The Fumbling Foodie

Lobster Mac & Cheese

Pasta, Cheese, and Lobster (with some shrimp and crab thrown in for good measure): It doesn't get much better than this. With all due respect Parker, this is the ultimate Mac & Cheese. Even my wife, who is not a fan of lobster, loved it. Rich. Creamy. Filling. Oh So Good. The Ultimate Indulgence in Comfort Food.

I learned to make this and half a dozen other lobster dishes during a special class at my favorite gourmet kitchen tools store in Glendale, AZ.

I confess though, I cheated. To do this right you need to start with a whole live lobster and make your own stock. I used this lobster base from Superior Touch. Warning: If you use this stuff, don't add salt to anything else. The second item in the list of ingredients is salt.

Another cheat: When I was taught this recipe, we used fontina and grated it. Instead, I used an 8 oz package of a pre-grated mixture of Mozarella, Provolone, Parmesan, Asiago, Fontina, and Romano.

Lobster Mac & Cheese

2 Tablespoons Lobster Base (or three cups lobster stock)
8 oz grated cheese
2 uncooked lobter tails
1/4 - 1/3 pound medium shrimp, shelled and de-veined
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup heavy cream
8 onces shell pasta
1/2 can crabmeat

If using lobster base, add it to 3 cups boiling water. stir until combined, then let simmer for 30 minutes.

Drop the lobster tails into a pot of salted boiling water. Let cook for 4 minutes. Remove the lobster tails, let them cool. After cooling a bit, remove the meat from the shells. Chop the lobster meat into 1/2-inch sized chunks.

Put a pot of salted water on the stove and bring to a boil. When boiling, add the pasta. Cook untul al dente.

While the pasta is boiling, saute the shrimp until just barely still translucent at the edges. Remove from the heat and let them cool a bit. then chop the shrimp.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter. When the foam has subsided, add the flour and whisk well until combined. Add the lobster stock or base mixture. Add the cream. Mix. let cook 2-5 minutes. Add the cheese and stir until the cheese is melted and the mixture is well-blended.

The pasta should be done about now. Drain, then combine the pasta, sauce, shrimp, lobster, and crab.

Serves 4

Creamy Chardonnay Shrimp Pasta

So I was having a lunch meeting in one of my favorite spots. They make a great ham and pineapple pizza but this time I wanted to try something different. I spied this on the menu:

Chardonnay Shrimp Pasta

Shrimp sauteed with garlic, basil, onions, fire-roasted red peppers, Roma and sun-dried tomatoes over rotelle noodles in a creamy chardonnay wine sauce. Topped with applewood smoked bacon, parmianno reggiano and parsley.

It was pretty good except for the sauce - no cream. As I sat there eating it, I couldn't help but think how much better this dish would be with a cream sauce. I thought to myself, I can do better.

I have to tell you, the Fumbling Foodie is more of a 'recipe follower' than a real chef, but with something as simple as this, I thought I could figure it out. With my Sweet Lady Wife out of town, I figured this would be the perfect opportunit to experiment - When you fail alone, no one hears you scream. (On the other hand, if you fail badly enough no one is there to call 911 for you either.)

I will share the technique for roasting red bell peppers taught to me by Chef Rodney Jankowsli: Set the pepper on the grill over high heat and turn it every couple of minutes so all sides get thoroughly blackened. Take it off the grill, put it in a paper bag, and let it cool for 10 minutes. It's easy to then peel the skin off. After that, cut it open remove the seeds, and cut it into inch-long strips.

Daves Creamy Chardonnay Shrimp Pasta

1 lb penne, rotella, or other pasta
3/4 lb shrimp, cleaned peeled, and deveined.
1 roasted red bell pepper per the above instructions
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
4-8 oz chopped pancetta or bacon
1/3 cup choped fresh basil
2 roma tomatoes, seeds removed and coarsly chopped
4 oz julienned sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup chardonnay
1 cup cream
1 cup grated parmigiano reggiano
1/2 cop chopped fresh parsley

Start a large pot of salted water boiling. When it boils add the pasta.

In a saute pan over medium-high heat, brown the pancetta. Remove it from the pan and set it aside. add a little olive oil to the pan if necessary. When it's hot add the garlic. When you can start to smell the garlic add the onions.

Saute the onions until translucent. Add the chopped & roasted red pepper. Saute for a couple of minutes, then add the Roma and sun-dried tomatoes. Saute for 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and basil. Saute until the shrimp have almost lost their translucency.

The pasta should be done about now. Drain and rinse it, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water. Place the pasta in a large bowl. Add the reserved pasta water. Add the mixture from the saute pan.

Deglaze the pan with the chardonnay. Reduce to about a tablespoon. Add the cream. Reduce by half. Add to the pasta mixture and the cheese and toss to coat. Add the parsley and serve.

Serves four

Cooking For One, Part I

My Sweet Lady Wife and her sister are off on their annual camping trip, leaving me here to fend for myself. In past years, she alwqys made sure I would not starve by preparing a bunch of meals ahead of time and sticking them in the freezer or refrigerator. Between that and some take-out, I could have lived almost indefintely.

It's different this year. I can cook. I've had the image of this dish in my head for a couple of weeks - ever since reading Mark Bittman's 101 ten-minute meals article. It was simple, almost elegantly so. Do you have any idea how empowering it is to be able to make something this tasty and healthy in less time than it takes to make mac-and-cheese from the famous blue-and-white box?

1/2 bunch asparagus, trimmed
1 egg
2 slices bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch widths

In a saucepan, start some water boiling. Add a couple tablespoons vinegar to the water. When it's boiling, drop in the egg. Poach for four minutes then remove.

In a fry pan or saute pan, fry up the bacon and remove it from the pan. Add the asparagus and saute until crisp tender.

Arrange the asparagus on a plate. Sprinkle with the bacon. Place the poached egg on top.

Mark Bittman's 10-Minute Meals

A couple of weeks ago, Mark Bittman published a great article in The New York Times: Summer Express: 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less

With a little forethought at the supermarket, most of these look noy only doable but actually yummy.