Foodspotting ... 49th Game Changer(s) Spot Lobster Macaroni & Cheese

... a chunk of lobster in almost every bite ... this is the goal with a killer lobster mac & cheese

No longer must we go blind in any city we're visiting when it comes to picking a restaurant or finding that dish that we are dying to knosh! Join Foodspotting, an on-line foodie network! Build up a trusted group of foodies to 'follow', check out their posts for restaurants that they find worthy, and when you're in town, you've got a pretty good line on 'killer eats'. Then, go where it looks and sounds best.

If you really want to get specific, search for just what you're craving and you'll get a list of visuals and short blurbs on the posters' impressions. The posting people may be unknown, but pictures don't lie and if you link to the reviews, you can make a decision pretty quickly as to whether a restaurant's dish will hit your spot ... of not.

Foodspotting is the brainchild of this week's subjects on Gourmet On-line 50 Woman Game Changers - Alexa Andrzejewski, Soraya Darabi (and Ted Grubb). These three have latched onto our predisposition to have what we want when we want it, by designing a website on which one posts pictures and locations for the delectable foods that we have knoshed. Others, logging onto the sight can browse visually and make that all-important detour to get what they want when they want it. Everyone's happy and the posts get 'nom-nom's to lend them tecno-credit. Ingenious, yes? Social media meets restaurant review meets smartphone technology!

Certainly, as we head for a more techno-linked world, this website and others will help consumers streamline their efforts when it comes to spending a dime or making a trip out for dinner. The applications of this website will surely be expanded by others ( just look at the latest visual on-line site, Pinterest). It's fast, localized to your 'neck-of-the-woods, specialized to just what you're craving. , and all at the touch of your smart phone ... amazing!

Alexa and Soraya - headshots

So these folks don't post their own recipes that I know of. What could I post on? Well, what do I crave ?!? I've been dieting pretty hard of late and I really want a carbohydrate fix in the way of macaroni & cheese. I went to Foodspotting and plugged in lobster macaroni & cheese. I know. It's pretty decadent, but if I'm going to cheat on my diet, I'm going out with a blaze of glory! I found a recipe for the lobster macaroni & cheese that is made at the Red Hook Lobster Pound in Brooklyn, New York. Hmmm ... just down the way from my daughter's apartment. Well, I'm not in Brooklyn, but I wonder if someone has scoped out Red Hook's recipe ... and here it is, courtesy of the Internet. Like I said ... amazing! I figure on giving it a try and then comparing my take with the real deal when we next head for Brooklyn. To boot, this recipe was 'spotted' by Soraya herself! Let's just see what we think!

... three lobsters and a killer stock later

... a four cheese sauce made with an orange mild Cheddar, Mascarpone, Asiago, and Gruyère

... topped with a lemon and thyme flavoured panko and baked

... the BEST lobster macaroni and cheese I've ever knoshed!

Thank you Soraya for spotting this dish ... and thank you Ms. Scorvino for adapting it on The Daily Meal website. Now ... about the recipe there are a few things:



1. Halving this recipe will give you four hearty servings of lobster mac ... plan accordingly.
2. Don't even think about trying to shortcut and not make the quick lobster stock. It is crucial to incorporating the lobster flavour thoughout the dish.
3. Do use an orange Cheddar, as it gives the dish a beautiful creamy golden color.
4. Do chunk the lobster in relatively large bites ... it's sooo satisfying to find a huge nugget of lobster in all that creaminess.
5. Do consider making this recipe ... you won't be disappointed! NOM! NOM! NOM!

Red Hook Lobster Pound’s Lobster Mac ‘N Cheese

a recipe from The Daily Meal.com

Quick Lobster Stock Ingredients:

2 leeks, chunked

3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tsp. sea or Kosher salt
1 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
1 c. dry white wine
4 inches water in the bottom of a big lobster pot

5 chicken lobsters ( 1½ lb. each), rinsed well

Cheese Sauce Ingredients:

6 tbsp. butter

⅓ c. flour
4 c. whole milk
1 ¼ c. reserved lobster stock
6 oz. Gruyère cheese, grated
3 oz. mild Cheddar cheese, grated
10 oz. Asiago cheese, grated
8 oz. Mascarpone cheese
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Pinch nutmeg

14 oz. dry macaroni

1 ½ c. panko bread crumbs
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. lemon zest
1 tbsp. fresh thyme chopped

Making the Dish:

1. Bring the water to a boil in the lobster pot and add the leeks, thyme, salt, Old Bay seasoning and white wine. Let the stock bubble for 2 or 3 minutes and then pop the rinsed lobsters into the pot.
2. Cook the lobsters for 10 minutes at a boil. Remove and place them on a platter to cool.
3. Strain and reserve the lobster stock.
4. Meanwhile, make the cheese sauce by melting the butter in a deep saucepan.
5. Add the flour and stir to make a bubbling roux. Cook the roux for about minute and add the milk, stirring to thicken. Add the reserved lobster stock.
6. Add the cheeses and lower the heat a bit, stirring to make a thick sauce. Add the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Set the sauce aside when the cheeses are melted and the sauce is smooth.
7. Pour off enough of the lobster stock into a pasta pot and cook the macaroni in the stock until it is about halfway to al dente.
8. Drain the macaroni and mix it with the cheese sauce.
9. Break into the cooled lobsters, taking the tail meat, legs, and claws. Chop into good-sized chunks and stir into the macaroni and cheese sauce.
10. Turn the whole into a greased casserole pan and preheat the oven to 350° F.
11. Make the panko topping by melting the butter in a fry pan. Add the panko, lemon zest, and thyme, stirring and cooking the mixture a bit until the bread crumbs begin to brown and the thyme is fragrant.
12. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top of the casserole and bake for 40 minutes.
13. Let the mac & cheese sit a few minutes when it comes out of the oven.

Note: This post is part of the 50 Woman Game Changers blogshare that is hosted at Mary Bergfeld's blog, One Perfect Bite. Please link to this week's Game Changer post and see what she and the other participants have prepared to honor the Foodspotting Alexa and Soraya! And leave a few NOM NOM comments to let them know just how yummy their posts are!