The ingredients are simple for this lobster mac and cheese (bread crumbs not shown). Don’t skimp on the Gruyere cheese (left).
                                 Mark Guydish | Times Leader

The ingredients are simple for this lobster mac and cheese (bread crumbs not shown). Don’t skimp on the Gruyere cheese (left).

Mark Guydish | Times Leader

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<p>Substituting Panko bread crumbs for the recipe’s “Fresh white” bread crumbs simplified the process and provided a nice crunch and terrific golden brown to the top.</p>
                                 <p>Mark Guydish | Times Leader</p>

Substituting Panko bread crumbs for the recipe’s “Fresh white” bread crumbs simplified the process and provided a nice crunch and terrific golden brown to the top.

Mark Guydish | Times Leader

<p>Baking this lobster mac in individual gratin dishes, as the recipe calls for, would make for neater servings, especially if it is accompanied by other side dishes, but it’s good enough to be star of a meal all it’s own (or with a salad), baked in a large casserole dish.</p>
                                 <p>Mark Guydish | Times Leader</p>

Baking this lobster mac in individual gratin dishes, as the recipe calls for, would make for neater servings, especially if it is accompanied by other side dishes, but it’s good enough to be star of a meal all it’s own (or with a salad), baked in a large casserole dish.

Mark Guydish | Times Leader

<p>Mark Guydish</p>
                                <p>Times Leader Test Kitchen</p>

Mark Guydish

Times Leader Test Kitchen

<p>When we served Lobster Mac and Cheese to MT’s mom on her recent birthday, we had side dishes of spinach salad and broccoli.</p>

When we served Lobster Mac and Cheese to MT’s mom on her recent birthday, we had side dishes of spinach salad and broccoli.

I first used Gruyere cheese in a four-cheese pizza, and it became an instant favorite. Which is why, when I looked for a lobster mac and cheese recipe, this one jumped out the moment I came across it online.

If memory serves, my inaugural lobster mac bake was for a Valentine’s Day dinner for myself, MT and MT’s mom, whom I affectionately call “Nanner.” No, we don’t have kids, but MT’s sister does, and they never call Marion “Marion” or “mom,” so I just joined in, adding an R to nanna.

When Nanner’s birthday appeared on the horizon recently, I offered to cook whatever she wanted. She requested that lobster mac again, though I don’t need an excuse to make it. It is among the best comfort foods I’ve ever cooked.

For the record, mother-in-law jokes not only fall flat with me, I usually find them grating. Nanner’s a terrific person, worth the price of cold-water lobster tail and Gruyere cheese I used to make this dish for said birthday.

You can, of course, use less expensive lobster meat. If you go for the cold-water tails, I have found the most consistent way to get them done through and still tender is to: 1) split the top side of the shell down the center with kitchen shears to the tail fin, 2) pull the meat up and out without disconnecting it from the fin, 3) lay it on top of the shell and, if the shell cutting didn’t already do it (it always does for me) butterfly the tail with a cut down the center, 4) place the tails, not touching each other, in a baking dish, shell down and meat up, and 5) pour enough white wine in the dish to cover the bottom, then bake at 450 for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the tail, until opaque (white).

The only changes I make with the recipe is to replace the “fresh white bread crumbs” with a suitable amount of Panko crumbs, and to put it all in one casserole dish (13” by 9”)

Lobster Mac and Cheese (Recipe courtesy of Ina Garten)

Ingredients

• Kosher salt

• Vegetable oil

• 1 pound elbow macaroni

• 1 quart milk

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, divided

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 12 ounces Gruyere cheese, grated (4 cups)

• 8 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (2 cups)

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1 1/2 pounds cooked lobster meat

• 1 1/2 cups fresh white bread crumbs (5 slices, crusts removed)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cook pasta according to directions on package, drain well.

Heat the milk in a small saucepan, but don’t boil it. In a large pot, melt 6 tablespoons of butter and add the flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring with a whisk. Still whisking, add the hot milk and cook for a minute or two more, until thickened and smooth. Off the heat, add the Gruyere, Cheddar, 1 tablespoon salt, the pepper, and nutmeg. Add the cooked macaroni and lobster and stir well. Place the mixture in 6 to 8 individual gratin dishes..

Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter, combine them with the fresh bread crumbs, and sprinkle on the top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on the top.

Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish