On most days, this is a luxury dish. It is also comfort food, as comforting as tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, or mashed potatoes and roast chicken. All the discomfort of lobster mac and cheese ends up in the kitchen when the cook has to wrestle his or her way past the spines on the knuckles and the sharp edges of claws into the tender flesh of a boiled bug. It is easier for sure during soft-shell season, but I still ended up with a puncture or two in my fingers.
There is a lot of flexibility with lobster mac and cheese recipes. I made this dish a couple times this summer for company. As usual, I tinkered with the recipe, and noticed that a relatively plain Jane version made with a cream sauce and a serviceable cheddar, resulted in a perfectly delicious dish, and that using a finer cheese, and more of it; cream instead of milk; and adding sherry really jacked up the flavor and luxuriousness generally. Just considering the milk portion, bear in mind the whole range of richness from milk to heavy cream with half-n-half, evaporated milk, and light cream in between.
Obviously, a higher proportion of lobster to pasta results in a richer dish, too. I decided to use small shell pasta and radiatore instead of elbow macaroni. I thought it looked prettier and did not outsize the bites of lobster. I chose to acquire three-quarters as many lobsters as eaters. So in a group of four, three lobsters did the trick. That makes for a generous serving of lobster. But you can make a perfectly decent lobster mac and cheese with half a lobster per person. Add as little or as much pasta as you wiish. For four luxurious servings, do not exceed a cup of cooked pasta.
For company, I chose to bake the lobster mac and cheese in ramekins with half a tail curled up on top. It looked dressier. Otherwise, while still very tasty, lobster mac and cheese can look like a shapeless mess on a plate.
So quick, before the lobstermen pull their traps for the season, get yourself a few lobsters and treat yourself to a lovely supper. Following are two recipes for lobster mac and cheese, one a simple, less-expensive version, and the other a more luxurious version. You can come up with anything in between.
Lobster Mac and Cheese
1/2 cup of dry pasta cooked according to directions on the package
2 boiled lobsters
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1½ cups milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
Nutmeg, optional, to taste
Buttered bread crumbs, optional
Pick out the lobster meat, and cut into bite sized pieces. Set aside. Melt the butter in a heavy pan, and stir in the flour, cooking over a medium heat until the flour and butter mixture bubbles and begins to thicken. Gradually whisk in the milk until the sauce is smooth and begins to thicken. Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Stir in the cheddar and whisk until it melts, and cook until it bubbles. Add a dash more milk if the sauce seems stiff. Stir in the cooked pasta and lobster, and heat through, adding more milk to keep the mixture soft enough to spoon. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve from the pan, or if you wish to add the step, spoon into a baking dish, sprinkle on the buttered bread crumbs and bake at 350 degrees until hot, bubbly, and lightly browned.
Makes four servings.
Luxurious Lobster Mac and Cheese
1/3 cup of dry pasta cooked according to directions on the package
3 boiled lobsters
2-3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups cream, half-n-half, or evaporated milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup grated Fontina cheese
½ cup grated parmesan or Romano cheese
Sherry, optional, to taste
Nutmeg, optional, to taste
Buttered bread crumbs, optional
Pick out the lobster meat, and cut into bite sized pieces. Set aside. Melt the butter in a heavy pan, and stir in the flour, cooking over a medium heat until the flour and butter mixture bubbles and begins to thicken. Gradually whisk in the cream until the sauce is smooth and begins to thicken. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, and sherry to taste. Stir in the fontina and parmesan and whisk until it melts, and cook until it bubbles. Add a dash more cream if the sauce seems stiff. Stir in the cooked pasta and lobster, and heat through, adding more milk to keep the mixture soft enough to spoon. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve from the pan, or if you wish to add the step, spoon into a baking dish, sprinkle on the buttered bread crumbs and bake at 350 degrees until hot, bubbly, and lightly browned.
Makes four servings.