Lobster Macaroni and Cheese

By draingal

Ingredients

• Béchamel
• 1 quart milk
• 3 ounces flour
• 3 ounces butter
• 1 small onion, diced fine
• 1 shallot, diced fine
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 small bunch thyme
• 5 whole peppercorns, cracked in half
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 8 stems of parsley
• Kosher salt and white pepper, to taste
• Simmer the milk with the thyme, parsley stems, peppercorns, garlic and bay leaf.  This should simmer for about 20 minutes to infuse the flavors of the aromatics.
• 1 lobster tail (10 oz.) poached in white wine and a lemon
• 1/4 lb. corkscrew pasta (cavatappi)
• 2 shallots, diced
• 2 ounces chardonnay wine
• 1/4 lb. apple wood smoked bacon, cooked and diced
• 1/4 lb. gouda cheese, shredded
• 1/4 lb. cooper cheese, grated
• 1/4 lb. gruyere cheese, grated
• 1/4 lb. cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/4 lb. Asiago cheese, shredded and divided
• 1/4 lb. panko bread crumbs
• parsley, chopped for garnish
• Tabasco sauce to taste
• Old bay seasoning to taste
• 1/4 cup dried sherry

Preparation

Step 1

Sweat the onion and shallot in the butter until translucent.  Then add the flour to make a roux; the
proper consistency should be like “wet sand”.  Slowly add strained hot milk in three stages, letting it thicken each time. 
Adjust seasoning with kosher salt and white pepper, Tabasco and old bay seasoning. This béchamel sauce can be stored for a couple of days prior to making the Lobster Mac and Cheese.
Boil pasta al dente and strain.
Sweat the shallot in a little olive oil. Add the poached and diced meat of the lobster tail. Add chardonnay and reduce. Pour cooked pasta noodles into an ovenware dish. Top with the lobster meat mixture and all the cheeses. Lace with the béchamel sauce; you can adjust thickness with heavy cream.
Bake the Lobster Macaroni and Cheese for 25 minutes, topping with panko bread crumbs and parsley and a little more Asiago cheese and cooked apple wood smoked bacon for the last five minutes.