Please. EVERYONE CALM DOWN. Stop crying because you never thought a sandwich so flawless would ever exist. Stop rioting in the streets because you never thought that a carb-on-carb meal would make you salivate so much. Stop panicking that this sandwich will never procreate and make more beautiful sandwich babies, because it will. I want to thoroughly present to the world, the most precious and perfect sandwich there ever was: Bacon Mac and Cheese Grilled Cheese.

Full Disclosure: I ate the equivalent of four full sandwiches when preparing this. I have no shame and I had to unbutton the top button on my jeans. As Scotty P would say, “NO RAGRETS.”

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. elbow macaroni
• 1 quart milk
• 8 Tbsp. butter
• ½ cup all-purpose flour
• 12 oz. Gruyere cheese
• 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese
• 6 oz. Parmesan cheese
• ½ tsp. nutmeg
• 1 lb. bacon slices
• Thick farm-style bread
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the macaroni and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.
2. Meanwhile, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don’t boil it. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large pot and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. While whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, cheddar, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and stir well.
3. Cook bacon in medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat until cooked, but not burned. Discard excess grease.
4. Heat up a large skillet over medium heat. Lightly butter both sides of bread and place in skillet until slightly browned. Pull bread off of skillet and top with a large spoonful of mac and cheese. Top with 2-3 slices of bacon. Top open-faced sandwich with another piece of bread and return to skillet. Cook until browned. Serve warm.