I had this great ideology that when we moved to Seattle, my husband and I were going to be “hip” and live downtown. When they put us up in Belltown for corporate housing I was excited because we could see what living in the city would be like.
Turns out we are suburb people. Big time.
By day 5, I was tired of walking up hill 5 blocks to get milk…for 2 dollars more than what I pay for it at Safeway.
I was kept up by the night club that was down the street. Not by the music but by the drunk people stumbling into the alley and shouting at each other.
My dog was not a fan on having to pee and poop on concrete while cars went flying by.
I witnessed not once, but twice, a homeless man urinating in broad daylight in front of me.
Somehow when a man urinates in front of you, it just doesn’t seem all that glamorous. :P
Now don’t get me wrong, there are great places in the city. We would love to live in Queen Anne, we just don’t have the funding to do so…well, not how we would want to live.
But we quickly learned we were in need for suburbia. We are not hip. I don’t know why we were kidding ourselves. We are nerds for goodness sake…I mean, we go married on Piday(March 14th, you know, 3.14) on purpose. I don’t know what is in or out. I just know what I like. I don’t follow who the hippest chef or restaurant is in town, I just go to the places I like to eat.
Speaking of not hip….macaroni and cheese. Crab macaroni and cheese to be exact. Not hip but it will add to your hips if that makes you feel better.

Crab Macaroni and Cheese

Butter for the pan
12 ounces macaroni
1 ¾  cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup (packed) grated fontina cheese
¾  cup cheddar cheese
½  cup (packed) finely grated Parmesan cheese
¼  cup (packed) grated mozzarella cheese
¾ cup ricotta cheese
10 ounces Dungeness crab meat
4 TBSP breadcrumbs
2 TBSP unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Butter a 9 x 13 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Drain well (do not rinse).

Whisk the milk, cream, flour, salt, and pepper in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the fontina, cheddar, Parmesan, mozzarella, and ricotta cheeses. Add the macaroni and toss to coat. Fold in crab meat. Transfer the macaroni mixture to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle breadcrumbs and place butter pieces on top of breadcrumbs. Bake until the sauce bubbles and the cheese melts and begins to brown on top, about 15 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes. Serve warm.

6 servings

Adapted from Everyday Pasta by Giada De Laurentiis

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