On Valentines Day, I have recently started to prefer staying at home and cooking Stephan a nice dinner instead of battling the crowds in restaurants. I went all out this year, and made uber-fancy lobster risotto. Can we say decadent? I’ve had lobster risotto in restaurants many times, but since I was making this at home, it was more like lobster with a bit of risotto mixed in. In the end, I probably spent more moolah than had we just gone out, but it was totally and completely worth it! We also opened up a fabulous bottle of German Ice Wine that we’ve been holding onto for quite a while.

To be honest, this is the first time I’ve cooked lobster at home. The last time I did cook lobster was in culinary school. I had this chef instructor who insisted we kill the lobsters before boiling them. This really bothered me, and that is the main reason I’ve been lobster shy for the past 8 years! This time, I tried not to look the lobster in the eye, and simply placed them into the boiling water. Not sure if that is humane either, but its better than a knife through the noggin, right? :)

I made it just like I always make my risotto, but omitted the Parmesan cheese at the end. As usual, I like to eat with my eyes first, so I added a small handful of diced red and orange bell pepper more for color than flavor. I also painstakingly cracked the claws and kept the claw meat intact for garnishing. In addition, I made a lobster stock with the shells, but you can always use chicken stock. I ended up using half lobster stock and half chicken stock so the final product wouldn’t be overly lobstery (yes, that is a word!)

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After Thanksgiving, I had quite a few pecans left and wanted to use them up before they go bad. After pondering a moment, I figured I’d make pecan crusted Mahi Mahi. I made it similar to how I make my schnitzel, but used half panko and half chopped pecans. It was a nice alternative to my usual broiled fish. I accompanied it with a tomato and avocado salad.

I also decided to try mashed turnips… and it wasn’t good. I was trying to find a healthier alternative to potatoes, and thought… hey, what about turnips? Yeah, it tasted like mashed cabbage, but worse. Note to self: Never boil and mash turnips… they are not and never will be potatoes. Lesson learned.
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I decided to recreate a fish entree I ordered at a restaurant recently that was pretty good, but lacked a little flavor. I love to attempt recreating restaurant dishes… and sometimes, I think mine is better!

The sauce is a chunky quick cooking ragout (pronounced ragoo.) I honestly just threw it together, hoping for the best. The result was a very flavorful, but uber-healthy topping for the fish. I served it with pearl couscous cooked with chicken stock and finished off with a generous tablespoon of pesto sauce and a bit of parsley.

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This is a delicious, quick cooking shrimp dinner that is sure to impress! Its made similar to shrimp scampi, but is served on Orzo instead of Linguine. Orzo is actually a wonderful semolina pasta that looks like a flat rice. I added a little diced red and yellow pepper to make it pretty, but it can always be omitted.
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