Simplicity. Breakfast is Served

Sweet Corn Mushroom Fricassee, Crispy Fried Egg, Garden Herbs

"Don't boil me alive!" cried the lobsters

Lobsters are cheap now. The shells are soft and they are getting ready to molt. I personally prefer cold water winter lobsters which have sweeter meat. But hey I'm Chinese and when lobsters are cheap we eat them. My brother got ours at a restaurant supply place for $3.99/lb. They are super small though, most barely broke a pound. The smaller/ younger they are the more often they molt from May through November.

The first two I put into boiling water to kill them and removed the cooked meat. It was sad watching them twitch as they were cooked alive. I wonder if they have a inaudible scream.

I removed the tail and claw meat. The shells and heads minus the guts went into a pot of water for stock.

The tail and claw meat were used for Lobster Rolls, with Fuji Apples and Tarragon.

We then each ate a steamed lobster with BUTTER!

All the shells then went into the stock for the Lobster Bisque, which I made a few days later. We got one more lobster just for the bisque, which was a super concentrated creamy lobster soup.

I love lobster but after all this I think I've had enough for a while.

Total Lobster Overkill.

I <3 Papaya Milkshakes

This brings me back to summers in Taiwan with my grandparents. To make mine healthier I used a little skim milk and fat free yogurt, with splenda to sweeten it up. The good old days of regular milk and sugar are long gone....

Tapas Party!

My friends went to Spain without me and came back raving about the food so we threw a party and made our own versions. It took me forever to decide what to make. I found inspiration from several books but in the end it just came down to what ingredients I found at the market.

My version of Albondigas made with a mixture of lamb, beef and pork.

Spiced Meatballs, Spanish Smoked Paprika Aioli

Whenever I think of Spanish food I think of Chorizo so I incorporated them into two of the night's tapas.

Chorizo and Chickpeas, Smoked Paprika, Roasted Red Peppers

Chorizo and Herb Stuffed Mushrooms (Champinones Rellenos)

Baby octopus is also a very popular ingredient which needs to be cooked till tender then dressed up. I boiled the shit out of the fresh octopus in a pot of water with an onion, garlic, parsley, lemon and peppercorns. Once it was tender I pulled it out of the pot and cleaned off all the skin before dressing it in a savory vinagarette with anchovies and lots of herbs.

Pulpo en Vinaigrette

I know you're probably thinking where is the salt cod? Well the Bacalao would have been great but I didn't have time to soak and rinse it a thousand times... because I waited till the last minute to decide what to make ( typical). If I had soaked the cod I would have made salt cod fritters. Who doesn't love fried artery clogging balls of salty goodness?

Defonte's makes it good but I make it better

As I was lost in Brooklyn again. This time I was in Red Hook when I stumbled upon the original Defonte's. Famous for their Roast beef, Eggplant and Mozzarella Sandwich, so of course that's what I ordered. The sandwich was huge! Filled with really fresh tender thin sliced roast beef, slices of fried eggplant and fresh mozzarella. One of the sides of the crusty Italian bread was dipped in beef jus goodness. The beef was the best part. The eggplant was its usual greasy and soggy. The jus was good, just enough to moisten the bread without making it totally soggy like they like to do in other states.

(sorry photos taken with shitty blackberry camera above)

I could only eat half the sandwich and saved the other half for the next day. To freshen it up I toasted it in the oven till the bread was crisped up and the cheese was melted. To make it BETTER I put homemade Basil Pesto on side with the eggplant and Horseradish Hummus with a dash of Tabasco for heat on the meat side. If I had some banana peppers it would have been perfect.

Defonte's meat is worth stumbling upon or even making the trip out. They have a location in Manhattan now that I hear serves the same great quality meats. Maybe you can ask them to dress it up for you. If not just bring your own container of pesto.

Surf And Turf Night

Prepared way too much food for the bbq parties this weekend. Never got around to grilling the hanger steaks I marinated with garlic and herbs. I also had some grilled shrimp and Israeli cous cous salad left.

Pan seared hanger steaks to perfect rare.

Carmelized onion and corn fricasee, Chimichuri sauce.

Gotta start it out with some charcuterie.

A full spread to start the party right.

Cheese Plate: Basil and Olive oil marinated Mozzarella, Double Cream Brie, Sharp Vermont Cheddar, Pate de Campagna, Grapes

Anti Pasti: Marinated Olives, Artichokes, Mushrooms, Salami, Capicola, Sopressata

Chips: Fresh Mango Salsa

Cucumber Salad

Shrimp Israeli couscous salad with peas and herbs

But the MOST important part of any BBQ is the meat... yumm...

My favorite is the Rib Eye steak. Simply grilled with lots and lots of salt and pepper to rare/ Med rare. Crusty fatty goodness!

Of course there was tons of other food, BBQ chicken wings, Jerk Chicken wings (super spicy homemade blend of spices by a friend), the usual burgers and hot dogs, Korean short ribs, and of course beer lots and lots of beer but all were overshadowed by the perfect steak.