Lobster Mac.

Most favorite dish EVER. We love, love, love this.

I know some say cheese and seafood don’t mesh, but this certainly does. We first had this dish at The Capitol Grille and I wanted to take the chef home with me. So, so, so, so amazing.

This is by no means a healthy dish. In fact, this is probably one of the worst dishes you can eat. In moderation? Sure it may be fine, but when you wake up and eat it for breakfast? Not so much.

I swear I didn’t do that.

This is my re-creation.

You need some of these guys.

I get them ‘thawed,’ – unfortunately I don’t live in an area where I can get them fresh. Can you even get them fresh? See, I don’t even know things like that.

I’ve always lived in a bubble.

Semi-creepy. Slimy.

These puppies are a PAIN to work with. Or maybe I just don’t do it properly. But I hate getting the meat out of the lobster.

I am seriously afraid that it is going to come alive and eat me. I jump about 800 times when cleaning them.

For those of you that may have suggestions on how I can get this meat out without getting slimy lobster juice all over me, please talk. I just cut the shell to pieces and try to get out every last piece of meat possible.

Because I want to inhale it. I want to consume lobster is every possible way I can.

Eventually, after 9o minutes of frustration, cursing, and kicking the dishwasher (only because it’s under the sink), these are born.

My mouth waters just looking at this.

Now comes the depressing part.

You have just spent $30 on lobster tails, and when you chop up the meat, it amounts to this.

Seriously, half of the lobster tails just disappeared into a black hole. How annoying.

Before we proceed, I should mention that making this meal is QUITE a feat.  I have 3 pots on the stove at once, and the timing has to be perfectly coordinated so that the lobster meat won’t dry out.

So, backtracking, here is what I do first.

Buy some cheese.

We have so much cheese. The amount of cheese we have in our refridgerator is a sin. I could feed a small, malnourished country with my cheese.

That doesn’t sound right. You know what I mean.

These are the cheeses that I have found work the best in this dish.

Gruyere. LOVE this cheese. It came upon the recommendation of my mom, who was a music major in the seventies, therefore consumed gallons of fondue.

We don’t need to mention what else she probably consumed being in the ‘arts’ in the seventies.

Gruyere, sharp cheddar, and in this case, parmigiano-reggiano.

I grate this all up, and I will tell you that you certainly need some arm strength.

So do a few pushups in the weeks leading up to this.

Then grate.

I use alot of cheese.  Alot is an understatement.

I am talking probably about two-and-a-half cups of cheddar, one-and-a-half cups of gruyere, and one-and-one-fourth cups of parmesan.

I also eat about one-fourth cup of each during the process.

So we now have chopped lobster and truckloads of shredded cheese.

I begin with the cheese mixture.

Add about 2 cups of heavy cream to a double boiler.

And add a half-block of cream cheese.

Add the shredded cheese to the heavy cream mixture.

I add handfuls and let each handful melt before adding more.

Handful in the bowl.

Handful in my mouth.

Repeat.

While the cheese sauce is melting, I start to saute the lobster.

I know. We don’t need words here.

I add in a chopped shallot, minced garlic, and just a tiny bit of salt.

Add in the lobster and only saute for a minute or two.

Oh, good Lord. Could that look any more delicious??

I saute on medium-high for only a few minutes before adding some liquid.

I usually use Chardonnay, but I don’t discriminate.

This is similar to the cheese.

Splash in the pan.

Splash in my mouth.

In a classy way, as in, straight from the bottle.

In the meantime, the cheese mixture is melting superbly, and sometimes it needs to be thinned out.

It needed to loosen up!

I set the lobster off to the side, off of the heat. Now is the time to boil your pasta.

I love this kind of pasta. It is fancy and doughy and wonderful. It makes me happy.

Whatever pasta you use, make sure you don’t over cook since it will also cook in the oven.

The cheese now looks like this, which means we can assemble our mac ‘n cheese.

I layer half of the pasta in the dish, then add in half of the lobster mix with half of the cheese.

Mix it up.

Add the other half, then add these glorious creatures.

Panko. If you aren’t using panko, you gotta make the switch. You will be so glad. I like to use whole wheat panko. But let’s be honest – in this case, what is the point?

I bake for about 30 minutes. Bubbly, crispy, cheesy. Mmmmmm.

And this is what happens when your husband is still at the gym and you can’t control yourself.

Is it even a question about making this??

Sign me up for some serious lipo.

I want to eat this everyday.

 

Lobster Mac ‘n Cheese

3- 6 to 7 oz lobster tails thawed or fresh

1-2 lbs noodles of your choice, macaroni or fancy.

2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded gruyere cheese

1 1/4 cups shredded parmigiano-reggiano cheese

2 cups heavy cream

4-5 oz cream cheese

3/4 cup white wine

1 chopped shallot

3 minced garlic cloves

3/4 cup panko bread crumbs

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 350.

Shell, clean, and coarsely chop lobster meat. Have patience. Set aside.

Grate all 3 cheeses. Add 2 cups of heavy cream to a double boiler, followed by cream cheese. Add small amount of the shredded cheese to the double boiler, mixing with a whisk. Repeat until the cheese is gone.

Boil water and cook your pasta. Set aside.

Add olive oil and butter to a skillet on med-high. Add chopped shallot and minced garlic. Add lobster meat and saute for 1-2 minutes or until meat becomes opaque. Add 1/4 cup white wine. Saute for another 1-2 minutes then set aside off heat.

If cheese mixture needs thinned out, add white wine in 1/4 cup increments, whisking it in.

In a baking dish, layer pasta, lobster mix, and cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

Tagged as: cheese, lobster, recipes, seafood