Crab Mac & Cheese w/ Toasted Croutons

Ingredients:

Mac & Cheese:

• 16oz Lump crab meat (or crab cake mix)
• 2 Shallots (minced)
• 2 cups Half & half
• 4oz Cream cheese
• 2-4oz Aged white cheddar cheese shredded (depending on how cheesy you like it)
• 2-4oz Havarti cheese shredded (depending on how cheesy you like it)
• 1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp Paprika
• 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
• 1 tsp Dry mustard
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp Butter
• 2 tbsp Flour
• 1/2lb Elbow macaroni

Topping:

• 1/2 Loaf of the bread of your choosing cubed (I use an olive oil and rosemary sourdough from Wegmans)
• 1 tbsp Butter
• 2 Sprigs parsley
• Salt/Pepper

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Bring pot of water to a boil for your pasta, salting the water accordingly
• Over low heat, melt butter and cook shallots for a few minutes until translucent in a large pan
• Add flour and turn up heat to medium, stirring to combine evenly
• Add half and half, paprika, dry mustard, cayenne pepper, Old Bay, and Worcestershire sauce
• Bring the béchamel to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes or until thickened
• While the sauce is simmering, cook the pasta and drain 1-2 minutes prior to package directions (should be al dente)
• Take the béchamel off the heat and add the cream cheese and fresh shredded cheddar/havarti in batches, whisking until fully combined/melted
• Fold in crab meat/pasta and season with salt/pepper, adding lemon juice at the end
• In a separate pan, add reserved butter, salt/pepper and parsley melting until bubbling has subsided, then add cubed bread and combine
• Add Mac and cheese to a baking dish and top with bread mixture
• Bake for 15-20 minutes until the top is browned
• Let sit for 5 minutes to cool then serve and enjoy!

Edit for formatting :/