Lobster Mac and Cheese

I'm pretty sure the thing I miss the most about living in New England is the seafood.  The ability to go to the grocery store, grab a lobster or some fish without spending a week's grocery budget (or fearing digestive disaster) is a luxury I took for granted growing up in Massachusetts.  Now, when I'm back home, I take any advantage to enjoy all the seafood there is to offer.



We had my little cousins over for dinner on my last night home and decided to make mac and cheese.  Of course, this meant I had to get some lobster in there.  It was the right thing to do.  It's the bacon of the ocean, after all.



I was mostly inspired to eat lobster because of my camp friend.  She grew up a pescatarian, so she's never had meat or poultry at all.  For Thanksgiving, her family has lobster and oysters.  How amazing is that?  I am not a turkey person so I'd take lobster and oyster Thanksgiving over the traditional any day!



By the way, why does anyone still eat mac and cheese out of the box?  I mean it serves its purpose, and sometimes I crave it, but man it does not COMPARE to homemade mac and cheese. Sure, it's more expensive to make it from scratch, but it's easy to do and the taste is night and day.  This is the serious comfort food I need in the middle of winter.  Plus you can change it up in so many different ways - using different kinds of cheese or any mix in from lobster to bacon to pumpkin.  It's a versatile dish that guests of all ages love.



Oh right, the recipe. I don't think I even need to tell you how good this was.  My little cousins scarfed it down despite being sometimes-picky eaters (we conveniently didn't tell them there was lobster in it) and I couldn't resist taking a second helping.  We doubled the recipe and used meat from 2 small-ish lobsters and I'm not sure how many ounces it actually was, but I'd use more next time.  I'm sure it was way less than 24 oz though so I think you'll be OK using the recipe as is below.  I might need to go home soon so I can make some more!



Lobster Mac and Cheese
from Annie's Eats

Ingredients
8 oz. pasta (I used cavatappi)
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
6 oz. fontina cheese, shredded or finely diced
4 oz. white cheddar cheese, shredded
½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
Dash grated nutmeg
12 oz. cooked lobster meat, cut into ½-inch chunks (claws and tail)
½ cup Panko breadcrumbs
Minced fresh chives, for garnish

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400˚ F.
2. Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish with butter.
3. Bring a pot of water to boil. Cook the pasta for about 2 minutes less than the package directions say is "al dente". Drain well into a large colander.
4. While the pasta is in the colander, return the pot to the medium heat. Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in the pot. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until light golden brown, about 1-2 minutes.
5. Slowly whisk in the milk in small additions until completely added and no lumps of flour remain. Stir in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Continue to heat, stirring frequently, until the sauce bubbles and thickens, about 5 minutes.
6. Once bubbling, cook for 2 more minutes, stirring constantly, scraping the bottom of the pan to prevent burning. Remove the pan from the heat.
7. Stir in the cheese one handful at at time and mix until completely melted.
8. Return the pasta to the pot and mix to coat well with the cheese sauce. Gently fold in the lobster meat. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
9. In a small bowl, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in the microwave. Stir in the Panko and toss until the crumbs are evenly coated. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the pasta in the baking dish.
10. Bake uncovered for about 20-25 minutes or until the top is browned and the cheese is bubbling. Serve warm topped with fresh minced chives, if desired.

Macaroni and Cheese Cups

Even though I had my last day at my old job, I didn't want to miss a baby shower that we'd been planning for months.  Luckily, it fell during my week off between jobs, so I was able to make it!  I was especially excited to meet my former coworker's wife, Christina, because I love her blog, Proper Hunt.  She is absolutely gorgeous and has amazing taste!  She looked gorgeous at the shower in a floor length blue dress.  You couldn't even tell she was pregnant until she turned around!



The shower was a really nice time.  We played the "baby food game" which I'd never played before.  We guessed based on look alone what a whole bunch of 1 ingredient baby foods were.  The chicken and turkey with gravy are some of the grossest looking foods I've ever seen!  Then, we had a few extra credit multi-ingredient baby foods.  The fruit ones weren't so bad, but the chicken-based jars smelled so terrible.  There was no way I was tasting those!  Do people really give these to their kids? Or do they make their own foods for their babies?



I wanted to make something for the adults that would be a little bit fun.  I love these Mac and Cheese cups because they are filling enough for a luncheon, but don't require a knife and fork.  The original recipe used full size muffin cups, but I wanted to make them a little bit smaller to fit with the "baby" theme.  I think they came out super adorable and everyone seemed to enjoy them!



The original recipe called for seasoned breadcrumbs, but I really like to season my own.  It allows me to have more control over my ingredients and salt content.  I added a dash of cayenne because I know that the father-to-be enjoys a little bit of heat.  It was just enough to add flavor but shouldn't scare away anyone who doesn't like spice - they definitely weren't spicy!  I really like panko breadcrumbs so I decided to use them for this recipe, but you can use anything you have on hand or even make your own.



I think this recipe came out pretty tasty.  They are super easy to put together and you can eat them with your hands.  These would be a delicious and fun meal to make for your kids or to serve at a barbeque as a vegetarian option.  If you wanted to make them even more special, you could use different types of cheese like goat cheese or monterey jack.  You could even add in chopped bacon for some extra flavor.   But really, it's pretty wonderful as is!



Macaroni and Cheese Cups
adapted slightly from all recipes

Ingredients
2 c uncooked elbow macaroni
1 tbsp butter
1 egg, beaten
1 c milk
1 1/2 c shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (divided)
1 1/2 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 c Panko bread crumbs
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease a mini muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. In a small bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, italian seasoning, cayenne pepper, olive oil, and salt. Set aside.
3. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook for about 8 minutes (it should still be a little bit firm). Drain and return to the pan, removing from heat.
4. Stir in the butter and egg until pasta is evenly coated.
5. Stir in milk, mozzarella cheese, and 1 c of the cheddar cheese into the pasta.
6. Spoon into the prepared mini muffin tin.
7. Sprinkle the reserved cheese and the bread crumb mixture over the tops.
8. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the topping is nicely browned. Allow the muffins to cool for a few minutes before removing from the pan and serving.