Extreme Pasta And Cheese With Shrimp

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 10
• 1 lb medium shrimp, poached and peeled (see below)
• 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, cut in half
• 1/4 cup shallot, slivered
• 1 lb jumbo pasta shells (about 1 inch long when uncooked)
• 8 ounces gruyere cheese, finely grated, it seems like a lot, but it good that way
• 1 cup firmly packed fontina cheese, cut in small cubes
• 1 (5 1/4 ounce) package of boursin garlic & herb spreadable cheese
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 cup wine
• 3 cups half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (probably less if you are using regular table salt)
• 6 cups water
• 1 cup wine
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 stalks celery, with leaves
• 1 garlic clove

Recipe

• 1 poach shrimp: combine poaching ingredients, bring to a simmer, add shrimp and turn off heat.
• 2 when shrimp are pink, drain and remove the shells.
• 3 boil pasta according to package directions, drain and reserve.
• 4 in a large non-stick skillet, sauté mushrooms and shallots in 1 t butter, remove mushrooms when they are golden and have released some of their juices and set aside.
• 5 melt remaining 2 t butter in the shallot pan.
• 6 stir in flour to make a roux.
• 7 quickly whisk in wine, then half and half, continue stirring until its smooth and creamy.
• 8 add boursin cheese and stir until well blended- do not boil, cook it gently add salt to your taste.
• 9 grease a 9x13 casserole dish with butter.
• 10 dump in the pasta, mushrooms, fontina cheese cubes and shrimp.
• 11 combine to make sure everything is evenly distributed.
• 12 pour the sauce over the top, you might need to coax it down by lifting the pasta and shrimp with a large spoon- it should be all creamy.
• 13 top with all that shredded gruyere cheese, make sure it goes all the way to the edges.
• 14 bake 350°f for 30 minutes, it should be all bubbly and a little brown- just a little--on top.
• 15 serve.
• 16 proceed directly to the gym the next morning!