ll be surprised how much you can add without it getting too hot.  For the macaroni, he used Barilla Plus elbows because they are more of a spiral elbow with texture on the outside because it complements he texture of the cubed ham.