Lobster Mac N Cheese

This is a really good Lobster Mac n Cheese recipe. It should be...it originally came from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. That right there should let you know that it's also an expensive recipe.

I guess it really all depends on where and in what form you get your lobster. Here in Groton, I went to Grossman's (on rt.184) and bought my lobster meat ready-to-cook, because I'm lazy. You could definitely save some money though by cooking and shelling the lobsters yourself at home (if you do that, you'll need about 6).

Also, just in case you're not familiar with Gruyere cheese, it's got a real smokey flavor to it, so you may want to ask the deli if you can try a little first before cooking with it. It's definitely got a powerful flavor, and if you don't like it, all the lobster in the world isn't gonna cover up the taste of it in this dish. If you don't like it, you can always use a cheese you're more comfortable with in it's place.

This is such an excellent recipe for holidays (I may make it again for Christmas dinner since my sister and I both hate ham) or special events. It makes a LOT, so unless you have a huge family or want a ton of leftovers, I suggest making this for some sort of occasion. Or I suppose you could just cut it in half...

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'Lobster Mac N Cheese'

Source: Adapted from Smells Like Home

Ingredients

1 lb spiral pasta

1 stick butter, divided

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups milk

12 oz Gruyere cheese, shredded (4 cups)

8 oz shredded sharp Cheddar (2 cups)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 lbs cooked lobster meat, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 375.  Set aside a greased 13×9-inch baking dish or 6 to 8 individual gratin dishes.

2. Cook pasta according to package directions in a large pot, but cut the cook time down by 3 minutes – it will finish cooking in the oven; drain pasta well and return it to the pot.

3. Meanwhile, melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan set over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 1/2 minutes, whisking constantly. Slowly whisk the milk into the butter-flour mixture until no lumps remain.

4. Heat the milk, stirring frequently, until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon and starts to bubble in the center of the saucepan 4-7 minutes). Once it bubbles, let it cook, stirring the bottom of the pan to prevent burning, for 2 minutes.

5. Remove from heat and add in a handful of cheese, stirring it into the milk with a rubber spatula until it is completely melted; repeat with the remaining cheese. Stir in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

6. While the milk cooks, melt the 2 remaining tablespoons of butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Toss in the bread crumbs with the melted butter and toast them until they are golden brown, stirring occasionally at first then frequently towards the end. Remove pan from heat and set aside.

7. Add the lobster meat into the cheese sauce then pour the entire mixture over the hot pasta in the pot. Mix everything together well, making sure the pasta is well-coated with the sauce.  Transfer to prepared baking dish(es) and place it/them on a baking sheet to avoid spillage on the bottom of the oven.

8. Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over the top of the mac n’ cheese. Bake the large dish for 45-50 minutes and the smaller dishes for 30-35 minutes, until the mac n’ cheese is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

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