Seafood Mac and Cheese

Carrie is home, and the home has absorbed her the way the home absorbs everyone who returns: completely, with the particular generosity of a house that has been expanding and contracting for eight years and that considers every expansion a celebration and every contraction a breathing, and both are the life.

She has been cooking with me every evening — the old rhythm, the mother-daughter rhythm, the standing-at-the-stove-together that is both cooking and conversation, both feeding and connecting, both the making of food and the making of the relationship that food sustains. She brings the Japanese precision. I bring the Lowcountry abundance. The kitchen holds both.

James called on Sunday. He said: "Mom, I'm going to ask Elise to marry me." The sentence was delivered with the particular steadiness of a man who has decided and who is not asking for permission but informing, and the informing was the respect, the respect of a son who considers his mother's knowledge of his plans a courtesy and a gift, and the courtesy was the love.

I said, "When?" He said, "Next month." I said, "Good." He said, "Are you surprised?" I said, "James Robert Blackwood, I have been watching you fall in love with this woman for five years. The only surprise is that it took you this long." He laughed. The laugh was Robert's laugh — the easy, confident Blackwood laugh. The laugh was the son. The son was the man. And the man was about to become a husband.

I made she-crab soup. The celebration soup. The announcement soup. The soup that I make when the news is good and when the news is bad and when the news is life, because the soup is the response to all of it, and the response is the love.

I didn’t have all the fixings for she-crab soup that evening — the roe, the sherry, the patience the pot deserves — but I had the coast in my pantry, and I had Carrie beside me at the stove, and I had James’s voice still warm in my ear saying I’m going to ask her. So we made this instead: Seafood Mac and Cheese, which is the Lowcountry abundance I always bring, layered with the kind of deep, creamy richness that says this moment matters without having to say a word. It fed us the way celebration food should — generously, completely, and with enough left over that the good news could stretch into the next day.

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 lb elbow macaroni or cavatappi pasta
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk, warmed
1 cup heavy cream, warmed
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups sharp white cheddar, freshly shredded
1 cup Gruyère, freshly shredded
1/2 cup Parmesan, freshly grated, divided
1/2 lb large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 lb lump crab meat, picked over for shells
1/2 lb bay scallops (or sea scallops, quartered)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons dry sherry or white wine
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon melted butter
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped, for garnish

Instructions

Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions until just al dente — it will finish cooking in the oven. Drain and set aside.
Sear the seafood. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Add the shrimp and scallops in a single layer and cook for 1–2 minutes per side until just opaque. Add the garlic and sherry, stir for 30 seconds, then remove from heat. Gently fold in the crab meat. Set aside.
Make the cheese sauce. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, melt 3 tablespoons butter. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1–2 minutes until the mixture smells slightly nutty. Slowly whisk in the warm milk and cream, a little at a time, until smooth. Cook, whisking frequently, for 6–8 minutes until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
Add the cheese. Reduce heat to low. Stir in the dry mustard, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Add the cheddar, Gruyère, and all but 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan, stirring until fully melted and smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Combine. Preheat oven to 375°F. Add the cooked pasta to the cheese sauce and stir to coat evenly. Gently fold in the seared seafood and any pan juices. Transfer to a buttered 9x13-inch baking dish.
Make the topping. In a small bowl, combine the panko breadcrumbs, melted butter, and reserved 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Stir until the crumbs are evenly coated, then scatter over the top of the pasta.
Bake. Bake uncovered for 20–25 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling around the edges and the topping is deep golden brown. If needed, broil for 2–3 minutes to crisp the crust further.
Rest and serve. Let the dish rest for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve directly from the baking dish.

Nutrition (per serving)

Seafood Mac and Cheese — The Comfort We Cook When the News Is Life