Spicy Baked Macaroni

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I have made this recipe a number of times, with different variations. I love her method of putting breadcrumbs on both the top and bottom of the pasta, and sometimes will use panko. I have substituted fontina for the mozzarella and omitted the romano (using extra parmesan, and also used tiny balls of fresh mozzarella instead. Also, when a larger variety of vegetables are in season I play around with different combos, too. I've made it with different types of summer squash, fresh tomatoes, eggplant...you name it. It comes out exceptional every time! For those of you who think this should be like mac and cheese, sorry...it's not. It's better!

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Unfortunately I didn't read the reviews for this dish before making it. Mine ended up VERY dry. I guess I was expecting a texture and creaminess like traditional mac and cheese and this just does NOT have it. The flavor is just ok, nothing outstanding. I will not make again.

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I made this dish and I used 8oz of ciliegine (cherry sized mozzarella balls and quartered them, I also used one 6oz jar of romano cheese and one 6oz jar of parm cheese..I also used panko bread crumbs in place of reg bread crumbs, it gave it an awesome crunch..The dish was beautiful when it came out, prefectly brown & YUMMY....Thank you Giada for sharing!

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I just made this a few days ago and loved it, except it was not spicy at all. I doubled the amount for the red pepper and not even a hint of spice. It was still fantastic, though. I used wheat penne instead and shredded fat free mozzarella and a 5-cheese Italian blend, for a total of about 16 oz. of cheese, plus the (already grated parm/romano. It is a different take on the traditional macaroni and cheese, but very good. Even my picky mom liked it! I may try adding the cayenne next time, or even some jalapenos, to give it some kick.

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Every year I cook for my fiance's birthday. I make an entire buffet of various foods including mac & Cheese. This year I wanted to spice up my mac & cheese so I served the food network and came across this receipe. I have never had so many wonderful comments on a dish. I had this party Sat 11/14 & all I keep hearing is how delicious my mac & cheese was. I follwed Giada's receipe w/ a few differences like I added fresh spinach instead of frozen, and increased the red pepper flakes by 1/4 tsp and for an extra kick I added 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper. The most delicious dish I have tried!

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My friend and I made this recipe to accompany a chicken recipe and it was the PERFECT side dish. It takes macaroni and cheese to a whole new level. It has great texture and flavors all combined into one great dish. I would definately make this again.

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I followed the recommendations of reviewers (thank you guys! and it came out great. I doubled the tomatoes and used just a little over 1/2 lb. of the pasta. I also added some shredded carrots.I will definitely make again.

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i'm not a spinach fan so I used fresh basil.

i agree with other comments that original recipe is too dry. i used 28 ounce jar of sauce which worked well.

i tried using a cheaper parmesan from Argentina but it's definately worth the extra money to use the good stuff.

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My husband will eat anything and say it's good, but even he thought this was pretty boring. I apologized for its lack of flavor, and he said "it's not bad, it's totally edible." I opted out of the melted butter and didn't put as much cheese in it as the recipe called for, but it doesn't seem like that would have made a big enough difference.
I was a little skeptical of the flavor this would have as the recipe is written, so I did add some grilled chicken and I used a combination of cheeses (mozz, parm, prov, feta that should have kicked it up a bit.
The flavor was good, just not very interesting. This would make an OK side dish for a very flavorful meat meal or something, but not as a stand-alone meal.
I have a TON of leftovers and am going to try one meal with a spicy arrabiata sauce and another meal with more feta, basil, sundried tomatoes, and artichokes.

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What the Emperor and his new clothes did for fairy tales, this recipe does for cooking. Everyone must be afraid to offend Giada for coming up with a cropper! That's why there are so few negative remarks.