Campfire Lobster, Ren Fair and Big Foot

Good morning foodies. I hope everyone had a great weekend. My weekend was...fun for the most part. Camping didn't go too well Friday night, and if it was not for the meal, it would have been a complete and total disaster. Why do you ask??? The venue. I had never been camping in Illinois before, and now I know exactly why that is. So I'll give you guys a short run down of what it is and why you should avoid it like the plague.
Location:Chain O' Lakes State Park, Spring Grove Illinois
Camping Site Summary- No separation of sites, no trees between sites. Absolutely no privacy, peace or quite to be found anywhere near the camping location.
"Quite Hours" are supposed to begin at 10pm. No big deal...if it were enforced. Come 10pm, they are STILL letting people into the camping area to find a campsite, and that means they first drive around the camping area about 5 times with their high beams on to blind everyone and try to pick out the best site left. Once the campers are fully blinded and the late arrivals have found their site, they begin setting up...at 11pm! That means listening to couples fighting as they struggle to build shelter in the dark and air compressors filling up inflatable mattresses well past midnight. This place got so full and loud, you would swear we were tailgating a Bears game instead of camping. I'm going to write this place a strongly worded letter as to why I will never camp in my home state again. And for anyone looking to camp in Illinois, AVOID CHAIN O LAKES!
Anyway...about the meal. If it were not for the PHENOMENAL meal I prepared for us, the night would have been a total waste. But when Lobster Gram Surf & Turf is on your dinner plate, it's hard to let anything bother you too much. The preparation was very easy, and both myself and the boy agreed that this was the most flavorful, tender lobster we had ever enjoyed, and I was heartily congratulated for having the ability to prepare something as finicky as lobster on something as uneven as a camp fire. I regret not trying this any sooner. So without further ado, Here is how I prepared Lobster tails on the camp fire with pictures :)


Seriously...if you guys ever get the chance to make lobster on a camp fire...take it! You won't regret it.
Aside from Lobster pictures, I took just a few more to share my weekend with you guys!

And lastly....something completely and totally unrelated to food in any capacity... I caught proof of Big Foot at Ren Fair.
Here is the video to prove it.

Lobster Souffle

Souffle can be a little tricky to prepare, but it's well worth it. Even if your souffle falls, it will still taste amazing. If they rise correctly, everyone will be amazed at your cooking skills!

Ingredients

• 1 pound lobster meat -- cooked
  
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  
• 6 slices white bread -- cubed
  
• 1/2 cup butter -- melted
  
• 3 large eggs
  
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
• 2 cups milk

Directions:
Grease 10" square casserole or souffle dish. Layer lobster, cheese and bread in prepared dish. Pour melted butter over mixture. In medium bowl, beat eggs. Add mustard, salt and milk, mixing well. Pour mixture over casserole; let sit 3 hours or overnight in refrigerator. Bake in a 350F oven for 1 hour.
Source:Souffle

Lobster Fricassee

For this Lobster recipe, I prefer to use precooked Maine Lobster Meat as opposed to Maine Lobster tails or live Maine lobsters.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups shelled lobster meat, cut into bite-size pieces
  
• 1/4 cup low fat margarine
  
• 3/4 lb. mushrooms\cooked, sliced
  
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
  
• 1/2 cup skim milk
  
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
  
• 2 cups cooked rice or pasta
  
• parsley sprigs

Directions
Melt the margarine in a saucepan; add the mushrooms and onion powder. Sauté 5-6 minutes. Whisk the milk and flour in a small bowl, whisking quickly to eliminate any lumps. Pour the milk mixture into mushroom mixture; mix thoroughly, and continue cooking 3-4 minutes. Add the lobster, paprika, and salt and pepper to taste; continue cooking 5-10 minutes until lobster is heated through. Spread rice or pasta onto a serving platter, spoon lobster and sauce over the top and garnish with parsley to serve.
Source:Fricassee

Creole Pumpkin Lobster Soup

Fall is upon us and it's time to break out my favorite soup recipes! Pumpkin is a very underrated and underused fruit (yes, it's a fruit...I just asked). It can be used in an assortment of recipes ranging from Soups and casseroles, to cookies and cakes. This is one of my favorite uses of the pumpkin because it also involves Lobster! As usual, you can also use Crab, Shrimp, or any other seafood you like in this!

Ingredients

• 4 sugar pumpkins, halved and seeded
  
• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  
• 5 (1 pound) lobsters
  
• 4 ounces unsalted butter
  
• 1 large white onion, chopped
  
• 2 garlic cloves
  
• 1 thyme sprig
  
• 1 rosemary sprig
  
• 1 bay leaf
  
• 1 cup medium-dry white wine
  
• 1/2 cup creme fraiche
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
  
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Drizzle the pumpkin halves with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Wrap each half tightly in foil and bake on a large cookie sheet for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until tender. Let cool slightly, and then scoop the pumpkin flesh into a bowl. Meanwhile, bring a stockpot of water to a boil. Prepare a large bowl of ice water. Salt the boiling water and add the lobsters. Cover and cook over high heat for 3 minutes. Using tongs transfer the lobsters to the ice water and let cool. Twist off the heads and reserve. Crack the claws and remove the meat in 1 piece. Using a heavy knife, halve the lobster tails lengthwise, cutting through the meat and the shells. Remove the dark intestinal veins from the tails. Transfer the lobster tails and the claw meat to a large baking sheet; refrigerate. Clean out the lobster heads with a spoon and return the shells to the stockpot. Simmer the shells for 30 minutes, skimming frequently. Strain the lobster stock through a fine sieve and reserve 8 cups. In a soup pot, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter. Add the onion, garlic, thyme, rosemary and bay leaf. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, about 8 minutes. Add the cooked pumpkin and the wine and simmer until the wine has reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add 6 cups of the lobster stock and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove and discard the herb sprigs and bay leaf. In a food processor or blender, puree the soup with the creme fraiche. Return it to a clean pot. Add enough of the remaining 2 cups of lobster stock to make the soup velvety; season with salt and pepper. Mix 1 tablespoon of kosher salt with 2 teaspoons of pepper and the garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, dry mustard, cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. In a very large skillet, heat the remaining 1/4 cup of olive oil. Add the lobster tails, cut sides down, and cook over high heat until the shells begins to brown, 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to moderate, turn the tails and add the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and the spice mixture. Cook the tails for 2 minutes, basting them with the spice butter. Transfer the tails to a plate and remove the meat from the shells. Add the lobster claws to the skillet and baste with the spice butter, 2 minutes per side. Add the claws to the tails on the plate. Bring the soup to a simmer. Ladle into warmed bowls and garnish each serving with a lobster tail half and a claw
Source:Pumpkin Soup