Baked Angel Hair with Vegetables and Ham

Baked Angel Hair with Vegetables and Ham
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 2/3 cups milk
6 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated
1/4 pound ham, cut into small cubes
1 (10-ounce) bag frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 egg yolks, lightly whisked together
1/2 pound angel hair pasta, cooked and drained
Fresh chives or flat-leaf parsley, chopped, for garnish
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium-size, oven-safe saucepan, melt butter. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in mustard. Pour in milk. When milk is heated, add cheese gradually, stirring to melt. When most of cheese has melted, stir in ham, vegetables, cayenne and pepper. Remove saucepan from heat. Use a ladle to scoop some of the hot liquid into the egg yolks, whisking the mixture as you add the liquid. Continue to ladle hot liquid into yolks, whisking. When there is about a cup of the yolk mixture, pour it back into the cheese mixture in the saucepan and stir to blend. Add the cooked angel hair. Stir to coat the pasta with cheese mixture.
Bake Angel Hair with Vegetables and Ham in preheated 350-degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until edges are bubbling and top is beginning to turn brown.
Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with chopped chives or parsley. Makes 6 servings.

Cooks note: Wayyyyyyyyyyyyy too much better!  There was a pool of butter on the plates!  What a waste and not very figure friendly.  Next time, I'll make it with 2 Tabespoons of butter and it should be fine.

I also doubled the ham, and left out the veggies and the cayenne.  My family usually eats casseroles better if I serve veggies on the side.

My son had seconds.  :)