Lobster Bisque

In December, Kev and I went to this fancy French restaurant to celebrate 3 wonderful years as a couple. The restaurant had a fabulous tasting menu. It was about 15 courses! Our favorite was the restaurants signature dish, the lobster bisque. It was light and fragrant.

The following months, whenever we had lobster, i'd keep the lobster shells in the freezer to eventually make lobster broth for a bisque.

1 cup chicken broth or homemade lobster broth
2 medium slices onion
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups cream or milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound cooked and cubed lobster meat
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2-3 tbs tomato paste
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper

1. if making homemade lobster stock, boil lobster shell in water and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
2. In a small frying pan place 1/4 cup stock and the onion. Cook over a low heat for 5 to 7 minutes.
3. In a medium size pot over medium heat melt the butter. Slowly whisk in flour. Whisk until a creamy mixture is created.
4. Gradually pour in stock, whisking constantly. Whisk in milk, salt, onion, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and cayenne pepper. Heat until soup is almost boiling. Do not boil the soup as the milk will curdle when boiled. Simmer at low heat for about an hour. Add cooked lobster meat into bisque before serving.

The bisque was thick, creamy, and heavy, not what we had at the restaurant. But this was still good. More like a meal soup than an appetizer soup. I used heavy cream for this recipe, which I thought was too much. Next time i'd suggest using light cream or do 1 cup milk and 1 cup cream. The recipes takes quite a bit of time to make, but i'd make it again...if only it didn't make my house smell like lobster for 2 weeks.

Jalapeno Popper Dip

The first time I ever had Jalapeno poppers was when Burger King had them. Not long after, they discontinued the item from their menu, but kept the mozzarella sticks...bad decision BK. I guess not many people can stomach spicy foods.

I have never attempted to make Jalapeno poppers before, seems like a lot of trouble. When I used to live with Rachelle, we'd sometimes indulge in a box of Jalapeno poppers from the frozen section of our local grocery store.

I was reading one of my regular food blogs one day and Kevin at
Closet Cooking had made a Jalapeno Popper Dip that sounded delicious. I saved the link into my favorites and forgot about it until months later. Rachelle had come all the way to my place one day and we decided to give the recipe a try.



1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (room temperature)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup cheddar cheese (grated) - we used mozzarella
1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano or parmesan
1 (4 ounce) can sliced jalapenos (pickled)
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano or parmesan

Directions:
1. Mix the cream cheese, mayonnaise, cheddar cheese, parmigiano reggiano and jalapenos in a bowl and pour into a baking dish.
2. Mix the panko bread crumbs and parmigiano reggiano and sprinkle over the dip.
3. Bake in a 375F oven until bubbling on the sides and golden brown on top, about 10-20 minutes.

This was so good and so easy! We toasted some pita bread in the oven and it was great. However, this recipe for 2 people is way too much. We both did not want dinner after this. If you're making this as an appetizer, i'd suggest you invite a few people over.

Duck à L'Orange by Kev

I've been so bad at updating my blog that my friend Amy in California had to come to Montreal to tell me in person. So here I am...updating. I have tons of new recipes to write about, but i'm just too lazy. It's one thing to create a blog, it's another to keep it updated.

A couple of months ago, I had to do my very first inventory at work. I had to go into work at 7:30am on a Saturday. Being the amazing boyfriend that he is, Kev decided that he would do the cooking that night. He decided to make me duck a l'orange.

•¼ cup granulated sugar
•2 tablespoons water
•2 tablespoons Sherry vinegar
•1 ½ cups orange juice
•2 tablespoons shallots, minced
•1 1/2 cups chicken stock
•4 oranges, sections cut from membranes
•2 duck breast halves, seasoned with salt and pepper
•¼ cup unsalted butter
•2 tablespoons orange zest

1. Boil the sugar and water for several minutes, until the syrup caramelizes and turns a golden brown color.
2. Add the vinegar, juice, shallots, and chicken stock and simmer until the sauce is reduced to a little less than a cup.
3. Add butter and 1 tablespoon of orange zest. Stir in orange sections.
4. In a skillet, sear the duck breasts over high heat. Cook the duck for about 9-11 minutes on each side. Pour the prepared sauce over the duck breasts and garnish with the remaining orange zest.

The duck was good medium rare. However, I think I prefer the honey mustard kind that I make. Too bad kevin is not a big mustard fan. It was nice to have him cook for me though. He even did the dishes.