This weekend, some friends hosted a Mac N Cheese Bake Off. The competition was intense and being a mac n cheese novice, I basically decided to enter just for fun. But then I went to a restaurant where I had lobster mac and I knew that I wanted to make it. I found an Ina Garten recipe and hit the grocery store. Finding lobster proved to be a bit of a challenge, so I actually went to THREE different places…and at the end of the day, I spent a crap load on this mac n cheese.
Well, I didn’t win, but I didn’t come in last place. The judges deliberated intensely while we chefs hung out in the backyard. After trying them, we each liked something about all the others…and I was happy with my showing.
So, if you like mac n cheese and you like lobster, maybe you’ll like this recipe!
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- Vegetable oil
- 1 pound cavatappi or elbow macaroni
- 1 quart milk
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, divided
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 12 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated (4 cups)
- 8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (2 cups)
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 1/2 pounds cooked lobster meat
- 1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs (5 slices, crusts removed)
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Drizzle oil into a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the pasta and cook according to the directions on the package, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain well.
Grate your Gruyere and cheddar cheeses. If you don’t know what Gruyere is (like I didn’t), you can find it in the fancy cheese aisle. PS – this crap aint cheap!
Boil the lobster tails about 10 minutes or until the shells turn red. The butcher at the market told me to cut the tops of the shells prior and that would help with deshelling. He was right. Or, if you’re a lucky biyatch, you might be able to find precooked lobster meat.
Chop the lobster meat into bite sized pieces.
Next, heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don’t boil it. In a large pot, melt 6 tablespoons of butter and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. Still whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth.
Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, 1 tablespoon salt, the pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and lobster and stir well.
By the by (as the Brits say), I totally ground my own fresh nutmeg…how on earth did I not win????
Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, combine them with the fresh bread crumbs, and sprinkle on the top. Ya, made my own breadcrumbs…cuz I’m a freaking rockstar like that.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top. This was a bubbly ewy-gooey dish of goodness when I pulled it out of the over. I almost tore into it right then!
Linked to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday.
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