Couldn’t-Get-Lobster Shrimp Mac ‘n Cheese
Sometimes, things just don’t go as planned. Sometimes, you just gotta roll with it and adjust and make it work. So this mac ‘n cheese was supposed to have lobster and I couldn’t get my hands on tails, so, here we are with shrimp mac ‘n cheese. But not just any shrimp. The Argentinian shrimp from Trader Joe’s. It’s sweet and meaty and very lobster-y.
The key to a baller mac ‘n cheese is 100% the cheese. Using good quality white cheddar and gouda gives the flavor a little tang and a lot of creaminess. And if you’re on a diet, just avert your eyes. There’s nothing light about this recipe and I mean, if you’re going to go for mac ‘n cheese, let’s just really go for it, right?
So, mac ‘n cheese is actually really quite straightforward. You’ll want to prep some of your ingredients ahead of time and make sure you know the steps to making the roux. A roux is a mixture of equal parts butter and flour and is the base to a lot of sauces, especially those delicious creamy ones! You stir together melted butter and flour until golden brown, and then your milk. Your milk, by the way, is whole milk and heavy cream in this recipe. Don’t skimp! Don’t sub. Like I said – avert your eyes! ha
So, once your roux and milk have come to a boil, you’ll turn the heat back down and drop in all of your shredded cheeses. There’s your sauce! You could, 100%, just drop in cooked pasta and call it a day. Or you can toss in pasta that is just 1 minute shy of al dente, top it with bread crumbs and bake that sucker!
I had used whole shrimp for the garnish on this wannabe lobster mac and rough chopped the shrimp in the mixture so there were bite size pieces. You don’t want to be poking at the dish and have to scoop up a whole big shrimp, right?! So chop them up raw (you don’t want to make them tough by cooking them ahead), toss them in, and they bake up deliciously.
The other crucial part of the recipe is the bread crumbs. There’s serious magic in the bread crumbs. I used a mixture of traditional bread crumbs and panko with a whole bunch of butter. And a dash of salt. Then you bake it up until golden and bubbly and just go for it.
