Pasta with Beecher's Cheese Sauce

They came up with this recipe when they opened Beecher's Restaurant. They wanted to show their customers that you can cook with and eat great cheese every day, and this killer mac and cheese uses two of their cheeses with a background hint of garlic powder and chipotle pepper. They've already won the vote for Seattle's best Mac and Cheese, but the tens of thousands of people a year from all over the world who eat it in their store tell them it's the world's Best. If you can't get Beecher's cheese, substitute extra old white cheddar for Flagship and Monterey Jack for Just Jack.

Sauce:
2 Tbsp. butter
3½ Tbsp. all-purpose flour, unbleached
1½ cups whole milk
7 oz Flagship cheese, grated (about 1¾ cups)
1 oz Just Jack cheese, grated (¼ cup)
½ tsp. coarse sea salt
¼-½ tsp. chipotle chili powder
1/8 tsp. garlic powder

Pasta:
6 oz penne pasta (about 3¼ cups)
1 oz (¼ cup) Flagship cheese, grated
1 oz (¼ cup) Just Jack cheese, grated
¼-½ tsp. chipotle chili powder

To prepare sauce, melt butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Continue whisking and cook for 2 minutes. Slowly add milk, whisking constantly. Cook until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Add cheeses, salt, chili powder and garlic powder. Stir until cheese is melted and all ingredients are incorporated, about 3 minutes. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter or oil an 8" baking dish.

Cook penne 2 minutes less than package directions. (It will finish cooking in the oven.)

Rinse pasta in cold water and drain well. Combine pasta and sauce in a medium bowl; mix carefully but thoroughly. Scrape the pasta into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle top with cheeses and then the chili powder.

Bake, uncovered for 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 4 servings.