And we ate the Whole Thing

Lobster mac and cheese.  Ooo-ey gooey deliciousness.  And we ate almost the whole tray full.

It was a simple meal.  Lobster macaroni and cheese and baked acorn squash.

There were only four of us eating. 

I have always made this as a side dish, never as a meal by itself.  Wow.  Just concentrating on the flavors in the dish was a treat in itself.  No turkey, ham, chicken, whatever, to get in the way.

Of course, the conversation turned to next week's Thanksgiving dinner even while we were stuffing ourselves with lobster.  It makes sense that three of my Pinterest boards are about food.

For those of you so inclined, here is my recipe.  I made one tweak when I could not find the lobster pieces I used to purchase.  I bought Lobster Classic and we all thought it was great. 

Lobster Macaroni and Cheese

 8 ounces penne or other tube-shaped pasta

½ tsp salt
4 cups milk
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
6 Tbsp flour
1 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne
salt and pepper to taste
12 ounces grated Gruyere
5.2 ounces garlic and herb Boursin
1 lb cooked lobster meat, chopped

Method:

 

 Preheat oven to 350.  Bring a large pot of water to boil, add salt and cook pasta @ a rolling boil until almost tender.  Drain and rinse in cold water.  Set aside in a large bowl.

 

Bring the milk to just a boil in a heavy bottom saucepan.  While the milk is heating, melt the butter in another pan, whisk in the flour with wooden spoon.  Continue whisking for three minutes over low heat.  Do not brown.  Remove from heat.

 

Add the hot milk to the flour and butter mixture and whisk thoroughly.  It should be smooth.  Remove from heat and add seasonings and Boursin cheese and keep whisking until the mixture thickens (place on low heat if necessary).  It should coat the back of a spoon.

 

Pour over the pasta, stir in the lobster meat and toss to coat completely.

Grease a 13x9 baking dish and fill it evenly with the pasta and sauce.  Sprinkle the grated gruyere evenly over the pasta; add a dash of salt and pepper.  Place the dish on a baking sheet and bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes.

 

Bread Crumb Hat.  Mix 1 cup Panko bread crumbs with 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese and 4 Tbsp melted butter.  Top casserole 5 minutes before end of baking time to allow bread crumb hat to become golden brown.

 

Remove from oven and let sit 5-10 minutes to set.  Serve.

 

Dish can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated before baking, but it will take longer to cook in the oven depending on how cold it has gotten.