Four-Cheese Baked Rigatoni Skillet (Video)

Oh friends.

Someone did something… foolish.

This particular someone stopped at the airport Starbucks at 7 PM — and yes, this is the same person who doesn’t usually drink coffee. After several failed attempts to find a good ice cream cone over the weekend, a frozen white chocolate mocha Frappuccino sounded like the perfect thing. It doubled as dinner. Clearly, an excellent idea.

Now it’s 2 AM and this same person is wide awake and buzzing, which is especially delightful considering she’s accumulated maybe twelve hours of sleep over the past six days. The caffeine kicked in hard on the plane too — cold sweats, dizzy spells, the works — because her last proper meal had been ten hours earlier and mostly consisted of mimosas. Even though caffeine always affects her like this, she optimistically assumed this time would be different. Magic powers apparently didn’t show up.

She’s tempted to punch herself in the face. Or take a bottle of NyQuil. Or both. At least NyQuil might knock her out — though she doesn’t want to erase the last six hours from memory because the highlight was when the man next to her on the plane asked if she was “coming back to Pittsburgh from my college spring break.”

Ummm, no. But thanks for the compliment that transported her back eight years. What gave her away — the hoodie, the messy hair up in a bun, the tired face, or that general college-morning vibe?

He asked again, “so you’re really not in college?” and then mentioned he was having retina issues and could barely see six inches in front of his face. Go figure.

Who wants some mac and cheese? I’m definitely in. Mostly because I’m hoping it will induce a food coma — I am WIDE AWAKE in the middle of the night, remember?

Also, what bizarre infomercials are on TV at this hour?

Everything tastes better out of a cast-iron skillet, so you should drop what you’re doing and make this. We love lobster mac and cheese, and although this version doesn’t include lobster, the texture and consistency of the sauce are nearly identical to our favorite restaurant-style version. The mascarpone contributes a rich, high-fat creaminess, and that can cause the finished dish to gather a bit of oil — which is normal for this type of mac and cheese and part of what makes it indulgent.

I used short, slightly fat mini rigatoni, but you can experiment with other pasta shapes. Make sure your skillet is large enough for the amount of pasta and sauce — mine is over 13 inches — or use a baking dish to finish if the skillet gets too full.

Then just… devour it. And maybe sing me to sleep when you’re done.

I love you.