Comfort Food

The husband is a really good cook and he loves to cook, which makes all of us very happy. He watches all the cooking shows (well his favorite is a bbq show, men love comparing how big their bbq's are) and we benefit from it.

But he also is really great with the slow cooker. Some of our favorites are:

• bbq ribs
• pork steaks with dried fruit
• and chicken braised in sweet peppers

But our new favorite is pork roast in onion gravy.

I look forward to the weekend just to see what he's going to cook up next.

Shauna's Birthday Brunch at Lemeac

It was amazing!

A year in pictures

Joe Beef's Lobster Pasta

As promised here is the lobster pasta recipe that I made for New Year's Eve dinner.

WARNING

The only clothes I fit into today are my pajamas. I see some serious gym days in the near future.

Ingredients:

• 3 lobsters, cooked, meat and shells reserved
• 3 cups (750 ml) whipping cream (yes this is the correct amount)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (I used garlic de Provence)
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 sprigs of fresh thyme (it is essential to use fresh herbs)
• 2 tbsp (25 ml) of cognac or brandy (I used Napoleon Brandy)
• 1 sprig fresh tarragon
• 1/2 (2 ml)tsp Tabasco sauce
• 4 oz (125 g) thick bacon, cut into 1" (2.5 cm) strips
• 1 pkg spaghetti
• 1 tsp (5 ml) salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp (2ml) freshly ground pepper
• 2 tbsp (25 ml) chopped fresh tarragon

1. Cut the lobster in large chunks. Reserve (note I cut it into smaller chunks because I don't like the pieces to be too chewy and it works better for children)



2. Place cream in large saucepan and add garlic, bay leaf, thyme, brandy, tarragon, and Tabasco. Bring to a boil. Add lobster shells and cook VERY gently (as cream will burn on too high a heat) about 1 hour. Strain cream into a deep wide skillet or wok.


Note: It really is essential to use fresh herbs. Also, after I strained everything into a large skillet, I scraped the bits of lobster meat that came from the shells and the small piecs of herbs (being careful to eliminate the sticks) from the strainer and put it back into the skillet.


3. Cook the bacon until crisp and drain on paper towels.
4. Just before serving, cook spaghetti in a large pot of salted water until just about tender. Add lobster meat to cream and gently reheat. Drain pasta and reserve 1 cup (250 ml) of pasta cooking liquid. Add spaghetti to cream sauce. Add bacon. Cook gently until sauce coats noodles well. Season to taste (you must use fresh cracked peppercorns)to taste. If mixture is too thick add some reserved cooking liquid.
5. Serve in a mound with fresh herbs and additional pepper sprinkled on top.

Makes 4 to 6 servings (in my opinion, it only serves 6 if you really are skinny and don't eat).

Calories: Be afraid, be very afraid.

Enjoy!!

BTW if there is any brandy leftover, have a glass.