By Molly Lehman 
Welcome to Recipe Detective, a new Buzzbin feature where we track down the best dishes at the best local joints and find out how they’re made. This month, we chose the lobster mac and cheese at Sweet Pea Café in Fairlawn.
The Sweet Pea is new in town. Josh Thornton just opened the place in 2008 but it’s built a following for the veggie frittatas and omelets, breakfast sandwiches and housemade granola. The dinner menu is also a new addition, a response to the popularity of previous once-monthly dinners, and the Sweet Pea has the beer and wine license to go with it.
Chef Justin Houmard’s mac and cheese is a top seller: in addition to this lobster version from the dinner menu, there are also versions with eggplant and with prosciutto for lunch. There’s even an omelet named after the chef that includes mac and cheese in its filling.
Sweet Pea Cafe, 117 Merz Blvd., Fairlawn; 330-794-7952
Hours: 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, open for dinner 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday
Sweet Pea Café’s Lobster and Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese
Ingredients:
1 lb. elbow macaroni or rotini, boiled in well salted water until al dente, drained
2 c. heavy cream
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. cracked black pepper
8 oz. smoked Gouda, shredded, diced, or cubed
1½ c. shredded Monterey jack cheese
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
4 T. butter
12 oz. cooked lobster meat (we poach ours in butter), cut up to preferred size
1/3 c. sundried tomatoes, cut into thin strips and steeped in hot water for 5 minutes
½ c. sweet corn
4 oz. fresh spinach
½ sleeve Ritz crackers, finely ground
White truffle oil for drizzle
Technique:
- In a 2-quart saucepan, combine cream, garlic and pepper. Heat over medium high heat, stirring constantly, until cream reduces slightly.
- Add smoked Gouda, jack and cheddar. Whisk until cheese melts completely, then add butter, whisking in one tablespoon at a time.
- Using a large spoon, stir in corn, lobster, sundried tomatoes and spinach.
- Stir in macaroni until well coated. Keep over heat until entire mixture is gently bubbling. Be careful to scrape bottom and corners of the saucepan to avoid scorching.
- Transfer to a large casserole dish or individual ovenproof serving dishes and top with Ritz crackers.
- Bake at 400°F until top is golden and macaroni is bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Drizzle with truffle oil to taste. Use a light hand- it’s very pungent.
- Scarf it down.
- Nap.
