Mac and Cheese Fit for Company

Once a year when I take my daughter to a swanky salon to get her back to school haircut, we go out for lunch to The Continental and without fail, we order the Lobster Mac and Cheese. It is made with orzo, gruyère and fontina cheeses, and full of big chunks of lobster, it is so rich we usually can’t finish it. There are lots of recipes for lobster mac and cheese, but for me, this seems like the type of dish best suited to a restaurant rather than my or your home kitchen. On the rare occasion, I make lobster at home I keep it simple; steamed with butter.

The other night on the way home from school I realized I had no plan for dinner (bad mommy!) so I went through the usual litany of stuff we have on hand; boring, boring, boring, and then I had a light bulb moment, how about shrimp mac and cheese? I always have a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer, and a variety of cheese, because my girl is a serious cheese-head. I’d make it just like the Continental’s lobster mac and cheese, but with shrimp (good mommy).

I didn’t have either fontina or gruyère, but I do have cheddar, goat cheese, and Parmigiano.  The whole thing took me about half an hour to make, and another half hour in the oven.  “So, is it as good as the Continental?”  I ask, “Better” the reply.  And so easy!  I think we’ve found a new go-to, last minute, no-plan dinner! This dish is so good, and so simple I would make it for company.

Shrimp Mac & Cheese

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Serves	3-4
Prep time	30 minutes
Cook time	30 minutes
Total time	1 hour
Meal type	Main Dish
Misc	Child Friendly, Serve Hot
Occasion	Casual Party

Ingredients

• 12 Large Shrimp (Peeled and deveined, for 4 servings add 4 more shrimp)
• 1 cup Orzo
• 2 tablespoons Butter
• 2 tablespoons Flour
• 1 cup Half and half or milk
• 2oz Sharp Cheddar (Grated)
• 2oz Fresh Goat Cheese (crumbled)
• 1oz Parmigiano Cheese (Grated, and about half, set aside)
• 1/4 cup Bread Crumbs
• Ground Black Pepper (4-5 grinds, or to taste)

Directions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350F Cook orzo 7 minutes and drain

Step 2

While orzo is cooking, make sauce Melt butter over low heat Add flour and stir to form a roux, and cook, stirring for 2-3 minutes

Step 3

Add milk or cream to roux, slowly, stirring constantly and continue stirring until sauce thickens

Step 4

When sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon, add cheddar, goat, and half of parmigaino cheeses, Stir well, and remove from heat When pasta is cooked, drain well, and mix well with cheese sauce

Step 5

Butter, or spray an 8x8" pan, coat pan with breadcrumbs by sprinkling some of the breadcrumbs in the pan and shaking while turning pan, to coat bottom and sides of pan. Return loose breadcrumbs to bowl with parmigiano that you set aside, and the rest of the breadcrumbs, and mix well

Step 6

Put pasta and sauce into breadcrumb coated pan Top with shrimp, and press shrimp into pasta Cover the top with the breadcrumb and cheese mixtures

Step 7

Bake for thirty minutes, until top is golden brown