The early bird gets the mac and cheese

This Friday marks the second office lunch potluck of the year. My coworkers and I decided to have it this time to help us cope with our first full-day Friday since Memorial Weekend. Friday's were sweet with only having to put in four hours of work before starting the weekend early.

And this morning, I got up super early to make my contribution to the potluck. And by super early, I mean 7:15am. For me, that's early! It's sad that I can get up early to make mac and cheese but not so much to work out or do something useful. Now this much-loved mac and cheese is one that my roommates and I used to make for every gathering we hosted. It's a Martha Stewart recipe and has always won the hearts of whoever stuck a fork in it.

I usually just use grated parmesan instead of Gruyere in this recipe. And this time around, I decided to not only mix it up and use small shells instead of elbow macaroni, but add some extra zing in the form of crispy hickory smoked bacon crumbles atop the crunchy bread topping.

Here it is in its naked glory before the bread topping arrives.

And here it is fresh out of the oven with its crunchy bread topping. The bacon, which I baked in the oven to spare my kitchen the wrath of all that grease and smoke, is hanging out on my desk in a ziplock bag at the moment. I decided to sprinkle it on top after I reheat the thing to retain its crispy-ness. I will be sure to let you know how it tastes with the bacon addition. Bacon makes everything, better, right?