Mac and Cheese...the adult way

We had 2 whole lobster tails leftover from the night before's lobster rolls so I decided to do something with it since they were already partially cooked.  We also had 2 kebobs leftover from the BBQ monday so I decided to make it a "leftover" night by cooking both of these things.

The lobster turned into Lobster mac and cheese! I always like ordering this at steakhouses but then am always a little disappointed due to the lack of actual lobster in the dish.  Since I had so much lobster left, I felt this would be a perfect way to make mac and cheese the way I feel like it should be made.  I also added peppers to mine to add a little heat. The ingredients were as follows:

lobster

butter

nutmeg

shredded mild cheddar

grated parrano cheese

salt

pepper

flour

butter

serrano peppers

milk

elbow pasta

To begin, I cooked the pasta for about 12 minutes, this was a little less than al dente since it would be baked later in the cheese sauce.  Once the noodles were done, I began the cheese sauce.  This began by melting the butter and then adding the peppers and flour, creating a roux.  I added the peppers at this time b/c I wanted them to be able to cook a little in the butter before adding the cheese, releasing flavor. 

In a separate pot, milk was added and heated but not to a boil.  Once it was heated through and the roux was mixed, the milk was poured into the roux and mixed until there were no more signs of lumps.  I eventually switched to a whisk b/c the spoon just wasn't cutting it.  

Once there were no more lumps, I turned the heat off and the cheeses, lobster, and spices were added to the milk mixture. This was given a quick mix for the cheese to melt and then the noodles were added and mixed until coated with cheese mixture.  Then it all went into a baking dish and put in the oven for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees. 

The kebobs were pretty easy since they had already been marinated and just needed to be thrown on the grill.  

These were grilled for about 20 minutes.  I turned them every 4 minutes and let them sit for about 10 minutes while the mac was still cooking so the juices could flow. They turned out about medium.  

Dinner was good! It was a good mix of protein and carbs.  The cheese worked really well together, especially the parrano.  It has a great amount of nuttiness to it that worked well with the nutmeg and the lightness of the lobster, without overpowering any other flavors.  

Looking forward to tonight's dinner but fingers crossed! It's another first for me :)