Recipe Of The Day: Lobster Macaroni & Cheese

This one goes out to a friend who sent me an email saying the love of their life was sick and needed some TLC. Needless to say, what more can be done to show someone that you care, than to stuff em full of Lobster Macaroni and Cheese? On a recent showing of Barefoot Contessa, she had made a version of this but left out a few crucial ingredients to help pull this beautiful dish together. With a little bit of adaptation of ingenuity we present you with a classic old school dish reworked to fit todays highly trained palates.

True there are many dishes in this world that evoke the feelings of love much more efficiently than this one here, but who can beat a bowl full of delicious fresh seafood, macaroni AND cheese.
The other reason you should make this is because it is National Macaroni Day. I know a lot of people have cut the carbs out of their lives but every so often you should have a nice big bowl of Macaroni & Cheese.

It is one of those things that takes you back to your youthful days as well as allows you to put a grown up twist on things you haven't had in ages.
Its what we like to call The Natural Progression of Good Food.

Enjoy.

Ingredients:

Kosher salt

Vegetable oil

1 lb elbow macaroni

1 quart milk

8 TBS(1 stick) unsalted butter (divided)

½ cup all-purpose flour

12 oz Gruyere cheese (4 cups grated)

8 oz extra-sharp Cheddar (2 cups grated)

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp smoked paprika

½ tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp seasoning salt

1 ½ lbs cooked lobster meat

1 ½  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.

Meanwhile, 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, paprika, cayenne, seasoning salt and nutmeg.

Add the cooked macaroni and lobster and stir well.

Place the mixture in 6 to 8 individual gratin dishes.

Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, combine them with the fresh bread crumbs, and sprinkle on the top.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.