Instructions: Make white sauce by melting 4 tablespoons butter in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add flour and whisk until smooth. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, to remove raw taste of flour.

Add 1 cup milk and whisk until smooth. Raise heat to medium and add remaining milk, whisking occasionally to prevent lumping. Cook until sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes. Add mustard, if desired, and season to taste with salt and white pepper.

Meanwhile, cook noodles in plenty of rapidly boiling, lightly salted water until barely tender, about 8 minutes. Drain, remove to large mixing bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon butter to prevent sticking.

Add cheese to white sauce and stir to mix. Add cooked ham and green onions and mix again. Add white sauce mixture to cooked noodles and combine thoroughly. Turn noodles out into well-buttered 2-quart gratin dish.

In small skillet, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Add bread crumbs and fry, stirring constantly, until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Scatter bread crumbs over top of noodles and bake at 350 degrees until top is browned and bubbling, about 30 minutes.

This recipe yields 6 to 8 servings.

Comments: You can make this fancy by using a combination of different cheeses - I like a combination of Fontina with a little fresh goat cheese and some Parmigiano-Reggiano (theyre not very strong, so add the mustard to the white sauce). But the classic is good old American Cheddar.

NOTES :

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