Can I just ask how it is just now Thursday? I don’t know if I’m just excited for the holiday weekend or the fact that Melia is visiting me this weekend (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), but this week has just crawled by. I also noticed just last week that it’s been a while since I’ve made mac and cheese that wasn’t from a box. I love the stuff, but that doesn’t make my homemade mac hiatus any better. Shame on me! So this last weekend, I tried a out a new recipe I’d been thinking on for quite a while. I used some really good parmesan, sharp cheddar and white wine in the sauce and tossed some shrimp in with the pasta! It turned out really well, but it is NOT for the mild mac and cheese fan. It had a lot of flavor compared to my regular recipe and it was just what I needed to kick my butt back into making homemade mac more often.
Shrimp Mac and Cheese Recipe:
1 box penne pasta – cooked and drained
2 Tablespoons butter
1 garlic clove – minced
2 Tablespoons of flour
1/2 cup dry white wine – I used Sauvignon Blanc
1 1/2 cup milk
6 oz sharp cheddar cheese
4 oz parmesan cheese – 2 extra ounces will be needed for topping
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
2 cups peeled and cooked shrimp
For the topping
2 oz parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
In a small bowl, stir together all of the topping ingredients and set aside.
Pre-heat your oven to 350-degrees.
Get your shrimp thawing in a bowl of cold water. If you’re using raw shrimp, get them sauteed up in a pan with some butter JUST until done. You’ll be also baking them, so you don’t want to over cook them.
Boil and drain your pasta according to the box.
In a separate saucepan, melt your butter and add your garlic to cook until fragrant.
Add your flour and stir until it becomes a hot, bubbly paste (your roux).
Pour in your 1/2 cup of wine and continue cooking on medium-high until the wine has reduced by about half.
Add your milk and continue stirring until it thickens into a white sauce.
Add your cheeses and stir until melted.
Stir in your salt, pepper and bay seasoning and add your pasta back to the cheese sauce.
Once the pasta is coated, if you have room you can add the shrimp as well. If you run out of room in your pan, which I did, you can add your mac and cheese and shrimp to your oven-safe baking dish and mix there.
Top your shrimp mac with the topping you prepared earlier.
Bake at 350-degrees for 15-20 minutes until the top get brown. You can also bake it for 15 minutes and then put it under the broiler for about a minute until the top is just the right color.
Serve it up with a glass of wine and enjoy!
