Not Quite Lobster Cajun Mac N Cheese

Hello everybody, it is John, welcome to my recipe page. Today, I will show you a way to prepare a distinctive dish, Not Quite Lobster Cajun Mac N Cheese. One of my favorites food recipes. For mine, I am going to make it a little bit unique. This is gonna smell and look delicious.

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To begin with this recipe, we have to prepare a few ingredients. You can cook Not Quite Lobster Cajun Mac N Cheese using 17 ingredients and 13 steps. Here is how you can achieve it.

I was craving the lobster mac n cheese I had at one of our local restaurants a while back, and really wanted to make some of my own. Well, lobster is expensive and I didn't want to waste the money if I failed. GOOD lump crab meat was actually MORE expensive than lobster. So, as I was browsing at the store and deciding what to do I finally settled on picking up a package of frozen crawdad tails I had used for making gumbo in the past. Made this for "hangout night" with my sister (CatsCanCookToo) and her husband. It turned out amazingly wonderful! This was the first crack at it, so I'm sure the recipe will evolve, but I hope you enjoy this a much as we did! This is definitely one of my indulgent recipes that I will work to perfect!

Ingredients and spices that need to be Get to make Not Quite Lobster Cajun Mac N Cheese:

1. 10 oz Cellantani pasta (looks like actual corkscrews with holes in the center, or "twisty tubes")
2. 1/2 medium onion - minced
3. 1/4 cup butter
4. 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
5. 1 1/2 cup heavy cream
6. 1 1/2 cup milk
7. 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (start with just 1/4 tsp for less heat, adjust to taste as necessary)
8. 1 tsp Sriracha (again, you may want to start with half and add more to taste)
9. 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
10. 1 tsp worcestershire sauce
11. 1 tsp salt (more or less to personal taste)
12. 1/2 tsp black pepper
13. 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
14. 3 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese - shredded
15. 12 oz Crawdad/Crawfish tails (fresh or frozen)- cooked, shelled, deveined
16. 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
17. 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Steps to make to make Not Quite Lobster Cajun Mac N Cheese

1. First and foremost, you will prep your crawdads. For simplicity I use a 12oz bag of frozen, fully cooked and prepped tails I can find at our local grocery story. The brand is Bordeaux's. To prep these, place the frozen package in cold water until thawed, about 30 minutes. When thawed carefully cut open package, pour crawdad tails into a colander and rinse under cold, running water. Shake excess water out of colander and pour out onto a paper towel lined plate (several layers thick). Cover with a few more paper towels and gently press to absorb moisture. Set aside. If you WANT to start from fresh, raw crawdads and go through all the extra work to get their tails that's up to you. I prefer to cut out a lot more work and mess. Plus you'll have to buy (or find, if you hunt your own) a LOT of crawdads for 12oz of tails.
2. Preheat oven to 450°F. Grease bottom and sides of a 2 quart casserole dish with about 1 tsp butter or spray with nonstick cooking spray (we used a deep dish). In a small bowl combine panko breadcrumbs and olive oil, stir well with a fork to coat. Set dish and breadcrumbs aside for later.
3. Now, onto the actual makin'! Bring a large pot of salted water to boil over medium high heat. Add pasta, bring back to a boil for 10 minutes, until pasta is barely al dente. When done drain pasta in colander (do not rinse!) and set aside.
4. While your pasta is cooking you can begin making your sauce. In a large sauce pan over medium heat melt the butter. Add minced onions and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes.
5. Add flour to sauce pan. Use whisk to stir into butter and onion to make a rue. Cook for about 2 minutes and rue begins to turn golden. This cooks out that raw flour taste and gives a more nutty flavor.
6. Turn heat up to medium high. While constantly whisking, slowly add heavy cream followed by milk. Whisk quickly until completely smooth, no rue clumps remain.
7. Bring to a low boil while whisking regularly. Turn heat back down to medium and gently simmer, whisking constantly, until sauce begins to thicken. About 5 minutes.
8. Turn off heat. Add all seasonings and spices (I attached them to this step for quick reference). Whisk until well incorporated. Add 2 cups of the shredded cheese and whisk until completely melted and sauce is smooth.
9. Transfer crawdads from plate to sauce. Gently fold in until they're all combined. Taste your sauce. Adjust seasoning as needed to suit your taste for salt and spiciness.
10. Add drained pasta to sauce. Gently stir until completely combined. It should look kind of "soupy" at this point.
11. Transfer mac n cheese to prepared casserole. Top with remaining cup of cheese followed by breadcrumb mixture. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, until top is bubbly and breadcrumbs are golden.
12. When done carefully remove from oven. Let rest 10 minutes. Serve as your main dish with a salad or favorite veggies on the side.
13. Note: You can use other pastas good for mac.n cheese such as elbow macaroni, rotini, penne, shells, etc., but we prefer cellantani because we think its shape holds the sauce and any mix-ins we add to mac n cheese perfectly.

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So that's going to wrap it up with this special food Recipe of Ultimate Not Quite Lobster Cajun Mac N Cheese. Thanks so much for reading. I'm sure that you will make this at home. There is gonna be interesting food in home recipes coming up. Don't forget to save this page on your browser, and share it to your loved ones, colleague and friends. Thank you for reading. Go on get cooking!