Tidbits

IMG_4900 (1600x1060)Puppies!  Nine in this litter.  Mrs J says the momma is really spooked and is going to be hard to deal with.  Staff can handle the pups with no problem but the mom will not allow anyone to touch her.  Not sure but we think there is mostly beagle in the mix.DSC_4589 (1600x1060)Bea cautiously inspects a new garden dog.DSC_8272 (1600x1060)Stir fries are an easy way to a nice dinner.  This one has chicken with broccoli and carrots with onions in a brown sauce.  For these sauces I just start splashing in dashes of any of the condiment liquids that look right.  This one has three kinds of soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, Hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, chili garlic paste, ginger paste, sesame oil, chicken stock and cornstarch.  IMG_4862 (1600x1060)Another of the cute puppies at the shelter.  I have no idea what this one is.  Some terrier in there?DSC_8281 (1600x1060)Mmm… rib eye and steamed lobster tail with those roasted sprouts tossed in balsamic glaze with crispy prosciutto.  The ramekin holds melted butter with lemon and garlic and a dash of paprika.IMG_4893 (1600x1060)I’ll close with another puppy.  Mrs J says this one is an Aussie mix.

Surf and Turf

DSC_4699 [1600x1200]The classic dinner, strip steak, a lobster tail and roasted asparagus with a nice salad.  The ramekin has melted butter spiked with lemon juice for dipping the seafood, and it’s damn good on the asparagus, too.

I steamed the lobster tails, and pan grilled the steaks in my 12 inch cast iron skillet that was smoking hot before dropping the meat in. They went 4:30 per side, the first side at high heat, and then medium for the other.  I set the steaks aside to rest and then dropped the lobster into the already hot steamer and fired the broiler for the veggies.  They took just under ten minutes to finish.  The asparagus was tossed with olive oil and seasoned with kosher salt beforehand.  DSC_4701 [1600x1200]

Yum!

Mmm…Lobster

Noticed there were still a few frozen lobster tails left.  Mrs J voted to have them for dinner tonight.  No argument from me.  She wanted hers steamed and served with lemon/butter and a side of fries.  I was lusting for another batch of noodles stir fried in chili oil.  It was a little extra work but we both got what we wanted.

Enjoy!

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Bruschetta

We had leftovers today, so no cooking.  For the pic I reached back into my archives to bring you these.  Bruschetta may be the wrong term, but I think these qualify. Lobster and crab meat in a Swiss cheese mornay sauce.

Had a hankering for some noodles today

Decided to make some noodles in a brown sauce, needed some other stuff in it so I boiled some lobster tails, and then set them aside to cool.  I used the lobster water to boil the noodles, gave them about 6-7 minutes at a full boil.  Taste them as they cook and remove when they are done enough and cool them under running water.  Let them drain well, add a little oil to keep them from sticking. 

I also thawed some shrimp, sliced some chicken breast and pork tenderloin, and chopped the cooled lobster meat into chunks.  Figured some veggies were in order so I soaked some dried Shiitake mushrooms and some dried red chilies, and sliced some carrots.  A few green onions will look good. Mince some garlic.

The brown sauce was made from regular soy sauce (4tbsp), oyster sauce (also 4), dark soy sauce (1), and some hoisin sauce (1).  The little specks front and center are Szechuan peppercorns.  I haven’t used them before so I was a little leery of how many to go with, should have used more, ditto the red chilies.  Not much heat to the dish.  I’ll squirt some Sriracha chili sauce in there the next time, along with more chilies and peppercorns.

Ok, heat some oil in a good sized pan, toss in the garlic, the red peppers, and the peppercorns.  Next add the chicken and the pork, both items were sliced very thin so they cooked fast.  Now the carrots, also sliced thin.  And the lobster and the shrimp (both pre-cooked).  Dump in the sauce, stir everything around well, add some cornstarch in a slurry to thicken if desired.  Dump the noodles atop everything.  Use tongs to lift and stir as the noodles come up to heat, and add the green onions.I’ll be doing this one again.

Enjoy!

It’s a good day for some chowder

This is going to be a lobster chowder, Maine lobsters are relatively cheap these days, and I took possession of a dozen tails a few weeks ago shipped in from a dealer there.  First thing, boil a couple of tails.  Don’t toss the water when they are done.  Cut the meat into bite sized pieces and set aside.  Now dig out a medium sized sauce pot and fry a few slices of bacon.  I used four slices, cut into smaller bits.When the bacon crisps up nice add some onions and cook them until they turn and then add some diced potatoes, stir them around a bit.Add some of the water you cooked the lobster in, enough to just about cover.  Put the lid on and simmer until the potatoes are soft.Add some heavy cream.  I used maybe half the carton-one half pint or so, no need to be precise.  Stir it around some and add the lobster.Keep the heat low, and keep stirring, you don’t want to burn it now, don’t let it boil.I served this with buttered saltine crackers.

Enjoy!