I don’t know about you but I think we are becoming better cooks nowadays. I wish I could say the same about baking. It is not my forte but I can make a few things too.
I always say that Thanksgiving is a time for an overabundance of food, but, Christmas I like a more simple meal. If you saw my last post a prime rib roast is nothing simple. It makes an amazing presentation, more so if cooked right.
As New Year approached I think I had my fill of beef. Time for some lobster. It looks so pretty at a table and it is delicious. I decided to make a Lobster Newburg. I usually make recipes my own because I add a little bit of this and a little bit of that. At times a secret ingredient of saffron can make it taste out of this world. A few sweet peas….not sure if that’s even on a Lobster Newburg. Some make toast points…..Oh no, we had it over pasta. Pair it with a French 75 cocktail using Courvoisier instead of gin, believe me it is to die for.
The broth had so much taste because using the shells it is the way to go when making a seafood broth.
Save the rest of the broth. You can freeze it for another time.
New Year’s Day is a new beginning. Starting up with a decadent breakfast is always a must. Eggs Benedict, my own style too. Did not want any bread so on top of the grilled asparagus and Surry ham from Surry, Virginia, poached eggs and homemade Hollandaise Sauce.
And then came the Apple Toddy. This recipe has winesap apples which are hard to get around here, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, sugar, grated orange rind, rum, peach brandy, apple brandy, bourbon and lemon juice. You need to start this by cooking the apples then everything goes in a crok in a stoneware crock for 16 weeks. So start way before the holidays and place it in your garage in a cool place.
To drink it pour in your desired glasses and you can cut the apples up in bite size pieces. I never used to enjoy it years ago but I have acquired a liking for this old family recipe.
So in order to finish the day I wanted to get some black eyed peas. Nowhere to be found. Yeap, I went a little too late to some of the stores. I wanted that good luck everyone says they bring you. Black beans will have to do. I decided to make a black bean soup which if I say so myself was pretty good for not planning anything in advance. A little garnish here or there and it turn out as good as the photo shows.
And so another year begins. I did not make any resolutions. I will take one step at a time, enjoying every moment, every day.
Wishing you the best for 2021.
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“A woman should never be seen eating or drinking, unless it be lobster salad and Champagne, the only true feminine and becoming viands.” lord byron
We really would be in trouble if that was true. Nevertheless, I had lobster on New Year’s Eve. And even though it was lobster; the dinner was casual, in front of the fire place. I still don’t have a working oven. Can you believe that? It has not been that bad, though.
I was thinking, why is it that some of the specialty foods are only to be eaten on special occasions? I think that every time you sit at the table, it should be special. The food should be prepared from the heart; like you mean it.
This recipe is a Lobster Newburg. Actually, this is an American dish. I added small peas to give the dish contrast and color. The dish was to also be baked, but I did not see any need to it; nor did I have the oven to do that. So here it goes.
Crepes with Lobster Newburg
2 1/2 cups lobster meat (I got 3 small lobsters)
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 lb. mushrooms, thinly sliced
1/2 cup frozen petite peas
2 cups medium cream (I mixed 1 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup of half and half)
1/2 tablespoon flour (I used Arrowhead Mills, gluten free baking mix)
1/4 cup dry Sherry (remember? a little more of this or a little less of that)
1 cup cream (heavy)
1 teaspoon paprika
Salt and pepper to taste (I did not use salt)
Crepes
I had the market cooked the lobsters and as soon as I got home I got the meat out and put it aside. Chop it but you still want to see nice chunks of lobster.
In a large skillet melt butter and saute the mushrooms for a few minutes. Add the lobster and peas to heat through. Don’t overcook it, please.
Heat, but do not boil, the cream sauce and add sherry to it. Then add the egg yolks to the heavy cream and combine. Then add it to the cream sauce. If you think that it is too thin then add the flour and wisk it in quickly. Add the paprika and seasonings.
Note: As you can see there are 2 creams; one is the cream sauce and the other is the 1 cup of heavy cream. To that cup of heavy cream you will be adding the egg yolks. A little confusing, I know.
Add the cream to the lobster, mushroom and peas. Again just heat it through. If you want you can just turn it off while you are preparing the crepes. It should not take long.
Crepes
This recipe for crepes can be made ahead of time; even the night before. Just cover and refrigerate. It is a basic recipe and can be used plain with just a bit of honey on top or as a stuffed crepe.
3 eggs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour ( I used Arrowhead Mills gluten free baking mix)
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon milk
A pinch of salt
Combine all of the above and stir until the ingredients are the consistency of thin cream.
In a 10 inch non-stick frying pan or crepe pan, melt 1 tblsp. of butter. When it bubbles, pour some of the batter, enough to cover the bottom with a thin coating. Cook a couple of minutes and with a large spatula flip it over and cook on the other side for a few minutes, as well. Take it out of the pan and continue with the rest of them using butter as needed. I made four of them and had left-over batter.
After I filled the crepe I put extra sauce on top. It turned out very nice and the combination of flavors was good. If you do not like Sherry, then you can use Madeira. Lobster Newburg was originally prepared with Madeira wine but it seemed that it was thought to be too sweet.
As you can see from my pictures I had steamed asparagus as a side dish. You can prepare your favorite vegetable or just a salad. You know, make it your own.
This is a rich and flavorful dish. You might just want to have one crepe and save the rest for another day.
It can serve 4 people easily.
Enjoy it and the next day….do extra exercises….talk to you later…
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