The Guest Menu Part 2 [Lobster Mac & Cheese]

My Mac & Cheese is always a crowd-pleaser and a favorite among our guests. This time I wanted to try something a little more special.

First I bought 2 lobster tails of the Florida spiny persuasion...about a pound a piece and frozen.
I let them sit and thaw while I prepped the other parts of the recipe such as grating the cheese [8oz. of cabot's low fat sharp white cheddar] and boiling the pasta [barilla pasta plus shells to go with the seafood theme.]

Next I steamed the tails in the veggie steamer for about 5 minutes...then dumped them in a colander and covered them in ice to stop the cooking process. The tails were slightly under-cooked...definitely no trying a nibble...but it made them easy to remove from the shells. I gave the lobster meat a quick chop and set aside.

Next I prepped my liquid which consisted of 4 eggs and a quart of fat free half and half. I have had pretty good luck with the fat free stuff although the results would probably be creamy with the regular.

Usually in my mac and cheese, to complement the flavor of the cheddar, I add a dash of Worcestershire and a squirt of good mustard. This time, I thought sherry would be good. I bought cooking sherry at the grocery and although it worked just fine, it is very salty and you have to be careful. Next time, I'll spring for a small bottle of the real stuff and have a sip or 2 of it while everything is baking.

I added maybe a 1/4 cup of the sherry to the egg and cheese mixture with a sprinkle of garlic powder and a dash of pepper.

Now for the cheese part. As I previously mentioned, I grated the block of cabot's but then added to it a bag of the new Kraft cheese with Philly cream cheese...the triple cheddar, I think.
The cream cheese added to the shredded cheese has got me thinking about the next time adding some actual cream cheese to the recipe...perhaps 1/2 the cream and a block of softened low-fat Philly whipped into the egg mixture.
Just something to think about.

So now it's it's time to put it all together.

Melt 1/4 stick of butter in your casserole dish...swish it around and pour the rest into the egg mixture.

First layer 1/3 of the pasta...I tried to make this a smaller dish with more lobster to pasta ratio so I did not use a full pound of the cooked shells. The dog was all for this decision and graciously helped with the extra shells I no longer required.

Next sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese with 1/2 of the lobster. Don't get hung up on the math...it all works out.

Now 1/3 more pasta...1/3 more cheese....the rest of the lobster. Finish off with the rest of the pasta and the last of the cheese. Give it all a good pat and then pour the egg/cream/sherry mixture over the top.

Now bake it according to whatever the other page says or covered for about 45 minutes in a hot oven.

In the meantime melt the rest of that stick of butter, combine with a generous amount of panko, a fair amount of parmesan cheese, and a sprinkle or 2 of old bay.

When the timer goes off, remove the covering and spread evenly over the top.
Bake for another 15 minutes or until it's done.

Let me know how yours turns out.
Mine was quite yummy and I look forward to tweaking the recipe just a bit to make it even more delicious.

The Guest Menu [Part 1 - Shrimps]

As some of you may have experienced, and the rest of you have read about, a big part of a guest's experience on the S/V Thin Line has a lot to do with the food.

Everyone who comes to the Keys wants to eat seafood. I try to accommodate by making a trip to the Keys Fisheries and purchasing a couple of pounds of Key West Pinks.
Here's a bit of history about the Key West Pink variety of shrimp. Accounts vary, but sometime between 1949 and 1958 they were "discovered"...History is a slippery slope. One story claims a fishing boat caught a shark and when they cut it open, it's belly was full of the never before seen shrimp. Another version is that grouper being caught and processed had their bellies similarly full leading to a rich and plentiful shrimping ground off of the Dry Tortugas. The most important discovery about the pinks is contributed to shrimper, Felix Salvador, when he decided to drop his nets at dusk instead of dawn. Legend has it that alcohol might have been involved, but the pinks only run at night. All I know is those shrimp sure taste yummy.

The easiest way I have discovered to fix the tasty morsels is to get out the vegetable steamer. Put enough water in a pot to touch the bottom of the steamer. Add a sliced up lemon or lime if handy, and bring to a boil. Substitute beer if you are so inclined. In the meantime, rinse the pinks in a colander, picking out any odd bits, and then sprinkle liberally with Old Bay. When you have steam, dump the pinks. The guy at the fisheries told me I only had to steam them for 3 minutes or so...but I gave mine a toss at the 3 minute mark and continued steaming for another 3. They were some pretty big shrimp [16 to 22 per pound]. Then it was back into the colander for the shrimp and then onto a plate. Serve with hot melted butter, lemon wedges, and lots of napkins. You just can't go wrong with this crowd pleaser.

If you happen to have left-overs...I almost always over-buy and so I usually do...go ahead and peel all the shrimp and refrigerate. I like to get the peeling part out of the way.

Now you have 2 options for leftover sandwiches - hot or cold.
On one of Angela's trips, she took the shuttle back to the airport so I made her a sandwich for the ride. First I cut the shrimp into more manageable bits, then chopped some celery, onion, and a baby carrot or two. Mix with a dollop of mayo, a squirt of lemon, a dash of sea salt, and a crack of black pepper and pile it up on a croissant and viola - a gourmet morsel that you'll probably have to eat with a knife and fork [and extra napkins] but very yummy.

I had the same thing in mind for our last bit of company until Janet announced that she didn't eat cold seafood. Well, pooh.
Fine, then.
Same basic stuff: dice a bit of celery, onion, and a baby carrot or 2 and lightly saute in a skillet with a bit of butter. When that's good and soft, throw in the cut up shrimp and heat just enough to warm the shrimp but not really cook them any further. Spoon on to a nice, toasted bun...publix french hamburger buns are a pretty good choice...and top with a slice of cheddar cheese. I made a bit of a savory dressing by mixing a bit of Ken's Steak House Creamy Caesar with a bit of brown mustard and slathered a bit of that on the bun as well.
Extra napkins, a knife, and a fork are probably a good idea with this one as well.
You could add a bit of color with red pepper or a bit of spinach, but I used what I had on hand and had rave reviews.