RE: Need a good potluck idea!
I don't know exactly what kind of dish you're looking for, but I have made this for MANY baby showers at work, my best friend's son's baptism party, and at home with great reviews, always. I have made anywhere from the amount in the recipe up to 4x the quantity, and it always turns out. I often leave out the mushrooms if I'm taking it places, though, because I don't know if others will like them, and I usually use turkey Italian sausage, but it doesn't really matter. If I make it the day before, I don't broil it, I just assemble everything, then take it out the next day, let it sit out for a few minutes to take the chill off, then broil it or bake it at about 350 degress to get it heated through and melt/slightly brown the cheese. If I'm making it to take somewhere, I often use a foil pan to make it no-cleanup.
This is slightly modified from the very enthusiastic 30 Minute Meals girl on Food Network. :) Good luck finding a recipe!
Italian Mac N' Cheese
1 lb. ziti rigate, penne rigate, or cavatappi
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, bulk or removed from the casing
2 T. olive oil
1 T. butter
3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced
12 cremini or button mushrooms, sliced
salt & pepper
2 T. all-purpose flour
1 c. chicken stock
1 c. half-and-half
1 10 oz. (2 1/2 cups) package shredded Italian 4-cheese blend
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained well
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt water and cook pasta according to directions on package.
In a nonstick skillet, brown and crumble the sausage. Drain sausage crumbles on paper-towel lined plate. Return pan to heat and add olive oil, butter, garlic, and mushrooms. Season liberally with salt & pepper. Saute 3 to 5 minutes, until mushrooms are lightly golden.
Turn broiler on to "high."
To mushrooms and garlic, add flour and stir, cooking 2 minutes. Whisk in stock, then stir in half-and-half. Bring to a bubble, then stir in 2 c. of 4 cheese blend. When cheese has melted into sauce, add tomatoes. When sauce comes to a bubble, remove from heat and adjust seasonings.
Combine cheese sauce with sausage and pasta, transfer to baking dish, casserole, or oven-safe serving platter. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 c. of 4 cheese blend and grated Parmesan over the top, and brown under hot broiler.
Jen, mom to my silly monkey, 10/06