what christina cooks.: rock shrimp mac & cheese

There is nothing healthy or low calorie about this, but it is beyond tasty, no joke. I can only make this so often because I seriously feel my arteries clogging as I eat it. However, my dear friend Shannon is about to have a baby and asked me to post this recipe, so I made it again, just for her...

This recipe is more of an intermediate to expert level. It could be made easier if you do the steps one at a time. I like to do it all at once. Don't ask me why, I guess I like the challenge?

Anyway, here is the ingredient list (sorry there is no pic, I got excited):

1 pound of Rock Shrimp. You can use lobster too. I like rock shrimp because they taste lobstery but don't cost me last week's paycheck...

5 ounces unsalted butter

1 TBSP all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cup heavy cream

1 1/4 cup milk. I use skim and it turns out fine. It is the only low-cal thing about this...

12 ounces of cheese, shredded. Now here is where you can get creative. Use any kind of cheese you want. This particular time I used equal parts Brie, Aged Cheddar and Gruyere. I like a mild, creamy cheese, and then a little bite. Fontina is great for this as well. If you are on a budget, just use half sharp and half mild cheddar. Why half and half? Mild cheddar melts better and sharp tends to get oily. Mixing both insures you have a nice, smooth cheese base. This is what mine looked like...

1 box pasta. I used shells in this batch, but last time I used Orecchiette. Plain old macaroni works just as well. Good rule of thumb, use something that has nooks and crannies for the cheese to accumulate in.

How to make this:

1. Butter poach the rock shrimp. Ok, this sounds really fancy, but is super easy. Poaching is just cooking something in liquid to preserve the flavor and texture of the food. Melt 4 ounces of the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Once melted, add the rock shrimp. Cook until white and tender, about 5-7 minutes.

2. Remove from heat and remove the shrimp from the butter. Keep both and set aside.

3. Fill a large stock pot with water and salt generously. Bring to a boil over high heat and add pasta. Cook according to directions on the box.

4. Melt 1 ounce of butter in a medium saucepan over medium/high heat. Once melted, add 1 TBSP of all-purpose flour. Whisk together and continue to whisk while cooking until it becomes a light brown and has a nutty smell. This is making a roux. A roux is a flour and fat mixture that is used as a thickening agent for a variety of sauces. It will look like this...

5. After your roux is complete, add the heavy cream slowly, whisking the entire time. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the milk slowly, whisking the entire time and bring back to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium/low and simmer for 3 minutes. Now, a word of advice. WATCH THE MILK! Milk is a tricky sucker and it will not boil, not boil, not boil and then WHAM! it's overflowing all over the place. Don't let this happen to you...When it is all done, it will look like this...

6. Take your shredded cheese and add it to the milk/cream mixture one handful at a time. Whisk that into the sauce until it is melted completely before adding another handful.

7. When it is completely added you should have a nice, thick, creamy cheese sauce. Your pasta should also be done. Strain out the water and add the pasta to the cheese sauce. Then add the Rock Shrimp you have already removed from the butter sauce and mix all together. It will look like this...

8. Now, you could eat creamy mac & cheese and leave it just like this, but I prefer mine baked. You can do that one of two ways, individually in ramekins or in a casserole dish and serve it family style. Either way, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and spray your dish/dishes with cooking spray.

9. Add spoonfuls of the creamy mac & cheese mixture until the dish is full, if using a casserole, just pour it all in.

10. Add 1 cup breadcrumbs, I like panko because they are large, but any will work, to the leftover melted butter from poaching the shrimp. MIx it all together and spoon over mac & cheese mixture in the dish.

11. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes until breadcrumb topping is brown and the cheese is bubbling. Remove from oven and let sit about 5 minutes before serving.