Maine Lobster Rolls & Grilled Sweet Potatoes

Lobster tails were on sale at the grocery store so I decided to make some lobster rolls.  The recipe comes from this Dishing Up Maine cookbook that I bought when we visited Maine.  It had a little too much mayonnaise for my taste, but still tasted delicious.  My husband could eat mayonnaise out of a jar so he of course loved it.  The recipe is below.  On a side note, I ate a lot of lobster and lobster rolls in Maine, but my favorite is the lobster roll at Neptune Oyster Bar in Boston.

Ingredients
2 cups cooked lobster, cut into chunks
2 teaspoons of lemon juice (about 1/4-1/2 lemon)
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
Salt and fresh ground pepper
Top-split hot dog buns (regular works fine too)
Snipped chives

Directions
1. Toss the lobster with lemon juice and mayonnaise, season with salt and pepper to taste
2. Toast hot dog rolls
3. Spoon lobster onto rolls and enjoy!

I served grilled Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Scallions from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine on the side.  I live in an apartment so I don't have a grill, I use my double burner grill pan instead and it works perfectly.  This is one of my favorite side dishes to serve and eat.

Honey and Soy Glazed Salmon

Honey and Soy Glazed Salmon

This doesn't look pretty, but it sure tastes good (please note I took this picture before reading the link on food photography I posted below).  This recipe makes a regular appearance in our apartment.  The only change I make is that I throw onions in the pan when I cook the Salmon, which results in slightly burnt onions, an ugly photo, and a very tasty dinner.  I usually serve it over rice and with a side of edamame.  It's a very quick and easy weeknight meal.

Food Photography

You've probably noticed that my pictures could use some improvement.  This might help me.  Although usually I'm in too much of a rush to eat my food to take my sweet time taking nice photos.

The Serious Eats Guide to Food Photography

Ham Fried Rice

With some leftover ham from Easter, Ham Fried Rice was for dinner tonight.  The fried rice had ham (of course), 1 egg, shelled edamame, onions, and sesame seeds.  In addition to soy sauce I always add a decent amount of Sriracha for some heat.  I also use my mister to try to reduce the amount of oil in the recipe.

How To Make An Omelette

We have more leftover steak than we can dream of so I decided to throw some in an Omelette this morning.  I also added some scallions that I had on hand, and parmesan cheese.  I like to use parmesan because it's strong so you don't have to use a lot to get good flavor.  I really wanted to add tomatoes, but I was sad to see mine had gone bad.

How I Make An Omelette
1.  Chop up any vegetables or ingredients that you want to add to your omelette.
2.  Saute any meat or vegetables that you want cooked in the omelette.  In this case I sauteed the steak a little; other things I tend to saute for an omelette are onions, mushrooms, and spinach.
3.  Combine 2 eggs, a dollop of milk, a dash of salt, and a dash of pepper and beat
4.  Mist your pan with oil and preheat (I love my Oil Mister from Williams-Sonoma) on medium low heat.
5.  When the pan is hot enough (a drop of water would sizzle) pour your eggs into the pan and let them sit for a minute.
6.  With a spatula, gently push one edge of the egg into the center of the pan while tilting the pan; allowing the still liquid egg to flow underneath.  Do this again on the opposite side.
7.  When the egg looks pretty much cooked add your ingredients to one half.  Usually I throw in whatever my refrigerator has to offer; this time I added sauteed steak, uncooked scallions, and a little parmesan.
8.  Use a spatula to lift one half (the half without the ingredients) and fold it over the half with the ingredients.
9.  I usually let it cook for a little under a minute and then slide it onto a plate.

I'm also in love with our grind and brew coffee maker.  Today's beans were a Viennese Blend from Oren's Daily Roast in NYC; it's a blend of Columbia and French Roasted Columbia.

Cantina Zaccagnini Montepulciano D'Abruzzo

We've been having a lot of leftovers this week, so figured I would share a wine recommendation.  Cantina Zacagnini Montepulciano D'Abruzo, or stick wine as we call it, is one of our go to wines.  The name gives it away as Italian, the label gives it away as a dry red wine, and the best part about the wine is that it only costs $11.99.  We're not the only ones that like it, as it comes with a little neck tag that lets us know that Wine Advocate rated it a 90.

Salt-Crusted Standing Rib Roast & Gouda Mashed Potatoes

The last time we were in California, my sister-in-law made us an epic meal; Prime Rib with Horseradish Sauce, Gouda Mashed Potatoes, and a salad.  When rib roast was on sale at the store this weekend, I couldn't pass it up.  While I'm not sure if I ended up with the right cut of meat, it turned out pretty well.


The Salt-Crusted Rib Roast recipe she sent me looks like it was copied from a magazine in December 2009.  I'm not sure what magazine, but the recipe is below.


Ingredients
2 Cups of Kosher Salt
1/4 Cup Peppercorn Melange, Cracked
1 TB of Dried Rosemary
1/3 Cup of Water
1 Small End Rib Roast, with 4 Ribs, Back Strap, Chine Bone and Feather Bones removed (The recipe says 8-10 lbs, I bought 6 lbs)


Directions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees and coat a 9 x 13 baking dish with non stick cooking spray
- Combine salt, peppercorns, and rosemary in a mixing bowl.  Slowly whisk in water until it becomes slush
- Pat beef dry; place rib roast, skin side down in baking dish.
- Rub salt mixture all over roast, making a coating 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick
- Insert an oven proof thermometer into the thickest part of the roast
- Place roast in oven and immediately turn oven temperature to 325.  Roast meat until thermometer reads 135 degrees for medium rare, 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 hours (it took my smaller cut about 2 hours)
- Remove roast from oven and tent with foil for 15 minutes
- Remove the salt crust before serving


The Gouda Mashed Potatoes recipe is from food.com.  I didn't peel the potatoes, which is a shortcut I usually take when making mashed potatoes.


For the horseradish sauce mix together 1/2 cup of sour cream, 4 TB of horseradish, salt, pepper, and a juice from half a lemon.


Did I mention that I like red meat?

Lasagna Rolls

Lasagna Rolls

Giada's Lasagna Rolls were tasty and a nice spin on regular lasagna.  I added extra prosciutto and mushrooms because I wanted to use up the ones I had on hand.   You could really throw anything in the lasagna rolls; sausage, ground meat, eggplant, more spinach, etc.  Timing wise, the recipe instructions were not laid out that great (which I would have realized if I read it ahead of time).  I'd start the lasagna water boiling, then make the ricotta mixture, throw in the lasagna, and then make the bechamel sauce.  

I served it with a side of cucumber-tomato salad and a bottle of Grande Fleur De Lyeth Reserve (a blend of Cabernet, Merlot, and Petit Syrah).  The wine was good, nothing great.

Blackened Steak Salad

My Grandpa always gives us Omaha Steaks for Christmas, so I decided to make this Blackened Steak Salad tonight with some tenderloins we had in the freezer.  You've probably already noticed that we're fans of red meat so Grandpa's gift gets pretty good use.  This recipe from Epicurious was an excellent use of the steak, I will definitely be making this again.  The rub on the steak combined with the salad dressing was perfect.  The only changes I made were adding sautéed mushrooms and extra tomatoes, next time I'll add more sautéed mushrooms.   You probably don't need as much blue cheese as my husband added, but he cleans the dishes so I keep quiet.  We had some DeLoach Zinfandel with our meal, which we also enjoyed.

Eating Our Way Through Costa Rica

Private Dinner at Antigua restaurant in Marriott San Jose

Tico Breakfast

2009 Opi aka Rodolfo Sadler Malbec

I had this wine with leftover chili this week; it was a 2009 Opi aka Rodolfo Sadler Malbec.  I really liked it, but I'm a sucker for Malbec.  I'm not much for pairing wines, I pretty much will drink any red wine I like with any food I like.  

Sliced Steak with Herbs, Bacon Horseradish Mashed Potatoes, Creamed Spinach Stuffed Tomatoes

Sliced Steak with Herbs

Bacon Horseradish Potatoes

Creamed Spinach Stuffed Tomatoes

I don't normally watch Rachael Ray, but I happened to turn it on for this episode and knew it was a meal my husband would love.  I was right.

Smoky Slow Cooker Chili

I'm on a quest to find a really good chili recipe, this Smoky Slow Cooker Chili was a step in the right direction.  I did most of the prep the night before, and then put everything in the slow cooker before heading to work.  I followed the recipe for the most part; I did add some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, cayenne pepper, more chili powder, and used brown sugar instead of regular.  Our first serving we forgot to add the lime, but don't worry we had seconds and remembered the lime, which added a really nice touch.  Next time I will add more beans, I'm debating whether it's more pinto or if I should add kidney beans or black beans.

Pizza Throwdown

Caramelized Onion and Prosciutto Pizza

My husband and I had a pizza throw-down; I won for taste and he won for presentation (I imagine you can guess whose was whose).  I used The Pioneer Woman's Caramelized Onion and Prosciutto pizza, the onions are caramelized in brown sugar so that combined with the salty prosciutto was a guaranteed victory.  My husband had his own creation; turkey sausage, onions, and mushrooms and it was pretty tasty, but no caramelized onion and prosciutto.

Beef Tenderloin with Fresh Herbs and Horseradish

Beef Tenderloin with Fresh Herbs and Horseradish

Stove Top Macaroni and Cheese

I came across this beef tenderloin recipe in an Everyday Food magazine a couple of years ago, and decided to give it a try.  With the help of a meat thermometer I cooked the beef perfectly and it was delicious.  It's an expensive cut of meet, but I definitely recommend the recipe, especially when beef tenderloin is on sale at your store.  It's good for company as it serves a lot of people.  The macaroni and cheese is pretty basic, it's not my favorite, but tasty and doesn't take up oven space or time.  

Shrimp Scampi Pasta

Shrimp Scampi Pasta

Shrimp Scampi Pasta from Epicurious, a great Friday night dinner after a long week; lots of oil, lots of butter, and quick.  I usually like to add halved cherry or grape tomatoes to the recipe but I didn't have any on hand, and whose going to the store on a Friday night?  So I threw in some frozen green beans due to lack of options, and the feeling that I needed some veggies to offset the oil and butter.  I also upped the crushed red pepper, because I can never get enough.  Once again, this recipe got rave reviews from my husband (I really enjoyed it too).