Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I feel very comfortable in suggesting that you substitute 1/2 Monteray Jack cheese and 1/2 Longhorn Cheese for the Gruy'ere and Sharp Cheddar. I'm sure it would be easier on the budget and the results would be excellent. I made a recipe very similar to this, using the combination of Monteray Jack and Longhorn Cheese for a gathering of 60 plus people, and I couldn't copy the recipe fast enough to keep up with the requests. If you really like the Sharp Cheese, you can also use that along with the other two cheeses. It never hurts to experiment with your recipes. I always serve the Mac. & Cheese with stewed tomatoes made with chopped celery and onions, green peppers [minced], a few shakes of crushed red pepper [dried], brown sugar and white sugar [or splenda]. I always thicken the stewed tomatoes as the last step with a mixture of flour with cold water wisked together as in making gravy.Good Luck!! Yum!!