Lemon Roast Lobster

Whenever C is gone, Miss F and I always have seafood. Recently, lobster has become her favorite. It started with her "sampling" some of the tempura lobster from a meal I was having at Artista.  And by sampling, I mean she ate every single piece of lobster from my plate.  She loves the stuff...loves.  I am always looking for new ways to have lobster, beyond just steaming a whole lobster.  My mom had brought me a bunch of lemons from her tree and Lemon Roast Lobster was created.  It is so deliciously simple and would make a great entrée at a dinner party, as long as your guests love lobster as much as Miss F does.

Lemon Roast Lobster

1 lemon
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 lobster tails, split
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cut half of the lemon into slices and juice the other half. Stir the juice with the melted butter. Place the lobsters in a baking dish, brush the lemon juice and butter mixture over the meat of the lobster, add the lemon wedges to the pan. Roast the lobster tails for 10 minutes until the meat is opague.

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Lobster Risotto

Does it get any better than lobster risotto? According to Miss F, it's the best. But it's the best as long as you pick out the peas, or even better, don't bother to add any peas to the dish at all. This lobster risotto is incredibly easy, I purchase one of the cooked lobsters from Kroger, but feel free to steam your own. The lobster stock is incredibly simple to make, but adds a real lobster flavor to the dish, moreso than using any store bought stock.  The key is using the hot stock in the risotto.  It makes the stock absorb very nicely into the arborio rice.  Your hand may get a bit tired from all the stirring, but it is completely worth it when it comes time to eat.

Lobster Risotto

1 whole Maine lobster, cooked
4 cups water
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 cup Arborio rice
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup peas

Remove the meat from the tail and claws of the lobster, chop into bite sized pieces and set aside. Add the lobster shell to a sauce pan with the water. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a sauce pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the rice and sauté until translucent, about 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in the salt. Ladle ½ cup of the water from the saucepan with the lobster shells into the saucepan with the rice. Stir constantly until all the liquid is absorbed, then add another ladle full and repeat. Keep adding the water from the lobster shell pot until there is none remaining, making sure to allow the rice to absorb all the liquid between each ladle. Stir in the reserved lobster meat and peas, cook for 3 minutes more, stirring. Serve.

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Lobster and Shrimp Paella

Firstly, let me apologize for my extended absence.    We have been travelling a ton and life has just gotten a bit crazy... Whenever C goes out of town, it is a seafood extravaganza around here.  I had originally planned on making paella for a dinner party, one seafood and one chicken & sausage.  I decided that might have been a lofty goal, so I decided to make it for Miss F and my parents one night while C was out of town for work.  This paella couldn't be any easier, it is brimming with shrimp and lobster, which are the standouts of paella for me.  Now that I know how easy it is to make, I will be making this for a dinner party in the future.  This recipe was inspired by Ina Garten.

Lobster and Shrimp Paella

¼ cup olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, sliced
3 cloves garlic
2 cups white rice
5 cups chicken broth
2 tomatoes, chopped
½ teaspoon saffron threads, crushed
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 lobster tails, split in half
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
½ teaspoon paprika
¼ cup white wine
1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas
1 lemon, cut into wedges

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven, add the onions and cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add the bell peppers and cook for 5 minutes more. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the rice, chicken broth, tomatoes, saffron, red pepper, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover the pot and place in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove the lid, stir the rice gently and nestle the lobster tails and shrimp into the rice and sprinkle with the paprika. Return the pot, uncovered, to the oven and bake for 15 minutes more. Return the pot to the stove top over medium heat. Stir in the wine and peas, stir until the wine is absorbed. Turn off the heat, cover the pot and let rest for 10 minutes. Serve, garnished with lemon wedges.

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Lobster Linguine

I bought crablegs at a Kroger on my way home from work instead of my usual two Krogers I alternate between. I noticed that they had whole steamed lobsters in the seafood case and since Miss F adores lobster so much, I knew I wanted to make a pasta with it next time C was out of town.   I decided to hit the grocer after school, so the lobster would be fresh and so that Miss F could help select which lobster she wanted.   Our regular Kroger only had the tails and I wasn't interested in smelling up the house steaming lobster.  So we went to another Kroger, no lobster, and then to the Kroger where I had initially seen the whole lobsters, no luck.  I tried to convince her to have shrimp pasta instead, but once I had tempted her with lobster, there was no going back.  I ended up steaming the lobster tails at home, then boiling a pot of water with 1/4 cup of white vinegar to kill the smell.  It was worth it.  Recipe inspired from Simple Seasonal.

Lobster Linguine

12 ounces linguine
1 large steamed lobster or 3 small steamed tails
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
½ cup white wine
¼ clam juice
3 tablespoons tomato paste
¾ cup half and half

Prepare the pasta per package instructions, drain and set aside. Break down the lobster and chop the meat into bite sized pieces, set aside. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour, whisking for 1 minute until fully incorporated. Add the wine while still whisking, cook for 1 minute more. Add the clam juice and tomato paste while still whisking and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, stir in the drained pasta, lobster and half and half into the sauce; salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

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Lobster Pot Pie

Considering how much Miss F loves crawfish (still her most favorite food,) it is not surprising how much she loves lobster. I had ordered paella at Artista before we saw Mary Poppins, I don't think I got a single bite of the lobster from my plate, she stole nearly every single piece.  She requested lobster for dinner while C was out of town.  I decided to try making lobster pot pie, which was incredibly delicious.  Miss F said it needed more lobster, which isn't surprising at all.  A tip: if you are serving it to kids, be sure to take it out of the hot ramekin before serving, don't let them get anywhere near the hot crock...and it helps to cool the filling faster.  This recipe was adapted from Cosmopolitan magazine.  I am sure under the heading "how to trap yourself a man" or something equally silly.

Lobster Pot Pie

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
½ cup frozen corn
½ cup frozen peas
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken broth
½ pound cooked lobster meat, cut into bite sized pieces
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onion and carrot. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, then add the corn and peas. Stir in flour, and cook 1 minute more. Add milk and chicken broth, stirring constantly. Cook until the sauce begins to thicken, about 5 minutes. Then remove from heat, add lobster and thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Remove the puff pastry from the refrigerator. Cut the dough in half, and reserve one half for another use. On a lightly floured surface, flatten out the pastry, using a floured rolling pin, to about 1⁄8-inch thickness. Cut the puff pastry into two circles the size of a two cup oven safe ramekin. Spoon the filling into the bowls, and place one circle of dough on top of each potpie, pressing the edges to seal the pastry to the bowl. Cut a vent in the center so air and moisture can escape. Place the potpies on a baking sheet. Bake until the pastry is puffed and becomes a dark golden brown shade, about 30 minutes.

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Lobster Linguine with Saffron Cream Sauce

Lobsters were on sale for $3 each the week of Valentine's day, so I knew I had to get a few and figure out something to make with them. I love the flavor and color that saffron gives to sauces and I was curious to try it with lobster. After doing some looking around for a saffron lobster dish, it seemed like a pasta was the way to go.  I didn't want to fuss with lobster ravioli, but still wanted a pasta dish.  Thanks to This Hungry Kitten for the recipe inspiration, it was an amazing meal.  You could easily substitute shrimp for the lobster, just add a couple minutes to the sauté time to get the shrimp cooked through.  My only regret is that I had to send all the leftovers home with my parents, since I knew C would freak out if I tried to re-heat it when he was home.

Lobster Linguine with Saffron Cream Sauce

¼ teaspoon saffron threads
1 cup white wine
4 small lobsters, steamed and cooled
1 pound linguine
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup cream
¼ cup loosely packed chopped parsley

Steep the saffron threads in the white wine for five minutes. Remove the lobster meat from the shell, chop into bite sized pieces. Prepare the pasta per package instructions, drain and set aside. In a large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium-high. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the lobster meat to the pan, sauté for a minute or so. Add the saffron wine to the pan and reduce for a minute or two. Stir in the cream and parsley, simmer for five minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the linguine into the sauce. Plate and serve.

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Lobster Carbonara

Happy Valentine's Day! While this dish would be completely rejected by C, luckily I can share it with Miss F. She thinks lobster is a large version of her most favorite food, crawfish. I guess she is right, I break down the pre-cooked lobsters from the grocery store just as I would crawfish. The cooked lobsters are usually on sale around Valentine's Day and this is a perfect use for them. I find they are generally too small to eat on their own, but adding them to Carbonara really ups the fanciness factor of an already decadent dish.  This recipe was loosely inspired by My Husband Hates Veggies.  Maybe I should rename this blog, My Husband Hates Seafood.

Lobster Carbonara

1 cooked lobster, meat removed from the shell, both tail and claws, and cut into bite sized pieces
¾ cup heavy cream
1 egg yolk
½ pound thin spaghetti
3 strips bacon, cut into lardons
¼ onion, chopped
½ cup green peas

Whisk together the cream and egg together in a two cup measure and set aside. Prepare the spaghetti per package instructions. In a large sauté pan, cook the bacon over medium heat until cooked through. Remove the bacon from the pan with a slotted spoon, add the onions and sauté for two minutes. Add the lobster meat and peas, sauté for two minutes more. Add the cooked spaghetti and bacon to the pan and pour the cream mixture over top, tossing to combine. Serve.

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Roasted Shellfish Platter

My parents came into town for Christmas and while C was away at work we feasted on shellfish. He won't touch the stuff, but Miss F loves shrimp. I heavily adapted this recipe from Epicurious.  I thought this huge platter would leave loads of leftovers with only three adults and a kid eating it...I was wrong.  We were left with about 10 shrimp, one set of crab legs and half a lobster.  Roasting seafood is so easy, but your guests need to be ready to get a little messy.  But who minds mess when you are having seafood dunked in butter?  I do need to invest in some crackers for crablegs.  I have had them a couple times now and they really do make things much easier with snow crab legs.

Roasted Shellfish Platter

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
¼ cup minced shallots
2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
2 large cooked lobsters, cut lengthwise in half
1 pound jumbo shrimp
2 pounds cooked snow crab legs, cut lengthwise in half
3 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Brush 2 large roasting pans with 1 tablespoon olive oil each. Mix shallots, minced parsley, and lemon peel in small bowl. Arrange lobster tails, cut side up, in 1 roasting pan; brush with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then 2 tablespoons shallot mixture.  Meanwhile, combine shrimp, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and 2 tablespoons shallot mixture in medium bowl; sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss gently to coat. Arrange in single layer in second prepared roasting pan. Roast alongside lobster until shrimp are just opaque in center, about 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer lobster to large platter; cover with foil. Arrange crab legs in lobster roasting pan; drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, sprinkle with remaining shallot mixture, then drizzle with 3 tablespoons water. Roast just until heated through, about 5 minutes. Arrange shrimp and crab legs on platter with lobster. Pour any pan drippings over shellfish. Garnish with lemon wedges and parsley sprigs. Serve with lemon butter for dipping.

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Lobster Ravioli

I despise ricotta cheese, most lobster ravioli recipes I found had some amount of ricotta cheese mixture in it. I finally found one that didn't and tweaked it to suit my tastes. Anything with sherry in it is fine by me...

They turned out really nicely. I used Joelen's pasta recipe and used the Champagne Cream Sauce to top it. The sauce was not as good as the last time I made it. I think trying to make it for twelve servings was just too much.




Lobster Ravioli

2 lbs. lobster meat
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms
2 tbsp. butter
2 tsp. minced shallots
1 1/2 cups cream
2 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. quality light sherry
Salt & ground pepper to taste

Boil lobsters, remove meat. Clean & mince lobster meat. Wash & mince mushrooms. In sauté pan, soften butter, add shallots. Cook 2 to 3 minutes until translucent. Add lobster meat and mushrooms and cook for another minute. Slowly sprinkle flour over mix, stirring constantly. Add sherry, stirring constantly. Add cream and reduce for 2 to 3 minutes on low. The mixture should be on the medium to thick side. Remove from the heat and spread it out on a flat pan to cool. Roll out 4 ravioli pasta sheets. Using a biscuti cutter, cut pasta into circles. Add 1 teaspoon of mixture into the marked square. Lay the second sheet on top and use a ravioli tool to roll and seal. Transfer onto a sheet pan that has been lined with wax paper & sprinkle with corn meal (this helps prevent sticking). Bring water, salt & oil to a boil. Add raviolis quickly, but 1 at a time. Keep separated with a wooden spoon. Boil 3 to 5 minutes (preference). Remove with slotted spoon or skimmer.

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Grilled Lobster

I got a lobster tail at Central Market yesterday to serve with my bacon wrapped filets. The preparation is simple, just split the underside of the tail shell using kitchen shears making sure to leave the top shell intact to hold the lobster together. Grill over hot coals for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of your lobster tails, brushing the tail meat with lemon juice and butter.

The tiny tails are on sale and go perfectly with a filet for surf and turf. I love lobster, it is so rich and decadent.

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