Like most Americans, I love mac and cheese. Of course, as a child I thought the only mac and cheese available came out of a box. Little did I realize how good homemade mac and cheese was.
This recipe is very adaptable. You can use any seafood that is fresh and has flavor. When I made this dish, I used shrimp, bay scallops and monk fish. The shrimp and bay scallops held up well and were not overpowered by the cheese. I could hardly tell the monk fish was in the dish. I had wanted to use catfish or lobster tails but the local fish monger didn't have cat fish and the lobster tails were frozen (and I didn't want to wait to defrost them). Along with shrimp, bay scallops, lobster and catfish, you could use crab, crayfish or other flavorful seafood. Mix it up and see what you like best. Of course, you could omit the seafood altogether and just make plain mac and cheese.
The cheese could also be adapted based upon what you like. For this recipe, I used ½ a pound of aged (2 year) Wisconsin sharp white cheddar, ½ a pound of Jarlsberg Swiss Cheese and ½ a pound of Pecorino Romano. I would recommend this combination of cheddar, swiss and Pecorino Romano. You could experiment with different types of cheddar or swiss and even use Parmesano Regiano.
My recipe calls for a panko bread crumb topping. I like panko bread crumbs because the crumbs are crispier, lighter and brown well. If you don't have panko, fresh bread (chopped in a food processor removing the crust beforehand) or plain bread crumbs would work just as well.
Whatever you do, it will be great because you made it from scratch and not from a box.
Ingredients
1 pound cavatappi noodles (or elbow macaroni)
1 quart of whole milk
1 stick (8 tablespoons) of butter
½ cup of all-purpose, unbleached flour
1 ½ pounds (6 cups) of mixed grated cheese (see above for what I used)
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 ½ pounds of cooked seafood (shrimp, lobster, scallops, crab, crayfish, catfish)
½ cup panko bread crumbs
Directions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
Gather all your ingredients to make for a quick assembly.
Place your seafood on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil (about 2 tablespoons).
Use your clean hands and mix the olive oil in with the seafood. Separate the pieces on the cookie sheet.
Place the cookie sheet on a middle rack in the oven and bake 5 − 6 minutes until the shrimp is cooked (it will turn pink). Be careful not to overcook it.
Remove from the oven and let cool.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, generously salt it with kosher salt, pour the pasta into the boiling water and cook to al dente (see the pasta box for directions).
Once the pasta is cooked, drain it in a colander until you are ready to pour it in the cheese mixture.
Over medium heat, pour the milk into a pot and let it slowly heat up (just to under boiling). Make sure you stir it regularly.
Grate your cheese in food processor or using a box grater.
Coarsely chop the seafood.
In a large pot, melt 6 tablespoons butter over medium heat.
Once melted, place the flower in the pan with the melted butter. Continually whisk it for 2 minutes to combine the flour and butter and to reduce the raw flour taste.
Pour the heated milk in with the roux (that is the mixed flour and butter). Whisk continually for 2 − 3 minutes until thick. You will know it is thick when you take a wooden spoon, place it in the mixture, and the mixture sticks to the back of the spoon.
Turn the heat to low and stir in all the cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted. (You may need to raise the heat a little depending upon the type of cheese you use. Some cheese melts better than others.)
Stir in the spices (adjust to taste), add the pasta and the seafood and mix will.
Spray a large oval gratin pan with cooking spray (or an other pan - brownie pans work) and place the mixture in it.
Now you have two options. If you are a busy cook and want to make this the day before, cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate until use (one to two days). When you are ready to bake it, follow the directions below.
If you wish to eat it right away, turn your oven down to 375 degrees.
In a frying pan, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Pour in the ½ cup of panko crumbs and mix well.
Sprinkle the buttered panko crumbs over the macaroni and cheese.
Place the dish on a cookie sheet and put it in the oven on a middle rack. Bake 40 − 45 minutes until the mixture is bubbly and the bread crumbs are browned. Remove from the oven and let it sit 10 minutes before serving.
Serve with a salad or sautéed greens. I served this with sautéed spinach. It was wonderful!
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