Exceptionally Good Macaroni and Cheese

Boil a large pot of salted water and cook a pound of cellentani or other pasta of your choice till  it is nicely al dente. (Do not overcook!) Drain and add a little olive oil so it does not clump as you work on other steps.

While that is cooking, make the breadcrumbs for the topping:

Slice and then cube some good white bread such as a rustic country bread. Put cubes in blender in batches to make about 4 cups of finer crumbs of your preferred size.
In a very large frying pan (I use a stick proof one), heat 2 T of butter and 2 T of olive oil.
Add crumbs and stir regularly over a lowish heat until they are golden.
Clear a space in the crumbs and melt some butter and add 2 cubes of Trader Joe's frozen garlic or 2 or 3 minced fresh cloves. Cook briefly in the hot butter and then mix through the crumbs. Be careful not to overbrown the garlic. Then add lemon pepper (which contains salt) or freshly grated sea salt and black pepper to the crumbs. Turn off and set crumbs to the back of the stove.

For the sauce:
In a heavy medium saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of butter.
Add 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour and cook and whisk for a minute or two being careful not to overbrown it.
Very slowly, especially at first, add in 5 cups of milk. Add small amounts in the beginning, pausing the adding of milk to whisk the mixture very briskly so there are no lumps of flour. Use a spoon to make sure no flour remains unwhisked at the very edges of the bottom of the pot.
Add 1 T of dry mustard, rubbing the mustard between your thumb and forefinger as you sprinkle in it so it does not form into dozens of tiny mustard lumps which will be impossible to blend in. Whisk the mixture.
When the mixture starts to thicken, gradually whisk and melt in 5 cups of grated sharp cheddar.

Preheat oven to 350 toward the end of your preparations.

Take a large glass or other kind of oven dish (at least 9 by 13.5 but preferably bigger if you have one). Pour the nicely hot cheese sauce into the pan and then carefully fold in the cooked pasta so the two are evenly mixed.
Sprinkle on the toasted crumbs, right to the edges of the oven dish.
Pop into the hot oven on a middle rack for a few minutes to further brown the topping, being very careful not to burn the crumbs (about ten mins).

Let it sit briefly on the stove top so it is a little easier to serve large portions with a big spatula, but serve it while it is still piping hot.

Offer guests sea salt and black pepper grinders to add to their taste.

Serve with a good salad such as Farm Stand Salad.