Recipe: Crawfish Mac n Cheese

We've been foraging a lot of crawfish lately so here's a simple special we ran a few weeks back:

Oven to 350ºF

Cook 1 pound pasta al dente (shells, rotini or penne)

In large sauce pan combine:
-2 tablespoons ExV
-1/3 C diced bacon (we use our house cured)
Cook until starting to crisp, then add:
-1/2 C diced onion
-1 clove garlic, crushed
Cook until onions soften a bit. Add:
-A large spoon of butter
-5 T AP flour
Cook, stirring for about 5 minutes.  Add:
-3 C milk
Whisk to make sure there are no lumps. Bring to simmer and add salt and pepper to taste.  Grate in some nutmeg and cook for a few more minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in:
-2 C crawfish tails, shelled

Add 1 pound of grated cheese - we used parma, gruyere and munster, but any combo will work as long as at least some are melty cheeses.  Add 2 T Cajun spice (your own mix or I like Tony Chacherie).  Pour into a 9x13 pan and top with panko toasted in butter.  Bake 45 minutes or until bubbly.

Photo ripped from web, let me know if its yours.  Recipe based on Emeril recipe.

Curious Kumquat