Creamy Lobster Bisque

It's October, and I should be in Maine, peeping at the autumn leaves, drinking a Gritty's and munching on some lobstah.  Well, we didn't make it up there this year, and here in Texas, the leaves are still green, there's no East Coast IPA to be had, but at least I can get my lobster fix. 

Of all the different ways there are to gussy up a lobster in your kitchen, other than simply boiled, this has to be my favorite.  Lobster bisque is at once an elegant dish that often graces tables of the white cloth and real silverware variety, but it is also a dish that conjures up the sea--fishermen in those ubiquitous yellow rain jackets, lobster traps stacked high on faded wooden docks, aging boats rocking gently in a grey, misty harbor. 

I first tried this dish not in Maine, however, but in Texas, at the little B&B the wife and I stayed in on our wedding night.  The flavor of the bisque was unreal.  Savory and succulent and downright sassy, and lobster-y as all get out. 

The lobster bisque at the Sanford House B&B--pure heaven!

I pressed 'em for the recipe, but they weren't budging.  So I was on my own again.  Well, gentle readers, I have to say this one took a while.  Over of year of trial and errors, and lots of mediocre bisque (much to my wife's chagrin) later, I finally hit upon a recipe that approached the Sanford House's goodness.  Definitely not the same, but still very, very good.  And, it's also rather simple.  Making bisque the authentic way can be daunting.  Hours of boiling lobster shells to get the right flavor.  I cheat a little with some store-bought stocks, but that's okay, because all I'm really after here is the great flavor, and in my attempts with the lobster shells, things never really panned out. 

Anyhoo, if you're up for some bisque, give this one a try. 

Lobster Bisque

3 Tablespoons Butter

1 Medium Onion, Diced

3 Carrots, Diced

3 Stalks Celery, Diced

2 Cloves Garlic

1 Cup White Wine

1 Can Campbell's Consommé

1/2 Teaspoon Thyme

3 Cups Chicken Broth

1 Cup Lobster Stock

2-3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste

1 Teaspoon Better Than Bullion Lobster Base

1/2 Teaspoon Onion Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder

1/4 Teaspoon White Pepper

1 1/2 Cups Heavy Cream

Meat from 1 Lobster, Boiled

2 Tablespoons Cornstarch

2 Oz Water

First things first, you can go ahead and boil your lobster (or lobsters) and get that out of the way.  Hopefully you have a big enough pot that's up to the job, like this one. 

Everyone should have a dedicated lobster pot, no? 

When the lobster is done (about 12-14 minutes for a 1 1/4 pounder) you can set him aside in the fridge until you need him.

Now, melt the butter in a good sized pot.

Next, dice your onion,

Your carrots

Your celery

and add them all to the pot with the melted butter.  Sauté these until the onions start to clear and turn golden.  Then add the crushed garlic

and let that got a minute or two. 

Add the white wine and stir and scrape and browned bits off the bottom of the pot. 

Add the consommé.

Add the chicken stock,

Next up, this.

Yes, canned lobster stock.  Normally this would generate a supercilious eyebrow raise on my face, but in this case, with this particular brand, this is good stuff, and one of my two 'secret ingredients' to make this bisque sing.  Make sure you get the Bar Harbor brand lobster stock, or else it's back to boiling those shells. 

Add the lobster stock. 

Add the Thyme

Then add the tomato paste

Hey, don't you hate it when you only need two tablespoons of tomato paste and have to open a whole can?  I do too.  That's why I love these tubes of tomato paste.  You can use only what you need and seal them back up.  Plus, it's very high quality, flavorful tomato paste.  All the better. 

Stir everything up and then cover and let simmer for 20 minutes.  After this time, get your stick blender and pureé everything up. 

Next you need a chinois.  I know, not something everyone has hanging around, but in my opinion, every aspiring chef should have one.  They're fun. 

Pour the soup from the pot into a large bowl, then place the chinois in the pot and pour the liquid into it. 

Use the included pestle and mash all the liquid through the mesh sieve.  Discard the solids when you're done. 

Next up, secret ingredient number two:  Lobster base:

I'm a big fan of the Better Than Bullion Company.  I've used their beef base for years in my chili and my cowboy beans.  So much better than those little dry bullion cubes.  When I discovered they made a lobster base, I had to try it.  I have to say it really wowed me.  It was rich, thick and full of lobster flavor.  A concentrated lobster paste, if you will. 

I had to mail order this stuff--you might have to as well. You can read more about it here, and get it here. 

Add a teaspoon of it to your bisque at this point, but no more.

This stuff is very salty and it can cause your bisque to become over salted if you use too much.  You can add more at the end if you think you need it.  Add the onion powder, garlic powder and white pepper at this time as well.  

Let things simmer for a few minutes and then taste the bisque.  It should be beginning to taste great, even though we're not quite done yet. 

Add your heavy cream and stir.

Let simmer for a few minutes more. 

While that's going on, go get your lobster from the fridge. 

Separate the tail and claws. 

Crack 'em and remove the meat.  Set it aside--we'll chop it up in a minute.  But first, we're gonna get a little more meat from the lobster.  From where, you ask?  Well, from those little legs running down each side. 

While it's not a lot of meat, it is some great tasting meat, but it's usually the devil to try to get it out.  But I learned this cool little trick from Alton Brown on the Cooking Channel, so I had to show you here. 

Take a rolling pin and roll it over those little legs one at a time, starting at the pincer and going toward the open end. 

The meat will squirt right out! 

Cool, huh? 

Repeat with the other legs and combine this meat with the tail and claw meat. 

Chop this up coarsely. 

Add it to the pot. 

Stick blend again to get everything nice and velvety. 

Mix the cornstarch with the water and add it to the bisque.  Stir until it thickens. 

Taste and make any adjustments as necessary.

Serve immediately.  Preferably with some nice crusty bread.  If you boiled additional lobsters, you can add chunks of lobster meat to the bisque, or just serve it as a side for a whole lobster, as we've done here. 

Until next time,


Cheers,

Chris

Creamy Penne Pasta with Sausage

This dish is a total sausage-fest, dudes.

Sorry, I just couldn't help saying that.  Those responsible have been sacked.  Anyhoo, this dish is just something I whipped up one night when I didn't have a lot on hand nor did I have anything planned.  It came about pretty dang great, for a quick dish, anyway, so I decided to add it to my repertoire.

Creamy Penne Pasta with Sausage

1 Lb Penne Pasta, Cooked Al Denté
12 Oz Smoked Sausage (or what have you)
2-3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Large Yellow Onion, Diced
6 Oz or so Crimini Mushrooms or Similar, Sliced
1 Cup White Wine
2 Tablespoons Italian Dressing
1.5 Cups Heavy Cream
1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
4 Oz Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Heat oil over medium heat in skillet.

We had some store-bought smoked sausage on hand, so that's what I used.

It ain't bad, but it ain't exactly ambrosia either.  Use what you like.  Some hot Italian sausage would be great.  Andouille?  C'est Bon!  Chorizo, Muy Bueno.  Shoot, buy some fresh sausage and smoke your own.  Whatever you do, just make sure it is something you and your guests like.

Slice sausage into quarter inch thick disks.

Sauté these in the oil for a couple minutes a side, just to wake 'em up a bit.

Remove from skillet and reserve.

Dice your onion.

Slice your mushrooms.

Add the diced onion and sauté for a few minutes.  Add the sliced mushrooms and do the same.

Add the white wine and stir to break up any browned bits.  Simmer until the wine is reduced by a half.

Next up, the Italian dressing.

Use whatever kind you like.  This is one of them there secret ingredients.  Adds a little zing to the dish.

Add the heavy cream and reduce heat to low.

Let simmer a few minutes, stirring frequently.  During this time, add the Italian seasoning.

This isn't something I use a lot.  I generally prefer to make my own blends of herbs for whatever dish I'm making.  But someone once brought this seasoning to my house and left it, so I keep it on hand now and use it in times like these, when I'm being lazy, or just when I'm going for a 'general' Italian flavor without putting too much effort into it.

Return sausage to the sauce and warm through.  Add the Parmesan at the very end and stir.

Serve over the pasta with a little extra Parmesan on top.

Enjoy!

Chris

Mini Salisbury Steaks

Salisbury Steak has sort of had a bad rap over the years, most likely because most of us first encountered it in it fetid school cafeteria form, or else maybe as a frozen hockey puck of a steak in a Swanson TV dinner.  Things like this can tarnish an otherwise good reputation.  But truth be told, Salisbury Steak done right is a pleasure to be had.  Now, I know, we are using the term ‘steak’ here a little loosely—after all, this ain’t a prime, butcher-cut filet mignon, it’s ground beef, but seasoned and sauced correctly, this baby will satisfy. 

I first encountered a good—hell, I’ll even say great—Salisbury steak when my wife cooked one for me early in our marriage.  I remember when she mentioned that she was making Salisbury steak, I sort of cringed, thinking of those TV dinner ‘gems.’  But of course, her steak was wonderful, and opened me up to the possibility that things can be better than their lowest common denominator. 

I’ve never attempted to make Salisbury Steak—hers was so good that I’ll leave that dish to her, but here’s a different version that I half-stole and bastardized into my own that I present to you now:  Mini-Salisbury Steaks. 

The original recipe I started with made Salisbury Steak meatballs, but I decided that if I pressed ‘em flat into little disks (or ‘steaks,’ by cracky) then they might cook a little more evenly, and thus, the ‘mini’ Salisbury Steak was born.  I hope you’ll enjoy it:

Mini Salisbury Steaks

8 ounces egg noodles

1 pound ground beef

1/3 cup Italian style bread crumbs

2 tablespoon ketchup

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 large egg yolks

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

For the Gravy

2 cups beef broth, divided

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon ketchup

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Start some water boiling for the egg noodles.  Add the ground beef to a bowl and then add the breadcrumbs, ketchup, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire, egg yolks and salt/pepper, 

Mix thoroughly.  

Then take a palmful portion and pat out into a patty about two inches across.  

Place this on a tray or plate and continue making patties until all the meat mixture is used up.  

Melt butter in a skillet.  

Sauté the patties, a few at a time, 

until they are slightly seared and cooked through.  

Reserve patties and keep hot.  

Add addtional butter if necessary to skillet, then sauté your onions.  

Until they are soft and slightly browned.  

Add the rest of the ingredients from the 'gravy ingredients list' except for the cornstarch and parsley.  Simmer for a few minutes, then mix the cornstarch with an ounce or two of warm water, then pour this in the gravy to thicken.  

Serve the mini Salisbury steaks over the egg noodles with plenty of the flavorful gravy and some flakes of the minced parsley.  

Until next time, 

Chris