Sweet Potato & Mac Gratin

This time next week, we will be nursing our tryptophan hangovers. There is talk of garnishing our bloody marys with tater tots and bacon.... I'm pretty excited. For now, I'm cherishing this quiet lull, before my kitchen becomes a war zone. In my final preparations, I whipped up this gratin that combines my two favorite Turkey Day sides: sweet potatoes and mac. They go together like tater tots and bacon!

For Mac:
8 oz elbow pasta
4 tablespoons Lucky Layla Golden Butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups Mill King Milk
4 oz Wagon Wheel, grated
4 oz Challerhocker, grated
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon dill

Directions:
In large pot of boiling, salted water, cook pasta until al dente. Strain and set aside. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour a little at a time until well blended, very lightly browned and bubbly. Quickly whisk in milk and continue stirring until thickened. Add cheese and stir until blended. Reduce heat to low, add basil, dill and reserved pasta and cook for a minutes longer. Remove from heat and set aside.

For Gratin:
1 tablespoon Lucky Layla Golden Butter, room temp
Mac (recipe above)
1/2 cup Mill King Milk
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into thin coins
Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
2 oz Wagon Wheel, grated
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 generous pinch dried rosemary

Directions:
Heat oven to 400. Grease a 9x9 baking dish with butter. Arrange half of sweet potato slices on bottom, slightly overlapping. Season potatoes with salt and pepper and pour 1/4 cup of milk evenly over first layer, then spread 1/2 of mac over this layer. Repeat steps for second layer. Top with remaining cheese, breadcrumbs and rosemary. Cover dish and bake for 1 hour. Broil uncovered for 10 minutes to brown.

*a perfect side for 6