#readcookeat recipe : Shrimp and Macaroni Casserole (A Tangled Web)

As I mentioned last week, I browsed through my bookmarked recipes when I was menu planning and Sgt. Windflower came to the rescue with not just one but two great family-friendly dishes for us to try. After being inspired by a recipe for pan-fried fish with bacon, I tried my hand at recreating another dish with a seafood twist. Winston, the kind-hearted Mountie in Mike Martin's Sgt. Windflower series, loves his food, so he has already provided us with lots of dishes to try, from decadent desserts (especially cheesecake) and tasty mains. Here's the quote from the latest book, A Tangled Web (click through for my review), which inspired our delicious dinner :

p14 : Sheila had made a large plate of assorted cheese and crackers. There was some pepper Brie, Five Counties cheese and one of Windflower’s special choices, a Stilton with mango pieces. Plus, she had a cold bottle of Black Horse beer for him.

“This is perfect,” said Windflower as Lady, hoping to gather up any lost crumbs, carefully watched him place a large Stilton-topped cracker into his mouth. Windflower gave her a piece of the next cracker. While she was pleased with that morsel, she held out eternal hope for more. Finally, he shooed her away from the snacks on the side table, and she slumped into a mini-depression near the fireplace.

Sheila sipped on a glass of soda water and watched as Windflower neatly demolished the rest of the cheese and crackers.

“I didn’t think you were hungry,” said Sheila.

“Automatic response,” said Windflower. “I don’t think I ate anything after breakfast.”

“I’ll get you a plate from the oven,” she said as she headed back into the kitchen.

Sheila returned with a plate overflowing with steaming pasta and shrimp.

“Oh, my God,” said Windflower as he took a few small bites from his still-too-hot-to-eat dinner. “This is fabulous.”

“It’s not much, a shrimp and macaroni casserole. It’s easy to make and great for leftovers. That’s assuming you don’t eat it all tonight.”

Windflower smiled at her in response and continued to pluck out fat, juicy shrimps so that he could dip them back in the melted cheese. Sheila knew better than to expect conversation while he was eating, so she turned on the TV to check the news. Of course, the first thing she and Windflower saw was the Amber Alert notice flash across their screen.

 As usual, after taking note of the dish being devoured by Winston, I turned to google to see if this is a specific recipe, or if I could just go completely free-style with it. I did find a Shrimp & Macaroni Casserole Recipe on the Taste of Home website, which I used as a guide.

Looking in the fridge, I found two chunks of cheese - edam and mimolette - that needed using up, so I decided to try melting them in cream, rather than using my usual cheese sauce (starting with a roux made from butter and flour mixed into milk before adding cheese) and it was delicious. Juliette loves mac & cheese and she also loves prawns so she was in seventh heaven !

 Shrimp and Macaroni Casserole

ingredients :

macaroni

cheese (I used up some edam and mimolette, as well as grated cheddar)

20cl single cream

shrimps or prawns, cooked and peeled

salt, pepper, oregano

parmesan

Preheat the oven to 180°. Cook the macaroni in salted water, drain and set aside. 

Gently heat the cream until it starts to bubble. Throw in the cheese, chopped into chunks.

The chunks stayed semi-firm so I added a handful of grated cheddar that melted into the cream. It started off stringy but keep cooking and stirring and it sorts itself out. Add a little extra cream or milk if it is too thick. Season with salt, pepper and oregano.

Add the drained macaroni to the pot and stir through the sauce.

Time to stir through the shrimp. I initially planned on using big king prawns but there was some cooked, peeled shrimp on offer at the supermarket so I opted for that instead.

Transfer to an ovenproof dish. Scatter over some parmesan.

Bake for 15 minutes or so until the top is golden and bubbly. Serve with salad or broccoli. 

Juliette, who is a huge mac and cheese fan, said this was even better than usual - the ooziest, creamiest mac & cheese she's ever tasted !

Adding to the #readcookeat linky over at Chez Maximka.

Also adding to the #KitchenClearout linky as it used up odds and ends of cheese.