LOBSTER AND SHRIMP MAC AND CHEESE

Ingredients

12 ounces fusilli or rotini pasta

4 frozen lobster tails*, thawed (about 1 ½ lbs frozen)

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

½ lb large raw shrimp, about 12, peeled, deveined, tails removed

2 cups whole milk

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

8 ounces fontina cheese, freshly grated

4 ounces creamy jack, gouda or gruyere cheese, freshly grated

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Salt and pepper, to taste

Chives for garnish.

Instructions

Bring water to a boil in a large pot, add pasta and cook 1 minute less than instructed on the box. Drain and return to pot. Stir in a little olive oil to keep pasta from sticking. Set aside.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F. Pull lobster tails out of shells leaving the tab at the end intact, and lay the tail on top of the shell piggyback style. Drizzle each tail with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 12-15 minutes until an instant-read thermometer registers 140-145°F. Let cool.

While pasta is cooking and lobster tails are roasting, bring stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Add shrimp, cover completely and remove from heat. Poach shrimp 2 minutes until just opaque in the center.

With a slotted spoon, transfer shrimp to a bowl and cover with foil to keep warm. Reserve ½ cup of stock to thin sauce as needed.