Crabby Mac and Brie, Could It Get Any Better Than This?

I swear by all that is holy, this is one of the best dishes I have ever had!  It's a macaroni and cheese dish but with brie and crab meat.  This one is so different from your typical mac and cheese, that I would put this in it's own category.  It is delicately sweet.  I apologize for not sharing this golden recipe a lot sooner.  Dan and I were looking at recipes of things we'd want to watch for the big game this year with the Ravens against the 49ers.  We thought this one would be an excellent comfort food.  I am so upset that I didn't make more.  I am still craving this dish!

For this recipe, we did go with imitation fresh crab meat (flaked) since the real stuff is so expensive.  I ripped up the big chunks a little bit and very lightly coated the imitation crab meat with some seafood seasoning.

Crabby Mac and Brie

1 lb. Medium Shell Pasta
5 Tbsp Butter
1 Medium Sweet Onion (yellow works fine too), halved and thinly sliced
1/3 C Flour
3/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
3 C Condensed Milk (NOT sweetened)
1 lb. Brie Cheese, Trimmed, Cut into Small Wedges, and Chopped (Reserve half of the wedges for topping)
12 oz Fresh cooked crabmeat (may use canned when drained, flaked and cartilage removed)
3 Slices White Bread (Leave out overnight to become stale or toast), Torn Apart into Pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees f.  Lightly coat ramekins (or large casserole dish) with cooking spray; set aside.

Cook Pasta in a large pot of salted water.  Cook according to package directions, drain.  Return Pasta to large pot.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt Butter over medium-low heat.  Add Onion and cook about 15 minutes or until tender and golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add Flour, Salt and Pepper; cook and stir about 1 minute or until combined.  Add Milk all at once.  Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly.  Gradually add the chopped Brie Cheese; cook and stir over medium-low heat until cheese is melted.

Stir Cheese mixture into cooked pasta.  Fold in Crab.  Transfer to prepared baking dish(es).

Place Bread pieces in a food processor; cover and process until in coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle crumbs over Pasta mixture.

Bake, uncovered, for 20 to 35 minutes or until heated through and crumbs are golden brown.  For the last 5 minutes of baking, top each dish with one of the reserved small Brie wedges (or if in big casserole, top by spacing out wedges).  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.


This recipe came from Better Homes and Gardens on foodrepublic.com