4-Cheese Macaroni with Apples and Bacon (GK)

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter plus 3 tablespoons
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 cups cubed ciabatta bread
• 6 cups whole milk [Nice local stuff since Market Basket milk my parents bought had gone bad at this point and I went to the Boston Local Food Festival with Ori F.]
• 1 small onion, halved
• 4 ounces bacon (3 to 4 slices), cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 Fuji apples, peeled and diced
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 4 ounces sopressatta or other similarly spiced meat, diced
• 4 ounces cooked ham, shredded or chopped
• 1 pound dry conchiglie (shell pasta)
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 ounces whole-milk mozzerella cheese, grated
• 4 ounces aged Cheddar cheese, grated
• 4 ounces smoked Gouda cheese, grated
• 4 ounces Havarti cheese, grated

Mise en place.

Crisped bacon.

Garlic, three tablespoons butter and pepper flakes heated over medium.  Toss with ciabatta and toasted in the oven.

Process the bacon bread crumbs.

Apples are cooked in the remaining bacon fat until just soft and not mushy.  Toss with vinegar.

Crisping sopressatta.

Simmer the onion together with the milk for 15-20 minutes.

I wish I could actually have someone film me doing action-filled stuff like cooking a bechamel sauce (it becomes a mornay sauce once you add cheese).  First you cook the butter and flour together until it smells nutty.  Then you gradually add the milk...
And the whole thing seizes up like crazy until you nearly add all the milk and the texture loosens.  Then you finally reduce it until it coats the back of a spoon.

Stir in all the grated cheese.

Combine noodles with apple mixture.  Then add mornay sauce.

Cover with the bacon bread crumbs (a rather lot of them) and a tiny bit of mozzeralla.  I was supposed to use a smaller pan but I didn't haven't anything else I figured would be broiler-safe.

Too close/long under the broiler?

The dish sort of left me feeling as if I wouldn't be in some part happier just making it the way I did before I started cooking: out of a box with a packet of velveeta sauce.  It just didn't hit the spot, it wasn't lusciously creamy, and it makes me wonder if it was me or the recipe that messed up.
Next time I'm doing an ATK version of this dish.