Lobster Grilled Cheese

 

It’s funny how one small thing can snowball into a day's worth of work. I succumbed to a sale on lobster tails at my local market. I bought three of them, and when I got home, I wondered what the heck I was going to do with these. The first one I cooked in the air fryer. Lobster perfection. The second I turned into lobster salad, also delicious. The third I used in a grilled cheese sandwich, unusual, right? I had read an article about a guy who made a lobster grilled cheese sandwich, and being a fan of both lobster and grilled cheese I wanted to give it a try. The bread that this concoction was on was jalapeño cheese bread, so before I could even make my sandwich, I had to bake a loaf of bread. Honestly, it took me until 2 o’clock in the afternoon (I’d arisen at 8 AM) to make one sandwich.  It was a good one, even though for the most part, it was a breeze to put together. I’ve heard that sourdough is a tasty replacement for the jalapeño cheese bread, so if you’re interested in trying this, I would certainly consider going that route.

Lobster Grilled Cheese 

 1 6-oz. lobster tail, diced

2-3 T. butter

2 T. garlic paste

Old Bay seasoning

Fresh chopped parsley

Jalapeno Cheese Bread

2 slices Havarti cheese

2 slices smoked Gouda cheese

 Place a medium-size pan over medium high heat. Add butter and garlic paste. Once the butter has melted down and blended with the garlic paste, add diced lobster meat. Season to taste with Old Bay seasoning and parsley.

 After your lobster has finished cooking, set mixture aside.

 Place two slices of bread into a heated pan with a bit of melted butter, placing two slices of Havarti cheese on one half and two slices of smoked Gouda on the other. Then place reserved lobster mixture on top of one piece of bread, topping with the remaining piece. Toast until golden brown and cheese is melted.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The Ultimate Lobster Mac & Cheese

This post contains affiliate links.

Because this has been such a weird year I decided to get a little fancy for one of the two holiday dinners that I was serving. I try very hard to accommodate everyone’s schedule, so we celebrated “Festivus” on the 23rd. There were just three of us, but we had a lovely time, and the food was delicious. I had baked a ham, made Cheese Peta, and a casserole of Lobster Mac & Cheese. Trust me when I tell you that this is the most money and time that I have ever spent on a casserole, but it was well worth it. It took a good bit of honing to get everything just right, so please do not skimp on ingredients or alter any of them, and please use the cavatappi. My daughter-in-law (whose grandmother is Sicilian) and I agree that it is an underutilized pasta, and we aim to change that. If you’re looking to celebrate a special event, or just treat you and your sweetie, give this a try. It can be baked up in a casserole or spooned into individual ramekins. It also freezes beautifully; when you want to bake it up, put it into the oven cold and bake for 45-55 minutes until hot and bubbly. Delish!

  The Ultimate Lobster Mac & Cheese

8 c. water
2 8-oz. lobster tails in the shell
8 oz. cavatappi
3 T. butter
3 T. flour
2 c. whole milk
1 ½ c. heavy whipping cream
1 T. lobster base

6 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated

6 oz. white cheddar, grated
1 - 2 t. salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Few gratings whole nutmeg
3-4 T. dry sherry

 

Topping:
1 c. Panko breadcrumbs
2 strips bacon fried and finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
½ c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 T. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Combine topping ingredients in a medium mixing bowl; set aside.

Bring water to a boil in a medium stockpot, add lobster, and boil 5-6 minutes until the shell is pink and the meat is cooked through. Remove lobster with tongs; reserve water. Return lobster water to a boil and cook pasta until al dente, 6 to 8 minutes; drain.

Combine milk and heavy cream in a medium saucepan. Heat until simmering, but not boiling. Whisk in lobster base.

In the same pot that you used to cook the lobster and pasta, melt butter and then whisk in flour. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes, whisking constantly. Continue to whisk as you add the hot milk/cream mixture and cook for a minute or two more until thickened.

Remove from heat and add the cheeses, 1 teaspoon of salt, pepper, a few gratings of nutmeg, if desired, and sherry. Add cooked cavatappi and lobster meat, and stir well. Place the mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish and scatter topping to cover. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the sauce is bubbly and the topping is browned.

 

 

Lobster Omelet

I am having a great time with these plates.

Before I say another word, let me tell you that I do not eat like this all of the time.  In fact, the only other time I had a lobster omelet was six years ago at Arno's Restaurant on Main Street in Nantucket.  We were spending an autumn week with friends on Cape Cod and decided to enjoy a couple of days in Nantucket.  If you've not been there, let me tell you it is a wonderful place.  From the time my feet hit terra firma I felt as if I'd somehow wandered into a Charles Wysocki painting.  I can't think of any place else that is quite like it, and I could return again and again.  As I mentioned we were with friends who happened to be seasoned veterans of roaming Nantucket.  As soon as we exited the ferry at around 9:00 in the morning they led the way to Arno's.  Having gotten up in the pre-dawn hours to catch the early ferry we were all starving, so ordered coffee and opened the menus.  My eyes fell upon the words "Lobster Omelet" and  I needed to look no further, I'd decided.  I can still remember the wonderful taste of that omelet, unique to anything else I'd ever had.  Last week while digitizing pictures, I stumbled across the set I'd taken during this trip and I immediately thought of Arno's and that omelet.  I went online to see if I could find a recipe (no), so perused the menu at Arno's website.  It is described as sauteed lobster and Boursin cheese.  (Hence my interest in making  my own homemade Boursin.)  I mentioned this to my husband who bought me a baby lobster (all of five inches long) and I ended up creating a delicious omelet that easily rivaled Arno's, if not surpassed it.

For those of you willing to try it, here are step-by-step directions.

Remove the baby lobster from the shell by loosening the meat from the top and then slowly pulling it from the shell.  It should extract in one piece, as shown.

Cut the lobster meat into bite-sized pieces while you melt about a teaspoon of butter in a 7" saute pan.

Saute the lobster pieces until done.  You can actually smell when it's done as it releases a wonderful fragrance, but if you're unsure, saute until it is opaque.  Remove from pan and set aside.  Melt a tablespoon of butter in the microwave in a small glass dish.  It will separate leaving the milk solids on the bottom and the "clarified" butter on the top.  Pour this clarified liquid into the saute pan and heat until bubbles subside.

Pour 2 eggs, scrambled, into the pan and swirl to cook quickly.  Dot the top with as much Boursin cheese as you like.  I found four dots to be just perfect.

Put the cooked lobster meat into the omelet and continue to swirl until cooked through. (I was actually able to flip this one, can you say "proud?")  Turn it out onto a plate.  Top with fresh chopped chives and a very light sprinkling of Old Bay seasoning.  As an experiment I only put Old Bay on one side.  It was the better tasting, so I would definitely use it again.  Yum!

This post is linked to:

Metamorphosis Monday, Made by You Monday, and On the Menu Monday

A Coastal Dinner

My Lobster Linens, Now What? post brought a lot of comments from amazingly creative people both on Blogger and Flickr, for which I thank you all very much!  I couldn't have done it without all of your wonderful suggestions.  Now, bearing in mind that I live in the Mississippi Valley, not near an ocean, and, as such, nautical items are few and far between, I don't think I did such a bad job.  Here is the result of  couple of weeks of brainstorming, your suggestions, and using what I had.  I think this tablescape drew more comments from diners than any other I've ever done.  My son, who is probably my number one fan, told his grandmother, that I can open up a closet and pull out anything and make a centerpiece out of it.  Funny, but probably true.  It happened in this case when I pulled out the small black roasting pan and started from there.  Let me know what you think,  I loved creating this one.

Here is the roasting pan in question.  While I don't have a lobster pot, per se, this got the job done.  I filled it with new potatoes and corn, giving an indication of what was to come, and topped it with a plastic lobster that I bought from Amazon (of all places).

I absolutely adore these napkin rings and this wonderful fabric.  I had not planned on making such a big display of the napkins.  I simply accordion folded them and slid each into a napkin ring.  In doing so it splayed out more than I liked, so I figured, heck, why not just take it around the entire white plate.  People loved this!

I found the lobster salt and pepper shakers at Pine Hill online.  I think they are my new favorite pair and I'll be putting them to a lot of use this season.  The pails I had around the house: the large one once was home to an amaryllis plant, the smaller one contained the burned down remains of a citronella candle.  I cleaned both up and think they worked out beautifully.

Here's an overview.  Someone had suggested I use lanterns.  While these candleholders aren't lanterns exactly, they gave the look of them and worked well.  The fish pitcher, well, it's been with me since the seventies and is one of the first pieces of tableware I think I ever purchased.  I love it and it never fails to draw comments.

Tablecoth and napkins - Pottery Barn
Plates and roasting pan - Old Time Pottery
Cups and Saucers - Amazon
Napkin Rings - Pine Hill
Lobster Salt & Pepper Shakers - Stonewall Kitchens
Glassware - La Rochere

This is linked to

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life 
Open House at No Minimalist Here
French Country Cottage
My Romantic Home
At the Picket Fence
Funky Junk Interiors
Under the Table and Dreaming
Between Naps on the Porch

CSI Project

Lobster Linens...now what?

I will not be serving lobster for Father's Day.  This scenario is the creation of the clever decorating staff at Pottery Barn, but you know you want to dine here.

I fall in love very easily...with linens, tableware, decorative accessories, books, food...and men, but for today I need help with my new purchase of the wonderfully fun lobster linens at Pottery Barn to which I recently treated myself.

June is a month I refer to as "The Trifecta of Horror" because every Sunday involves a gift-giving holiday and people who have absolutely everything.  The 12th is my parents' anniversary (seriously after 63 years what more does a couple need?), the 19th is Father's Day (again, if he doesn't buy it, he makes it, has it, or doesn't need it), and the 26th is dad's birthday (see above comments).

So, every year I try to make the meal and table very special (even if the gifts are practical and routine).  This year, because I am absolutely aching to go to the shore, when I spotted these linens in the Pottery Barn catalog, I pounced.  So clever, fun, and unique, I just had to have them.  Then, as luck would have it, I found a set of napkin rings that work perfectly with this set.  The only problem I now have is what on earth to do with the center of the table.  So consider this blog post as a plea for advice.  Here are the pictures of what I have (photos from the Pottery Barn and Pine Hill websites), now give me your wildest ideas.

Here is a closer view.  I did not opt for the monogramming.

These napkin rings (and this photo) are from Pine Hill.  The rings should go perfectly with the linens from PB.

This is a view of the runner (that I did not get).  I include it as it offers yet another view of this fabulous fabric.

Okay, Tablescapers, start your engines!  What would you use as a centerpiece?  I'm looking for clever, fabulous, crazy, unique, and, oh, budget-minded (as I sort of blew my budget on this set and, of course, I will have to actually buy and serve some food!  When you invite people for dinner, they expect it.)

This is linked to

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm
Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life 
Open House at No Minimalist Here
French Country Cottage
My Romantic Home
At the Picket Fence
Funky  Junk Interiors
Under the Table and Dreaming
Between Naps on the Porch