Baked Mac ‘N Cheese with Shrimp

I was so excited this Christmas when my in laws gave me the new Pampered Chef Rockcrok™ (2.5-qt.) Everyday Pan!  The Pampered Chef spent over four years developing this wonder pot that can go from the stove top to the oven to the microwave to the broiler to the grill and into the dishwasher ... I got tired just saying all the places you can use it! Kevin finally chose a recipe from the set of cards that comes with the pot for us to try out the new piece with and it turned out fantastic! Baked Mac ‘N Cheese with Shrimp Ingredients: 1 ½  lbs medium raw shrimp (25-30 per pound), peeled, deveined, tails removed

¾ tsp salt, divided

½ tsp ground black pepper

6 tbsp butter (3/4 stick), divided

6 tbsp dry sherry, divided

¼ cup flour

3½ cups milk, divided

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

½ tsp cayenne pepper (Couldn't find it at the store didn't end up using it)

8 oz uncooked mezzi rigatoni pasta (2 cups) (Used regular rigatoni, the mezzi would have been better)

6 oz sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded (1½ cups), divided

4 oz  fontina cheese, shredded (1 cup) 2/3 cup   panko bread crumbs ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley ***One thing I highly recommend is to prep the cheese and measure out the ingredients for steps 1-5 before starting. I didn't do all of the prep and it would have helped a lot to have it all ready to just dump in!!***

1. Season shrimp with ¼ tsp of the salt, and pepper. Heat 2 tbsp of the butter in Rockcrok™ (2.5-qt.) Everyday Pan over medium heat 1-2 minutes or until bubbling.  2.  Cook shrimp 2-3 minutes or until pink and cooked through, turning once. Stir in 2 tbsp of the sherry; cook 30 seconds. Remove shrimp. 3.  Preheat oven to 400°F.  4.  Add remaining butter and flour to Pan; whisk 1-2 minutes or until smooth. Slowly pour in 1 cup of the milk, whisking constantly until smooth. Whisk in remaining milk, mustard, cayenne and remaining ½ tsp salt. Cook, covered, 3-5 minutes or until mixture comes to a simmer, whisking often; remove Pan from heat.   5.  Stir in pasta, 1 cup of the cheddar and fontina. Bake, covered, 30-35 minutes or until pasta is tender, gently stirring once halfway through baking. 6.  Meanwhile, combine bread crumbs, parsley and remaining cheddar in small bowl. 7.  Remove Pan from oven; preheat broiler. Stir in shrimp and remaining sherry; top with bread crumb mixture. Place Pan 2-4 in. from heating element.  8.  Broil 2-3 minutes or until top is golden brown. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes.

9.  Enjoy!!