Lobster Fideua

(As you can probably tell, I’m a little behind on blogging on all of my cooking while I was in Boston because we kind of cooked non-stop, but here goes my last post from my trip.)

My parents met in Spain and lived there for some time before I came along and, as a result, I grew up eating a lot of Spanish food. Paella was always our big special occasion meal, and my dad makes an amazing paella. Sometimes he likes to switch it up and make a Fideua, which is basically a paella made with noodles called fideos instead of rice. Fideos are short noodles that come in little nests and can be found in the international aisle of most grocery stores:


We had my cousin Amy, her husband David, and their new baby James over for dinner on my last night in Boston and we decided to make Fideua for the occasion. Well, my dad really did the cooking and I did the picture taking. I have made a couple of paellas, but I haven’t mastered it like he has. It takes practice to get it perfect!

He started with a base recipe from The Food and Wines of Spain by Penelope Casas, but adapted it to use the types of seafood we wanted. We wanted to use lobster (because it was a special occasion!) and we supplemented that with shrimp, clams, and mussels. To boost the lobster flavor, he made a lobster stock instead of the fish stock that's normally used. The recipe might look a little complicated, but the basic method is in the steps below. The detailed recipe follows.

1) Sauté the lobster tails and shrimp in a paella pan to par-cook and remove
2) Sauté a tomato mixture in the same pan
3) Add the noodles to the pan and sauté
4) Add fish/lobster stock that has been simmering with saffron
5) Cook for a few minutes on the stovetop and add the lobster, mussels, and clams
6) During the last few minutes of cooking in the oven, add back in the shrimp and lobster claw meat
7) Garnish with lemons and fresh chopped parsley

Note: We often make paellas on an outdoor grill, but it was actually too hot to cook outside that night so we put the paella pan over the stovetop and transferred to an oven. The recipe can easily be done on a grill, though.

Lobster Fideua

4 small lobsters
1 lb. large shrimp, shelled
1 lb. mussels
1 lb. clams
White wine
Olive Oil
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp. smoked paprika
¼ tsp. cayenne
4 medium tomatoes, skinned and chopped
12 c. fish and lobster stock
Pinch of saffron
24 oz. fideos (two bags)
Fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper

To prep the lobster, you will first need to kill them. I won’t go into detail about how to do that here, but there are some simple instructions here. Then, remove the tails and split them.


We used the claw meat in the Fideua and the rest of the shells to make the lobster stock. To make the stock, combine a cup of white wine and a about two quarts of water in a big pot and bring to a boil. Add the lobster claws and bodies to the pot. Remove the claws after about 10 minutes, take the meat out, and set aside for later. Simmer the rest of the contents in the pot for another 20 minutes and strain.

To prep the mussels and clams, soak them in cold water and a little bit of cornmeal and salt for about a half hour. This will help remove the sand.


Start by simmering 12 cups of fish stock with a large pinch of saffron. We used the lobster stock we made and added extra store-bought fish stock to make 12 cups.

Next, season the lobster tails with some salt and pepper and sauté in some olive oil over medium-high heat in the paella pan (and don’t skimp on the olive oil!). You really just want to par-cook them, so remove after a couple of minutes.


Season the shrimp and do the same thing. Shrimp don’t take long to cook, so they will probably be mostly cooked at this point.

Then, sauté the tomatoes, garlic, paprika, and cayenne for a few minutes. Add some more olive oil if needed.


Add the noodles, breaking up the nests as you add them. Saute them for a few minutes.


Add the stock and cook until the noodles are no longer soupy but some liquid remains.


Add the lobster tails, clams, and mussels on the top and transfer to a 350 degree oven. Bake for 10 minutes. Add the shrimp and the remaining lobster meat during the last few minutes of cooking.


Garnish with some chopped fresh parsley. Done!

Panko and Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb

My friend Julia came over for dinner when I was home in Boston last weekend and we decided to experiment with an herb crusted rack of lamb. I had never made one before, but – from what I have read – the basic method is to sear the whole rack, then brush with Dijon mustard, and then roll in an herb-breadcrumb mixture. I decided to use panko breadcrumbs instead of regular for some extra crunch. We went with a simple mixture of panko, garlic, and parsley, but you could switch it up with some mint, rosemary, thyme, or whatever other herbs you like. It turned out really great and is surprisingly pretty fool proof.

Panko and Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb
2 racks of lamb (about 1 ¼ lb. each), trimmed of some fat
1 ½ c. panko breadcrumbs
3 cloves of garlic, minced
½ c. parsley, chopped
¼ c. extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp. Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.

Mix together the breadcrumbs, minced garlic, parsley, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Season the lamb with salt and pepper and sear in a very hot skillet for a minute or two on both sides.

Brush the lamb with a thin layer of the Dijon mustard and roll in the breadcrumb mixture so that it is coated on all sides.


Roast in the oven until the internal temperature reaches 130 degrees (for medium-rare). The time will vary depending on the size of the racks of lamb, but I think it took about 15 minutes when I made it.


Let the meat rest for about five minutes before cutting into it. Then, cut between the rib bones to serve.


We served with a few side dishes:

• Grilled zucchini


• Tomato and cucumber salad with mint and feta dressed with olive oil and lemon juice


• Israeli couscous with pine nuts and raisins

Ready to eat!

And the winner is...

I won the Santa Margherita Great Taste Chicago Challenge! I’ll be heading to NYC in about a month to compete in the Finals.

I’ll try to give a little rundown of how the night went…

When Katie and I arrived at the Signature Room at 5:30, we were turned down and told the event doesn’t start until 6. Katie snappily responded with “no, she’s IN the event.” We called her the soccer mom the rest of the night!

At about 5:45, the other two contestants and I were introduced to the judges (Fabio!) and given a rundown of the logistics. The Signature Room chefs were going to prepare small portions of the dish for the judges and everyone in the audience. We just needed to finish and plate one dish for the demo. They said that John Terlato was going to be the emcee and ask questions throughout each demo.

After that, they showed me my demo station and what had been prepared already. The base of the sauce had been made and the pasta had been cooked; I just had to heat up the sauce, add the marscapone, sear the scallops, and plate the dish.

Demo Station
A couple of glasses of Prosecco later, it was time to be hooked up to a microphone and hit the stage!


Judges:
Colin Crowley (Executive Chef of Terlato Wines)
Susanna Negovan (Editor and Chief of Michigan Avenue Magazine)
Fabio Viviani
Let me tell you – I have a new respect for people who cook on television. My whole demo was kind of a blur. I remember my sauce was boiling over already when I got up on stage, then I dropped my whisk and tongs, and then Fabio had to step in and turn my scallops for me while I dealt with the sauce. During all of this, I was trying to make sure my microphone was staying in place so people could hear me. My friends told me I didn’t look nervous, but I don’t know if I believe them!


I was relieved that I had to go first so I could relax and watch the other two demos. Andrew Ettenhofer went next and made a chicken roulade with goat cheese and roasted red peppers to pair with the Pinot Grigio. I didn’t actually get to try his dish because I think I was busy blabbing to everyone about how nervous I was in my demo, but people said it was delicious.

Next up was Deborah Kurtzke, who made veal meatballs wrapped in eggplant to pair with the Chianti. I did try her dish and it was quite good, especially with the wine. I got a little nervous!

About 10 minutes after the last demo, each judge did a brief critique on each dish. The only critique I got was from Fabio, who said that I should maybe season the arugula before adding it to the top of the dish. Next time I will! He also said that it’s rare for a home cook to use seafood stock, which I’m not sure is a critique or a complement? However, he then said that it was the kind of dish he would actually cook in his restaurant and that he might need to steal the recipe. I felt pretty confident at this point! Shortly after, they announced me as the winner. I took tons of pictures afterwards, but here are some highlights:

Fabio Viviani and John Terlato
Kit, Katie, Me, Fabio, and Kate
Me and Colin Crowley
Me and Fabio…again
Special thanks to Kate for taking most of the pictures!!

Pomegranate Cosmopolitans

My mom and I tried out a refreshing cocktail recipe the other night to help relieve ourselves from the weekend’s persistent 90 degree heat. Pomegranate Cosmopolitans – from Ina Garten’s Back to Basics cookbook – are a great update on the slightly outdated cosmo. They were sweet, tart, and (stretch) maybe even a tiny bit healthy!

Pomegranate Cosmos
2 c. good vodka
1 c. orange liqueur (Cointreau)
1 c. cranberry juice cocktail
½ c. pomegranate juice
½ c. freshly squeezed lime juice (3 limes)
Lime slices, to garnish

Combine the vodka, orange liqueur, pomegranate juice, and lime juice in a pitcher and refrigerate if not serving right away. Pour each portion over ice cubes in a cocktail shaker, shake well, and pour into frozen martini glasses with a slice of lime. Makes six cocktails.

Easy Appetizers: Homemade Spreads and Bruschetta

I made my scallops and saffron sauce the other night to try out with the Santa Margherita Prosecco, so my mom and I came up with some simple appetizers to serve beforehand. I wanted to make some bruschetta with my mom’s garden tomatoes and basil. My parents had just been to a wedding where they had a bruschetta made with roasted eggplant and gorgonzola. To make that easier, my mom bought a garlic roasted eggplant spread from Trader Joe’s and some crumbled gorgonzola. I didn’t write down exact recipes for each, but here is a general idea of what we ended up doing:

Bruschetta
Thinly slice a baguette on the bias, brush with olive oil, and season with a little bit of salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and broil on high until golden brown on both sides (turning halfway through). When the bread is out of the oven, slice a clove of garlic in half and rub the raw garlic onto one side of the bread.

Tomato and Basil Topping
Quarter cherry tomatoes (or chop regular tomatoes), combine with some julienned basil, and drizzle with a little bit of extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Eggplant and Gorgonzola Topping
Spread the bread with the eggplant and garlic spread, top with a little bit of gorgonzola, and broil on high until the cheese is melted.


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My mom also loves invent spreads. One my parents’ favorite restaurants, Hungry Mother, serves a great pimiento cheese spread with celery sticks. Here is my mom’s version of that recipe:

Pimiento Cheese Spread
4 oz. light cream cheese
1 c. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
3 tbsp. pimiento peppers (or piquillo peppers)
2 tbsp. light mayo
Dash of hot sauce
Pinch of cayenne
2 tbsp. sweet or hot pepper relish (my mom uses Howard’s brand)

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until combined but still a little bit chunky. Garnish with some celery leaves.

She also made a quick olive spread with some cream cheese and nice garlic-lemon green olives. We put them on a platter with some celery sticks and crackers:


Everything was delicious and easy!

Lobster Sandwiches

My dad brought home some lobster sandwiches from Alive and Kicking Lobsters today. I just had to share how delicious they were…


Instead of the standard lobster “roll,” they put the lobster salad on toasted Italian bread. The salad itself was perfect: very little mayonnaise, generous amount of lobster, and perfectly seasoned. Highly recommended if you’re in the Boston/Cambridge area!

Key Lime Pie

I’m home in Boston this week and you know what that means – lots of cooking! My parents and I are not huge dessert people, but when we do make dessert, we usually make key lime pie (my mom’s favorite) or pecan pie (my dad’s favorite). My mom is from Florida and has always made her mom’s key lime pie recipe. It eventually won me over as my favorite of the two pies, so that’s what we made for dessert the other night when we had a couple of friends over.

We have made a few modifications to my grandmother’s recipe over the years. We omitted the meringue topping it called for and added some lime zest in the filling for a little extra tart flavor. She also always made the pie in a standard pie crust, but we like to either make or buy a graham cracker crust. We made the crust this time and I think it really is much better than store bought, but store bought will work if you’re in a hurry. Finally, my mom couldn’t find the 9 inch pie plate we usually use for this, so we experimented and made it in a 10 ½ inch tart plate. It worked just as well and was a huge hit with our guests!

Graham Cracker Crust
1 ½ c. graham cracker crumbs
½ tsp. cinnamon
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. melted butter

Filling
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
½ c. key lime juice (I think this can be found at most grocery stores. We found it at Whole Foods)
Zest of 1 lime
3 egg yolks

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon, brown sugar, and melted butter in a food processor. Press into a pie plate and bake in a 375 degree oven for 6-8 minutes until it’s lightly brown. (It’s okay if the crust is a little rustic looking. Mine was!)

Whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, key lime juice, lime zest, and egg yolks. Pour into the pre-baked crust and bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

Serve cold or at room temperature with some fresh whipped cream and raspberries.

Santa Margherita Great Taste Challenge

I entered the Santa Margherita Great Taste Challenge on a whim last week with my Seared Scallops with Pappardelle and Saffron Sauce recipe that I posted back in March. The contest asked for a recipe that would pair well with one of their three wines: Prosecco, Pinot Grigio, and Chianti. I thought the richness of the sauce and the scallops would pair well with the light, slightly sweet Prosecco.

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Winning Combination?

Well - I got a call today to let me know that I was a semi-finalist! This means I have to present my dish to judges (including Fabio from Top Chef!) next Wednesday at the Signature Room. Wish me luck!!

PS: If you watched Top Chef New York, then you know Fabio's thoughts: “Ees not top scallop!” I hope it will be!

Battle Burger: Colleen vs. Jarret

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to enter the annual Build a Better Burger contest that I always see on the Food Network. To be honest, I’ve never actually made a burger before, but I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to come up with some recipes! There’s no limit to the number of burgers a single person can enter, so – enticed with the grand prize of $50,000 - I came up with two original recipes: Brandy Blue Cheese Burgers with Endive and Caramelized Shallots and Bacon Beer-Cheeseburgers with Maple-Glazed Bacon and Apples.

My friend Jarret wanted in on the burger testing, so he made a couple burgers of his own and challenged me to a “burger off”. He didn’t end up writing down the recipes, but he made one with a homemade honey-chipotle barbecue sauce, cheddar, bacon, and red onion and the other with blue cheese and red wine braised pearl onions.


I got the idea for the blue cheese burgers from my parent’s blue cheese stuffed endive appetizer that was always one of my favorites growing up. The blue cheese stuffing is a spread made with blue cheese, brandy, and mayonnaise. I used endives for crunch on top of the burger and then some caramelized shallots for a little sweetness. I can’t say there is much of a story behind the beer-cheeseburgers other than the fact that I love beer-cheese and thought it would go really well with a burger! I balanced the bitterness of the cheese spread with maple glazed bacon and fresh apple slices.

As far as the patty itself, I had to do a little research. I think chuck is probably the most popular cut of meat for a burger, but I had just read an article that said brisket is actually a much more flavorful cut of meat for a burger. I compromised and went with 50% chuck and 50% brisket, both freshly ground at the store.

Then comes the question of what should go into the meat mixture, if anything. I recently read an article about store bought demi-glace in Saveur and decided I should find a use for it (it doesn’t take much to convince me, obviously). Then I thought: why not add a little to the burger for extra flavor? I added it to the patties for the blue cheese burgers and it worked beautifully. For the beer-cheeseburgers, I just used a little bit of Dijon mustard and olive oil in the burger mix.

I will admit that our end results were maybe a little sloppy looking as we had been cooking and sipping on beer all day, but it was all delicious tasting nevertheless! I do need to make a couple of disclaimers: 1) We did make four types of burgers for three people, but I promise we didn’t each eat four burgers! 2) The burgers we made were smaller than the ones in my “official” recipes, but the contest rules called for each recipe to yield six normal sized burgers.

We had quite a spread to show for all of our hard work…


We had my friend Katie “judge” our burgers at the end.


Katie’s favorite was the beer-cheeseburger. Win!


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Brandy Blue Cheese Burgers with Endive and Caramelized Shallots

Caramelized Shallots
2 pounds shallots, thinly sliced
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Blue Cheese Spread
6 ounces Roquefort cheese
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons brandy
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper

Patties
1 pound freshly ground chuck
1 pound freshly ground brisket
4 teaspoons store bought demi-glace (I use the More Than Gourmet brand that can be found at Whole Foods)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil, for brushing the burgers
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 high-quality brioche buns, split
3 Belgian endives, separated into leaves

Preheat a gas grill to medium-low.

To make the caramelized shallots, melt the butter in a large fire-proof skillet. Add the sliced shallots and salt; sauté for 15 minutes. Then, add the brown sugar and continue to sauté on medium low for 45 minutes, or until the shallots are soft and golden brown. Set aside.

To make the blue cheese spread, combine the Roquefort, mayonnaise, brandy, and white pepper in a food processer. Process until the spread is smooth and set aside.

To make the patties, gently mix together the ground chuck, ground brisket, demi-glace, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Form six even-sized patties. Brush the burgers with a thin layer of olive oil. Sprinkle with a small amount of salt and pepper on both sides and gently press your thumb into the middle of each patty (this will make it so the burgers don’t bulge up in the middle as they cook).

Increase the heat on the grill to medium-high. When the grill is heated, add the patties to the rack. Cook for a total of 5-7 minutes on each side for medium, turning only once. Add a small amount of the blue cheese spread on top of each burger during the last minute of cooking (but too much because you don’t want to overpower the meat!). Make sure to remove the patties from the grill before the spread drips down the side of the patties.

As the burgers are cooking, melt the butter in a fire-proof skillet. Brush a little bit of butter onto each brioche bun half and grill for a couple of minutes, or until the buns have grill marks.

To assemble the burgers, place a generous amount of the caramelized shallots on the bottom halves of the buns. Place the patties on top of the shallots. Top with several endive leaves and the top halves of the buns.

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Bacon Beer-Cheeseburgers with Maple-Glazed Bacon and Apples

Beer Cheese
8 ounces sharp cheddar, grated
¼ cup white onion, minced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon dry mustard
Pinch of cayenne
½ cup lager (I used Brooklyn Lager, but use the one of your choice)

Bacon
12 slices of bacon
1/3 cup real maple syrup

Patties
1 pound freshly ground chuck
1 pound freshly ground brisket
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil, for brushing the burgers and buns
6 pretzel buns, split
3 large granny smith apples

Preheat a gas grill to medium-low.

To make the bacon, add to a large fire-proof skillet in a single layer and cook for about 4 minutes on each side, or until crisp. Remove the cooked bacon from the skillet and brush a thin layer of the maple syrup onto each side of the bacon. Set aside.

To make the beer cheese, first pour the beer into a glass and wait for the foam to settle. Then, combine the grated cheese, onion, garlic, hot sauce, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, and cayenne in a food processor. Pulse until combined. Add the beer and puree until smooth. Set aside.

To make the patties, gently mix together the ground chuck, ground brisket, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Form six even-sized patties. Brush the burgers with a thin layer of olive oil. Sprinkle with a small amount of salt and pepper on both sides and gently press your thumb into the middle of each patty (this will make it so the burgers don’t bulge up in the middle as they cook).

Increase the heat on the grill to medium-high. When the grill is heated, add the patties to the rack. Cook for a total of 5-7 minutes on each side for medium, turning only once. Add a small amount of the beer cheese on top of each burger during the last minute of cooking (but too much because you don’t want to overpower the meat!). Make sure to remove the patties from the grill before the cheese drips down the side of the patties.

As the burgers are cooking, brush a little bit of olive oil onto each pretzel bun half and grill for a couple of minutes, or until the buns have grill marks.

Meanwhile, core the apples and cut into ¼ inch slices. If you are slicing them more than a few minutes ahead of time, drizzle some lemon juice over the apples so they don’t’ brown.

To assemble the burgers, place a 2 or 3 apple slices on the bottom halves of the buns. Place the patties on top of the apples. Top each burger with two slices of the bacon and the top halves of the buns.