Pasta with Lobster and Asparagus

This is Mother's Day for Karen, so here's my offering of appreciation. Ryan, sadly, cooked nothing for her at all. :(

Oh, and it was awesome. I mean that in the most humble way possible.

Ingredients:

1 cup asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 tbsp. butter
6 oz cooked lobster meat (I used two small canning lobsters)
2/3 cup of heavy cream
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
pinch cracked black pepper
dash of ground nutmeg
8 oz fetuccine

Method:

Cook fettuccine according to package directions; drain. Set aside. Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook asparagus and mushrooms in margarine or butter for 5 minutes or until just tender.

Add lobster and cream; heat through.

Add cooked fettuccine to the skillet. Then add Parmesan cheese, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and nutmeg. Toss until pasta is coated. If necessary, cook for 2 to 3 minutes until sauce is desired consistency.

Serve immediately. Sprinkle with additional pepper and chopped parsley.

Lobster Stock

It's not a recipe for a meal, exactly, but it's certainly useful. :) You can often get lobster shells for free from your local seafood vendor.

Ingredients

1 pound uncooked lobster shells
2 tbsp olive oil
1 leek, washed and sliced
1/2 onion, sliced thin
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 rib celery, sliced thin
1 tablespoons tomato paste
3 sprigs parsley
1 fennel stalk (optional)
1 cup white wine
4 cups water (or chicken stock if you want a richer stock)

Instructions

Rinse and dry the lobster shells. If you're using the heads, remove and discard the gills and stomach. Grind the shells in a food processor or wrap them in a towel and crush with a mallet. Heat the oil in a heavy pot, add the shells, and cook over medium-high heat until bright red. Add the leeks, onion, carrots, and celery, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until the vegetables are softened but not browned. Stir in the tomato paste and cook 1 minute.

Add the parsley, (optional) fennel stalks, wine, and water (or chicken stock); bring to a simmer and cook gently for 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Strain, cool thoroughly, and refrigerate or freeze.

Corn and Jalapeno Soup

It's been a cold, wet day and evidently the weekend will be the same. Get ready for some cold-weather cooking then. Here's a spicy soup that will keep you warm, and I think some shrimp would be great in this also if you have some.

2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, slivered
2.5 cups corn kernels
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped*
3 cups chicken stock
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 red pepper, finely diced
chopped cilantro for garnish

1. Heat oil in sauce pan or dutch oven, and add onions. Stir and sweat them until softened and starting to brown. Add garlic, corn, potatoes, and jalapeno. Stir and cook until the corn begins to soften. Add chicken stock, reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes.

2. Remove from heat and allow to cool somewhat, then transfer to food processor** and add salt, chilli poweder, sugar, and black pepper. Process until smooth. Return to cooking pot and add diced red pepper.

3. Serve, garnish with chopped cilantro.


* If you want it hot, leave the seeds in.
** If you use a stick blender, no need to wait for cooling it down. Just process the hot soup rignt in the cooking pot.

Cajun Haddock w. Peppers

Wow, a healthy dish. Must be summer. :P This is actually from one of Karen's WeightWatchers books, and it was pretty good. I'll make it a bit hotter next time with some ground chiles, though.

1 pound haddock, monkfish, etc.
2 tablespoons cajun seasoning
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 green bell peppers, cut into strips
1 large onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced or slivered
1 can diced stewed tomatoes
1 tsp thyme

1. Use 1 tbsp of the seasoning to dust the fish. Heat oil in large nonstick pan, fry about 3 minutes each side until browned. Remove and set aside.

2. Add to pan peppers, onions, garlic, and the other tbsp seasoning. Cook until vegetables are tender. Add tomatoes and thyme, bring to boil. Return fish to the pan, lying on top of the tomatoes. Simmer on medium for 8 minutes or so until fish is opaque throughout.

I served with brown rice and broccoli.

Jerk Pork with Mango Chile Sauce

Spicy! Have some ice cream handy for dessert for this one. The sauce adds a really nice sweet/hot/tart element to the deep earthy/hot jerk seasoning. I stole this from Bobby Flay if you want to look up his recipes.

Ingrediants:

Pork chops or skinless bone-in chicken

Jerk Rub*:

2 tablespoons ground coriander
2 tablespoons ground ginger
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon cayenne powder
2 teaspoons coarse black pepper
2 teaspoons dry thyme
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon ground cloves


Mango Chile Sauce:

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 small Spanish onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and coarsely chopped
1 habanero, chopped
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
Salt to taste

Combine all sauce ingrediants, simmer on low for 20 minutes, puree in blender. Return to pot and keep warm until service.

* Lazy? Forget the jerk rub and brush on some President's Choice Memories of Montego Bay jerk sauce.

Grilled and Stuffed Peppers

After a long, annoying week of cold and rain, this weekend has been terrific. I decided to do a meal entirely outdoors and actually use my grill's side burner. I've had this thing for four years and it's the first time it's actually seen flame.

1/2 cup white rice, steamed and cooled
1 tbsp. canola oil
1 red onion, diced
1 lb. medium ground beef
salt and pepper to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 small can tomato paste plus equal amount water
2 red peppers, halved
2 green peppers, halved
grated chedder cheese

Heat oil, then sweat onions until translucent. Raise heat, add beef and brown. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once browned, add garlic, basil, and oregano. Combine, and add tomato paste, and water. Combine and add rice and mix until consistent. Reduce heat and keep warm.

Grill peppers until slightly blackened but still firm, then move to cooler side of grill on top rack to roast. Once softened, add filling and top with grated cheese. Roast until cheese melts and serve. Great with a salad or on a bed of kernel corn.

Caribbean Chicken with a Peanut Brown Sugar Spiced Rub

I ripped this from License to Grill, but adapted it to the oven because I was feeling lazy.

A bit like jerk seasoning, not as hot and a lot sweeter. Very yummy.


10 chicken thighs, skinless but bone-in

1/2 cup roasted peanuts
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tbsp kosher salt
2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Place the peanuts and bay leaf in a coffee grinder and reduce to powder, place in large mixing bowl. Add all other seasonings and combine.

Coat the chicken and bake for 60-70 minutes at 300 C

Shorter and higher temperature cooking would scorch the sugar.