Easy Persian Lime Grilled Live Maine Lobsters

The best foods in life are usually very simple to prepare.
If you start with great ingredients, you don't need to add much to get a great result.
One of the best "simple" recipes I use for lobster takes just one extra ingredient besides the lobster.
A bottle of Persian Lime Extra Virgin Olive Oil from The Olive Tap.
From start to finish, this recipe should really only take about 20 minutes.
The longest amount of time will be spent on bringing the water to a boil.
So, if you have a hankering for easy-peasy lobster with a lime-tastic flavor, use this recipe.

Lime Grilled Live Maine Lobsters

• Two 1 1/2 lb Live Maine Lobsters
• 2 tbs Persian Lime Olive Oil

Directions
Bring a stock pot with enough water to cover both lobsters to a boil.
Once the water reaches a full rolling boil, throw the lobsters in head first and cover the pot.
Once the water returns to a full boil, set your timer for 5 minutes.
After five minutes, the lobsters will be undercooked, but it's time to pull them out and give them a cold water rinse to stop the cooking process.
Once the lobsters have cooled, remove the tail and arms from the body. Place the claws in a zip lock freezer bag and use at another time.
Once the tail has been removed, use a sharp knife and split the tail completely from front to back length wise.
Once the lobster tails are split, brush the meat with a little Persian Lime Olive oil, and place meat side down on the grill for 3-4 minutes or until all of the Lobster tail meat becomes firm and white.

The Illusive Pearl Onions and My Bacon Wrapped Comfort Zone

I was so excited to make Boeuf Bourguignon on Sunday.
I went grocery shopping with my recipe in hand. Choosing the freshest looking mushrooms, carrots, celery, peal onions and bacon with the rind.
The problem...
I couldn't find pearl onions to save my life. I went to three different stores hunting for the them. I had everything else, and this was the last missing piece to the tasty puzzle.
I had to find pearl onions SOMEWHERE..this is Chicago! Right?! Alas...there were no onions to be found.
The search for onions consumed so much time, if I began cooking then, I would have been eating dinner at 11pm.
It was time to come up with a back up plan.
And a damn good one at that. I was pretty disappointed that I wasn't going to be able to make what I wanted to, and what I had already purchased fresh produce for.
It was time for a comfort food plan.
It was time for stuff wrapped in bacon.
Had plenty of it on hand already, and it always makes me feel better!
So here we are friends and foodies, bacon fest 2010.
And in case you were wondering, I felt much better afterwards :)
Go Bacon!

Beer Battered & Deep Fried South African Lobster Tails

The Mondays after I spend a weekend cooking are always among the hungriest days I spend in the office.
I usually start my morning by ripping and editing my food photography from the weekend.
It's a great way to ease back into the week, but it never fails to make me want to head back into the kitchen for more cooking, and sooner or later, more eating.
It's not that I'm have incredible mouthwatering food photography skills (I wish), it's just I reminisce about how delicious the meal was, and how relaxing it was to prepare.
Then I wake up from my daydream and realize I'm not in my kitchen, I'm at my desk in front of Photoshop, and I'm about to start drooling BOO.
There were some OUTSTANDING eats around my house this weekend.
Friday night I made beer battered and fried South African Lobster Tails.
They were amazing. The beer kept the batter from being too heavy, and the sweet, velvety South African Lobster tail just melted in your mouth with the delectable coating. It was fried food heaven.
I was planning on making the Dean Brother's Baked Hush-puppies recipe, but I was lazy, and my Mom had made about 10lbs of German Potato Salad to have with Easter Dinner, so I figured I would just have that as I side.
I am powerless against the incredible deliciousness of German Potato Salad. And to make matters worse, I can't make it to save my life. My family holds the recipe hostage, and won't pass it on until it's absolutely necessary. I have pointed out the flaw in the logic of this plan...but that goes ignored. Others hold the ultimate potato power I wish to possess.
Warm, full of fresh parsley and dill...with lots and lots of bacon. You just can't go wrong with it no matter what you serve it with. I had to admit, I thought it seemed to be an unusual pairing with Lobster, but I was so very wrong.
The beer in the batter on the South African Lobster tails was perfectly complimented by the German Potato Salad.
There is a news flash for you guys... beer goes well with German food. Someone call the news paper and stop the presses. This is front page material right here ladies and gentlemen.
Now that we have had that breakthrough, I can share the recipe and photos from over the weekend! Happy eating foodies. I'll be back later this week with more pictures from Easter Sunday's dinner.

Beer Battered & Fried Lobster Tails

Ingredients
Two 8-10 oz Lobster Tails (South African used in this recipe)
1 Bottle Beer of Your Choice
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup all purpose flour
Salt & pepper to taste
Cajun Seasoning to taste
Oil for frying

Directions
Using a deep fryer or dutch oven, heat vegetable oil to 365 degrees.
Combine dry ingredients in a 1 gallon zip lock bag and shake to combine well.
Add beer to the dry ingredients little by little until your mixture looks like a thick lumpy paste. This should take most of the bottle of beer.
Split Lobster tails in half using kitchen shears and cutting from the fin, towards the front.
Once lobster tails are split, place each half into the bag of batter and cover completely with batter.
Once all Lobster tail pieces are battered, drop them into the hot oil and fry for about 5 minutes. Lobster tail meat should be firm and white when cooked, and the batter will be a golden brown color. Allow lobster tail halves to rest on a paper towel before serving to draw out any excess oil.

Plans for the Weekend- Clash of the Titans & Deep Fried South African Lobster

It's Friday at last! It's also Good Friday...so there is a slim chance we will close the office early :)
It's going to be a fun weekend, and I'm really looking forward to getting it started.
To begin with...Today, Clash of the Titans was released in theaters. I have been waiting for that one for a while now.
I have already heard from a trusted source that it was "Cheesy," but that was just a CNN review he had read...so it's not a direct review from the source and less valid in my mind.
The original was good, but I'm pretty sure this one will be better with the technologically advanced effects.
Pretty much anything is better than clay-mation.
Unless it's Mr. Bill. I. LOVE. MR. BILL.
Aside from my uber geeky movie fest, I plan on making some Deep Fried Lobster.
I have not made fried lobster in a while, so I thought I would make it a little more special and order South African Lobster Tails for this recipe.
South African Tails have the same sweetness of a Maine Lobster tail, with the velvety texture of the New Zealand Lobster Tail.
Fantastic combination, and being 8-10 oz each, they are perfect for the Lobster Gram go-to recipe for friend Lobster.
I will share that little gem with you guys on Monday, along with the Dean Brother's Recipe for Baked Hush-puppies I will be making to compliment the fried lobster.
That really does not make sense. I'm deep frying my lobster, and baking the hush-puppies like it's going to make the dinner healthy or something. I guess that makes me delusional.
Oh well.
The South African tails arrived this morning, and I decided to take a few pictures of them while they are still frozen so you can see just how different looking the South African tails are from the other types.
So here they are, and I'll be back Monday with movie reviews, recipes and lots of tasty images.
Happy eating foodies!

Recipes from Last Week's Wordless Wednesday

Pretty much everyone knows how to roast a chicken.
And pretty much everyone knows how to make mashed potatoes.
What most don't know, is how to turn this simple Sunday Dinner Staple into a gourmet feast without too much additional work.
So here are the recipes from last week's wordless Wednesday post. Butter Parsley Roasted Chicken with Duchess Potato Tartlets.



Parsley Butter Roasted Chicken
Ingredients
1 roasting chicken, about 3 pounds ( I use Niman Ranch Poulet Rouge for their delicate skin that roasts to a beautiful crisp)
salt and pepper to taste
1 small onion, peeled and quartered
4 large celery stalks, chopped coarsely
4 large carrots, chopped coarsely
1 shallot finely chopped
2 to 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh parsley
4 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.
Rinse and pat down the chicken. Dry skin with a paper towel. Season the inside and outside with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the bag from the interior of the chicken, and trip the excess neck skin off. To the bottom of the roasting pan, add the onion, carrots and celery. Place chicken on top of the vegetables. Melt butter, add parsley and coat the entire chicken with the mixture.
Roast in oven, breast up, for 15 minutes. Turn chicken on it's side and continue to roast for another 15 minutes. Turn chicken once more, and roast for another 20 minutes.

Duchess Potato Tartlets
Ingredients
3 lbs red potatoes, peeled
Salt & pepper to taste
Paprika
1 stick butter
1/2 cup Milk

Directions
Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add peeled potatoes and boil until soft.
Drain the water and add salt, pepper, milk and butter.
Combine well. Preheat oven to 400. In a cupcake tray, fill each cup cake holder about 1/2 way with mashed potato mixture. Add an extra dollop of butter to the top of each tart and bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Sprinkle with paprika and serve warm.

Wordless Wednesday- Butter Parsley Roasted Chicken with Duchess Potato Tartlets

Surf & Turf Sundays- Butterflying & Broiling a Lobster Tail

Another weekend passed, another great food frenzy in my kitchen.
I thought about making Lobster Hash this weekend. I had a really interesting recipe for it and I was excited about making something with that could possibly be good for St. Patrick's day celebrations.
Then I thought about it for a while longer.
How many of you out there dear readers, would ever do something like create hash with gorgeous lobster tails?
Few, if any I should think; unless you live near the Atlantic Ocean where lobsters are abundant and you can lay your own traps. Other than that...it's probably just not worth it. This started to look like a recipe for wasted time and lobster meat, and that foodie friends an egregious Lobster sin.
So I needed a new plan and I needed one fast.
The answer was so simple.
Surf & Turf Sunday.
How perfectly simple.
Nothing pairs better with a lobster tail like a great steak. So I did just that.
I butterflied and broiled the North Australian Lobster Tails, and grilled a fantastic New York Strip Steak. Dinner was perfect. A meal I have had a thousand times, yet never seem to grow weary of.
So here are the pictures I took of this fantastic Sunday lunch along with the directions on how to prepare and serve Lobster tails like the ones seen here.
Happy eating foodies!

How to butterfly and broil a Lobster Tail

Step 1
Start with a completely thawed Lobster Tail.



Step 2
Using a pair of kitchen shears, make an incision in the top of the shell starting at the front of the lobster tail where the meat is exposed, and cut back to the base of the tail where the fin begins. Do not go through the bottom of the tail.

Step 3
After the lobster has been cut to the back of the tail, insert your index finger into the shell at the back of the lobster tail. Remove the lobster meat from the side of the shell, and work your way to the front of the lobster tail, releasing the meat from the shell as you go.
Do this to both sides of the lobster tail and ensure that the meat is properly detached.

Step 4
After the meat has been detached from the interior of the tail, simply grab the front portion of lobster meat, and gently pull the meat up and back towards the fin, but do not completely remove the meat. Pull back until you have reached the end of your incision, close the lobster tail shell sides, and nicely lay the lobster meat on top of the closed shell.

Now all you have to do is brush the exposed lobster meat with butter and some spices and broil for 1 minute per ounce. These North Australian Lobster Tails are 8-10 oz tails, so I broiled them for 8 minutes and then checked to be sure they were cooked.

Fresh Catch Scallops with Simple Balsamic Reduction Dipping Sauce

Good morning foodies. I hope everyone had a nice restful and fun weekend. I know I enjoyed my weekend. Sunday, I was out on a poker-bus run with the Motorcycle Club my Pappa belongs to.

City Heat Chicago
Nothing more fun than starting the party off at 10:30 in the morning, and ending it around 6:30. 5 Stops, four bars, two school buses full of bikers partying it up.
I'm sure we were at least an amusing site.
And it was an absolute blast from start to finish. I can't wait for the next poker run.
Because I had this insanity going on this weekend, I decided to throw down my recipe for last week in the Lobster Gram test kitchen on Friday.
I have no problem walking away from my hectic stressful days to go downstairs and cook some food. It's relaxing, it's enjoyable, it's a mini vacation at work that I don't have to clock out for, and there are no happier people than Lobster Gram employees enjoying our products for lunch. We spent years carefully choosing products and vendors, so we are all big fans of the food we carry.
People love it when we cook. Free gourmet lunch in the office. Who does not love that perk?
...People who complain when you start reducing Balsamic Vinegar on the stove. That's who.
People start to get cranky when there are strong smells about.
My bad people...I would have made something that didn't require fumigating the office, but my options were slim.
It was like an episode of Chopped down there.
"ok, you have 1 bottle of balsamic vinegar, 2 lbs of sea scallops, 1 container of clarified butter, 2 bananas and a pot of fresh strong coffee".
Um....maybe I'll just hide the coffee and bananas so I can act like we didn't have them.
Yeah, that sums up my test kitchen Friday. Bananas.
So Scallops with a balsamic reduction it was, and I tried to tune out the noise.
So here are the pictures from that adventure, and this weekend I think I will just cook at home.
That's right office folks...no strong smells this week!
...but you won't be fed either. Fair trade?

Sea Scallops with Balsamic Reduction Dipping Sauce

Ingredients
2 lbs fresh sea scallops
1 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tbs clarified butter
Salt, Pepper & Garlic Powder to taste

Directions
Pat dry sea scallops and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
Put vinegar in a small sauce pan and heat on medium for 15-20 minutes or until reduced by half.
When it is reduced, add in 2 tbs of butter and blend well. Set aside until scallops are cooked.
While vinegar is reducing, put a few tablespoons of butter in a large pan and heat until melted.
Add scallops and heat 3-4 minutes per side until cooked through and no longer translucent.
Remove scallops from pan and serve immediately with ramekin of dipping sauce.

Kicking the Winter Blues with Bright Food- Orange Scallops on Rosemary Vapor Rice

When you live in Chicago, is there really a need to have a chubby brown ground rat to tell us that we are going to have another six weeks of winter?
I don't think so.
And so winter drags on through and is currently dumping several inches of snow on us at the moment. We may be getting up to 20 inches by the time this storm has pushed through. Bah.
When winter seems never ending, the easiest way for me to get out of the funk is to cook. Cook something fresh, something flavorful and something that reminds me of sunnier days.
Last weekend, that recipe was Orange Scallops on Rosemary Vapor Rice.
I had first seen a version of this recipe on Oprah's web site, but didn't really want the Scallops to lose their delicate flavor to the overpowering Orange and Rosemary Flavors. I also removed the butter from the recipe, as the Extra Virgin Olive oil used created the perfect orange glaze on the scallops upon standing.
So thanks Oprah for the fantastic recipe idea. I will use this one again the next time I have a taste for Chinese take-out.
With that, here are the recipes for the Orange Scallops and Rosemary Rice, and the video to show you how it's done! Enjoy and Happy Eating foodies!


Orange Scallops

Ingredients
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 finely chopped shallots
1 lb Dry Sea Scallops, thawed
Flour , for dredging
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
Cayenne Pepper to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
more lemon juice to taste
1/2 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice

Directions:
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet. Saute shallots over medium heat until soft and browned. About 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve for sauce later.
Sift together the salt, pepper and cayenne pepper in a bowl.
Pat scallops dry with paper towels. Dredge very lightly with flour mixture.
Increase heat under pan to high; sear half of scallops for 1 minute. Turn and cook other side for 2 minutes; set aside. Add rest of oil to pan, add shallots back to the pan and add the wine, lemon juice and orange juice to the pan and reduce by half.
Taste for sweetness; add more lemon juice, salt, and pepper if necessary.
Add the scallops back to the pan, cover with sauce and warm through, serve immediately with Rosemary Vapor Rice.

Rosemary Vapor Rice

Ingredients
1 large sprig fresh rosemary
4 cups Thai Jasmine Long Grain Rice

Directions
Cook rice according to instructions. Add an entire large sprig of fresh rosemary to the boiling water. Before the rice is served, remove rosemary and discard. Pairs well with many dishes.

Crab Stuffed Lobster Tails- New for Valentine's Day 2010!

There are few things in this world as good as a Crab Stuffed Lobster Tail.
I'm not talking about a tail that has had the meat removed, chopped, mixed into a stuffing and crammed back into the shell for presentation; I'm talking about a WHOLE Maine Lobster Tail, with additional crab stuffing on top waiting to be baked into golden deliciousness.
We finally started carrying just that, and more...Lobster Stuffed Lobster Tails.
Now, you already know how I feel about Lobster Stuffed Lobster...so needless to say, I'm really excited about this newest offering.
So excited in fact, I decided to get a four pack of crab stuffed lobster tails myself and prepared two of them over the weekend.
They were absolutely fantastic (as expected!).
I will be reordering these in the Lusting for Lobster Package for Valentine's Day.
Nothing says romance like Stuffed Lobster tails, Lobster Bisque and Creme Brulee Raspberry Cheesecake.
Especially if you can get it delivered in time for Valentine's Day for under $90.
And with that, I'll share the quick photos I snapped of these divine lobster tails.
Happy eating foodies!