Archive for the ‘salad recipes’ Category

Lobster mac n' cheese with arugula

This recipe is enjoyable due to it’s simple yet complex nature; lobster mac and cheese is a pure comfort food with a little luxury thrown in. Ladies, if you make this meal for significant other, he will fall in love with you. Men, make this meal for your ladies and expect to get lucky. The final product is so divine you will grunt in satisfaction not once, but multiple times while consuming.

A consolation prize of sorts, I was admittedly acting a little crazy the week I chose to make this little piece of heaven for my fiance. I believe my stars were out of alignment or my biorhythms were quite off, but whatever the reason, I needed a redeeming dish that said “I’m sorry. Please forgive me for acting a little crazy lately.”

Let the Moaning begin:

ingredients:

• sea salt
• olive oil
• 1 lb .elbow macaroni
• 1 quart milk
• 1 stick butter (if reading out loud, say this in a Southern accent in honor of her buttery goodness- Paula)
• 1/2 cup all purpose flower
• 4 cups ***gruyere cheese
• 2 cups extra sharp cheddar
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper (more is always better!!)
• 1 1/2 lbs. cooked lobster meat (approximately 2 medium tails, 3 small tails), sliced into small pieces- (toss in 1/4 teaspoon old bay if you have it- this is optional)
• 1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Cook your pasta according to directions, about 6-8 minutes.

This dish is simple but is does create a lot of dishes. All in all, you will need 1)  a small saucepan for heating the milk, 2) a large pot for boiling the pasta, 3) a saute pan to cook the lobster, and 4) another medium sized pot for the cheese/mixture – the final pot used for putting everything together.

While the pasta cooks, heat the milk in a small saucepan on medium/low and DO NOT LET BOIL. In a large POT, melt 6 tablespoons (all but 2 tblsp. of the stick) and add the flour (essentially, you willl make a roux and then add milk). Stir with a whisk while cooking over LOW heat, slowly adding the milk and whisking at the same time until the mixture thickens and you have poured in all the milk. Heat another medium saute pan and drizzle with olive oil. Saute lobster in olive oil while the separate pots of cheese and pasta cook according to directions.

Take the rouxoff the burner and add the cheeses, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Stir gently to remove the lumps, then add the pasta and lobster and stir into a uniform mixture. Transfer into a casserole baking dish. You can also divide into 6-8 individual casserole/gratin dishes.

Melt the remaining 2 tblsp of butter and add the panko bread crumbs. Once toasted, add to the casserole dish (es). Bake for 35 minutes or until the casserole has browned and begins bubbling!

As Julia would say : “Bon Apetit!”

Lobster mac n' cheese is much more fun with fish pot holders.

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Below are pics from when Jonica and Tom were visiting and we did this for dinner one night! Look for Moroccan inspired recipes from them as this is where this couple met!

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