Crawfish Macaroni & Cheese

Spice up an already good mac & cheese recipe, with this Louisiana twist. Add some mudbugs into your mac!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound Louisiana crawfish tails (found frozen or fresh)

• 1 pound elbow macaroni, cooked until just al dente (don't overcook)

• 5 cups shredded sharp cheddar, in all

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1 teaspoon dry mustard

• hot sauce of your choice

• 1/2 stick butter

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 3 tablespoons flour

• 2 1/2 cups half & half

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 350F.

• Thaw crawfish tails; drain liquid and reserve.

• Drain macaroni well and place in a large mixing bowl with 3 cups of cheddar, salt, pepper, mustard, and hot sauce.

• Place a heavy saucepan over medium heat.

• Add butter and melt.

• Add minced garlic and sauté until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.

• Sprinkle flour over garlic mixture and whisk to blend; slowly pour in half & half and reserved crawfish liquid, whisking briskly.

• Bring to a boil and hold at a hard simmer for 3 minutes while whisking constantly.

• Remove from heat and stir in crawfish tails.

• Fold crawfish and sauce into the pasta mixture; taste and adjust seasoning.

• Pour mixture into a buttered 13/9-inch baking dish, dot with butter, and top with remaining 2 cups of cheddar.

• Transfer to oven (middle rack) and bake until golden, about 50 minutes. For a darker crust, broil for a few minutes, watching carefully.

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bon appetit