Lobster Mac and Cheese

13 x 9 inch pan is too big, the casserole comes out less than an inch thick. Use 9 x 9.

Used double the amount of lobster and would not use less.

Used ricotta instead of cottage cheese and a 3/4 provolone/1/4 parmesan mix instead of cheddar.

Cheese does overpower the lobster flavor.

An hour to cook is too long. 45 minutes and the pasta is fully cooked. More and it starts to dry out.

Many people test the recipes, and have for more than 40 years. I'm curious what happened in your case. With two cups of milk, a cup of cottage cheese, a pound of cheese, some butter and reserved lobster juice in the recipe, "dry rather than creamy" is not a complaint we've heard, and it's not a result we've experienced.

Two notes:

1) Parboil the mac by simply placing the uncooked pasta into the lobster water after removing the lobster, leave it in the hot water for a few minutes to soak up some of that delicious sea flavor, and then drain.
2) Cheddar is way too strong, and I never use cottage cheese. Substitute 1/2 cup ricotta cheese and a 1/2 cup mascarpone and use about 3/4 cup grated parmigianno.

And if you have any fresh basil, shred it and sprinkle over the casserole after baking.

Just a note from a Mainer, a 1.5 lb lobster will not yield 1.5 lbs of lobster, there are allot of shells and liquid. I'd probably use 2-3 lobsters. I may make it for Thanksgiving this year!

Made this as written and it came out great. Given all the testing that goes into all these recipes I am skeptical about feedback from people who either don't read and/or follow directions or cannot help themselves from inserting their own special, and often weird, revisions. It's not all about you.

To Sam: Whenever I see your name I immediately trust that the recipe will be sane and truly delicious. I think you are a modern day male version of Marion Barros -- a friend in the kitchen, a lover of great food and an interesting writer. I love you, Sam Sifton in a far off kind of way becasue I don't know you..until I begin to follow one of your recipes or read one of your stories and then you seem very close and full of affection...thank you

Yum, my only change is to substitute SHRIMP for Lobster. And I delay adding the shrimp until the last 5 minutes or less of oven time as the shrimp continue to cook after removing from the oven. Deelish

I use store-bought lobster bisque as the base for my cheese sauce, Gruyere instead of cottage cheese, and 1.5 lbs of lobster meat (24 oz), not a chicken lobster. I also top with buttered bread crumbs mixed with grated Parmesan cheese. And since the pasta's already cooked, the whole thing only needs to bake for 30 minutes.

A 1-1/2 lb lobster = 6 ounces of meat. At today's price, that's $15, or $40/lb for the meat. I love the concept of using lobster in a pasta dish, but not where it's buried under a ton of cheese. Better to let it shine as the star of the dish. Wouldn't waste my time or effort on this. And the recipe for the mac and cheese on its own just sounds boring. I always use a variety of cheeses (cheddar, Asiago, Romano) and top it with a crunchy panko and butter crust.

A whole pound of cheddar is far too much for 1/2 pound of pasta. I would reduce it to 1/3 pound along with the cottage cheese (or ricotta - my preference).

I don't think he means for the recipe to have 1.5 lbs of lobster meat. That would be an awful lot of lobster meat for this kind of recipe. Which is why the's saying the meat from a 1.5 lb lobster. If you want more meat maybe a 2 lb'er.

Flyover country means I use 3-4 lobster tails for this and it works beautifully. Fresh lobster would undoubtedly be an improvement, but it's a great way to make a lobster dish for a crowd without having to spend a fortune. My family loves both version of this mac and cheese, with and without lobster. Husband was leery the first time I tried it, because he thought it was a strange combination, but it was one of his first requests for Thanksgiving this year.

Hula, you are right on target. I have made hundreds of dishes using dozens of Times recipes. I have never, repeat NEVER had a failure unless I messed with the ingredients or procedures. I haven't always liked the finished dishes but they came out as published. The people who amuse me are the ones who say, "I cut the sugar in half, used 1% milk instead of heavy cream, and margarine instead of butter. Didn't have much flavor. Sorry, Times, this one is a loser."

We liked this a lot. Reminded us of the Lobster Mac & Cheese at the Bedford Springs Tavern, where we first had this dish. At Santa Fe's 7,000 ft altitude, ours came out a bit dry, which was a surprise. Making it again tonight and will add some extra liquid. Used cheddar (an essential flavor), gruyere and mascarpone. Great flavors. To those who say the cheese overwhelms the lobster, bear in mind that this is hearty Mac N Cheese with Lobster, not Lobster with a delicate cheese sauce.

There's so much moisture in the 2c of milk that using uncooked macaroni works beautifully because it absolutely cooks al dente.