Last week, while visiting Beijing, I crushed around two pounds of almonds into an almond meal.

Because of this lack of judgment, which is still unaccounted for, I never used the almond meal, and now I’m stuck with two pounds of it. By connecting the Nutribullet into a 220V outlet, rather than an outlet attached to our voltage converter, I electrocuted it.

I was craving macaroni and cheese today, so this was the result: macaroni and cheese with an almond crust. This was an unusual discovery. It was FANTASTIC. The crunch and nuttiness of the almonds perfectly complement the cheese.

Okay, so what’s the secret ingredient in my macaroni and cheese? Mustard made with Dijon mustard. I’m not alone when it comes to putting mustard in my macaroni and cheese. Nevertheless, if you haven’t been doing it, I strongly advise you to do so. For the first time since skipping the blue box and cheese packets, you can see why you were right to hold out.

INGREDIENTS:

• 12 oz. of elbow macaroni or other small, short-cut pasta(350g)
• 2 cups of milk (475 ml)
• 3 tbsp. of butter
• 3 tbsp. of flour (23g)
• 1 3/4 cups of shredded cheese (about 150g, whatever you like)
• 2 tsp. of Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper
• a handful of ground almonds

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pasta should be cooked al dente in a large saucepan of salted water (not quite al dente). After draining the pasta from the saucepan, run the pasta under cold water to stop the cooking process and prevent the pasta from drying out. The oven should be preheated to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Put the milk in a medium-size saucepan, bring to a simmer, and then remove from the heat. Stir the flour into the melted butter in a large pot set over medium heat using a whisker. After 2 minutes, the flour should be cooked, and the roux should be light brown, so keep an eye on it. Stir consistently for about three minutes, until thick and smooth, while whisking in the hot milk.

3. Once the cheese and mustard have melted and blended, add the remaining ingredients and stir until well combined—salt and pepper to your liking. Stir in the spaghetti after it’s been added to the saucepan. Spread the batter in a baking dish greased with cooking spray, then top with the almond meal. It should be bubbling after around 25 minutes in the oven.