This meal came about because of a bottle of wine. A month or so ago when we were going through John and Jenn's stockpile, we came across a bottle of 2007 Shafer "Red Shoulder Ranch" Chardonnay - and upon some research, realized this was a really good bottle of wine. So we figured we would need to do a fabulous dish to go with the wine, and instead of regular old lobster, we wanted to try some gourmet lobster creation. So we agreed that once lobster went on sale, we would try our hand at a lobster thermidor. And even if the food didn't turn out well, at least we had some great wine to drink. Well, guess what was on sale this week?
Cocktail - Hard Lemonade
Fresh squeezed lemon juice, orange zest, simple syrup, clementine vodka
Perfect start to the evening! This cocktail was light and fresh, and was almost palate-cleansing before the big meal.
Appetizer - Endive and Snap Pea Salad with Parmesan Dressing
Amazing. This salad (which actually had no "lettuce" of any type) was a fabulous neutral start to the evening. The flavors were clean and organic without a heavy overpowering taste. The only change we made was using white wine vinegar instead of champagne vinegar and all extra virgin olive oil instead of sunflower oil. The fresh herbs really made all the difference. The bitter-ness of the endive matched beautifully with the sweet tartness of the cocktail. And we were initially afraid of the parmesan - don't be! It worked so well as a finished product.
Entree - Julia Child's Lobster Thermidor
At least once in your life, you will need to try a lobster thermidor. Not many restaurants offer it these days because its time consuming and a pain in the butt to make - but make it at home! This meal was absolutely divine. (It better be with that much wine, cream, and butter!) So let me walk you through it and hopefully convince you that its something you can do at home!
Steam the lobsters in the wine and herbs as instructed. You will be using these juices later, so don't think you can just boil in regular water and go from there. This is an important step. Let them cool, crack them in half and scoop out the good stuff. (Keep in mind, the recipe tells you to completely half the lobsters, and one half would be a serving... we simply cracked them open and stuffed - the presentation was better.) You can do this step earlier if you'd like, because the lobster meat will be re-cooked on the stove, so you're in no rush at this point.
It's the sauces where you get confused. There are a lot of pots and pans and if you're a cook, you know Julia Child isn't known for her organization and is rather scattered in her cooking methods. Saute down the mushrooms, put the mushrooms in a bowl and put the juices in the simmering lobster stock. Cook down the lobster stock as instructed. Once again, this can be done early on.
Combine the drained stock with the roux and then with the egg/cream/mustard mixture. Then return to pan to thicken and you're done! (See, it seems simpler when I break it down for you.)
Cook your lobster meat in the butter and then the cognac. (Yum.) Add the mushrooms, ladlefuls of the cream sauce until your desired consistency and stuff your lobster! Pour more cream sauce over, top with parmesan, dot with butter and bake!
Start to finish, this meal took us about an hour to prepare. Jenn handled cooking the lobsters and then cleaning and taking care of the meat while I did all the sauces. When executed properly, it was fairly easy!
So once again - if you're even slightly interested... make this dish! Cheat on the diet... we won't tell anyone.
Wine - 2007 Shafer Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay
Wine Enthusiast - 94/100
This Napa chardonnay was unreal. It was comfortably oak-y and loaded with tropical fruits, green apple, and pineapple. It had a crisp, mineral finish that lingered comfortably on the tongue. Truly, a fantastic wine. (Many thank yous to M&L for bringing this back from your last Napa vacation. We can't wait to plan a meal around the red you brought as well!)
Dessert - Fresh Berry Tart with Chambord Sauce
Let me put this in perspective for you. It's 7am on Monday morning and I'm trying to get this blog post done before I get ready for work. And for breakfast, I'm eating leftover white chocolate custard covered in fresh berries. Yum. So good. Amazing. Perfect summer dessert!
Okay... we used individual puff pastry shells instead of making our own. (You can buy them from the grocery store... save yourself the trouble.) Followed the custard recipe pretty much to a T, but used vanilla extract instead of a vanilla bean. The custard can be made in advance, and it was made that morning and just kept in the fridge. The Chambord sauce/glaze seemed rather confusing to me in this recipe, so we simply just combined some raspberry preserves with a few splashes of Chambord. Easy. Done. Assembly... slightly reheat a previously baked tart shell, fill with white chocolate custard, top with berries, cover with raspberry sauce. Soooo good. I think I may even bring it for lunch today.
So overall, a dynamite meal to add to our Sunday repertoire. We were so proud of the final result, and so excited to share with you all. But I do have some disappointing news for you. Over the next 2 weeks, John and Jenn will be travelling to Monaco (so jealous), so you'll be stuck with just me. My cocktail creations are not nearly as good, and my kitchen is about half the size, and my camera skills leave a lot to be desired. I'm just warning you. So go easy on me.
Next Week - A New Twist on Lasagna
Thank you to our Dear friends Matt and Laura for giving us this great bottle of wine for our birthday!! It was truly delicious
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