Macaroni & Cheese Recipes

Crabby California Macaroni & Cheese

Tillamook® Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar

Ingredients

3/4 lb. Dungeness crab meat
1 lb. Tillamook® Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1 cup Parmiggiano Reggiano, shredded
1/4 cup white wine, Chardonnay
1 can artichoke hearts quartered
1 small sweet white onion diced
3 cloves garlic chopped
3 tbs. Tillamook® Butter
3 tbs. flour
3 cups milk
2 tbs. Worcester Sauce
1 tsp. Tabasco Sauce
3/4 lb. mini penne pasta
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 pinch sea salt to taste
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

Preparation

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bring large pot of water to boil and add a pinch of salt to cook pasta. Once water boils reduce hear until ready to cook pasta.

Buy Crab already shelled and ready to eat. Check for shell fragments. You can either keep crab chunky or shred. I like a little chunky so you can have a nice bite of crab by itself. Shred cheddar cheese with grater over bowl. Measure out 1 cup Parmiggiano and set aside. Open can of artichokes and drain water. Chop artichokes coarsely. Dice one small sweet white onion. Peel garlic and chop. Cook pasta as directed on package 9-11 minutes.

While pasta is cooking, use a large saucepan to melt butter on medium heat, add garlic to butter, add flour to make paste, let this cook for 1-2 minutes without burning. Take pan off stove and add white wine. Stir until wine and flour paste turn smooth and creamy, it will be thick. Add milk little by little mixing to smooth mixture. This will be watery looking and will thicken up as it warms. Stir constantly so milk does not burn on bottom. Mixture will thicken and start to bubble. When you have a little bubble remove the mixture from the stove. Add in Worcester sauce, Tabasco sauce and a pinch of Sea Salt to taste. Mix 1 cup cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup Parmiggiano Reggiano into white sauce. Stir in artichokes, onion and crab. Drain pasta and pour into a 13” X 9” pan. Add to pan sauce with artichokes and stir until evenly distributed with pasta. Sprinkle evenly over pasta remaining cheddar and parmesan cheeses and stir to blend with pasta. Mix bread crumbs with 1/4 cup parmesan and sprinkle over pasta for topping. (Crumbled Ritz crackers are good also)