Cut The Cheese

I love gnocchi!! Love love LOVE it!! So when I found this recipe online I knew I had to try it!!

Gnocchi Mac n' Cheese

1 lb gnocchi

2 Tbsp butter

2 tsp garlic, finely chopped

1 Tbsp all-purpose flour

3/4 c milk

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1/4 c shredded Gruyere cheese

1/4 c shredded Fontina cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

1/3 c shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano

Basil leaves for garnish, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare gnocchi according to package directions. Drain and place gnocchi in a single-layer, in a 1-1/2 quart shallow baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk in flour until it thickens and bubbles, then whisk in milk and mustard. Continue to whisk mixture and cook until slightly thickened, about 3-5 minutes.

Combine Gruyere and Fontina cheeses, then add by the handful to milk mixture, stirring until melted before adding the next handful. Once all the cheese is melted, season sauce with salt and pepper.

Pour sauce over gnocchi and sprinkle with Parmigiano-Reggiano over the top. Bake until gnocchi have puffed and cheese is golden and bubbly, about 25 minutes. Let gnocchi rest for 5 minutes before serving. 

Sounds fantastic right? 
I had almost all of the ingredients so it made the recipe that much better.
The only thing I needed to get was the cheese. Easy enough right?
Ummm, have you ever heard of Gruyere cheese? Apparently it some kind of Swiss {as in made is Switzerland} cheese.I didn't even know if I'd be able to find it at a regular grocery store. I tried a few stores and then final found a block at my local Wal-Mart {yes, I shop there, back off}. Do you want to know how much a small block of Gruyere cheese costs?? SIXTEEN DOLLARS!! 
My first though? You have got to be kidding me? Who pays SIXTEEN DOLLARS for a small block of cheese?!?
So, I didn't even bother to look for the other cheeses because I didn't want to know how much they would cost!! So I grabbed a five cheese blend instead. Probably didn't give the same effect but there was no way I was paying SIXTEEN DOLLARS for cheese!! 
I made a few other, minor, modifications to the recipe the day I made it. First of all I just halfed the recipe. Then, instead of putting it in a shallow dished, I mixed the gnocchi and the cheese sauce together in a bowl and then put the mixture into ramekins. It's just more fun to eat food out of ramekins!!! 

It wasn't quite as fantastic as I was hoping {maybe the SIXTEEN DOLLAR cheese does make a difference} but still a yummy dinner if I do say so myself!!