Wicked Domestic

What’s better than lobster soaked in melted butter?  Lobster melted with cheese.  And that’s exactly what I made for dinner last night.  When it’s summertime, all I want is lobster rolls, boiled lobsters, lobster egg benedicts, lobster pot pie, grilled lobster…am I sounding like Bubba from Forest Gump yet?  Anyways, I wanted to take some deliciously sweet lobster meat, mix it with some charred corn on the cob and throw it into a melty tortilla.  Add a little spiciness from the finely chopped jalapeno and we were onto one fine lookin’ meal!  Here’s what I did:

serves 2 hungry people or 4 smaller portions

1 1/2 pound cooked lobster (you can find them pre-cooked at the supermarket or just buy 1/4 lb meat)

2 ears of corn on the cob

1 roma tomato, diced

1/4 of a jalapeno or the like, finely diced

1  cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

4 large tortillas

1/4 cup of sour cream mixed with 1 tablespoon Old Bay (optional)

Ahhhhh the lobster is attacking the Old Bay!

Okay, sorry moving on…

So I cracked the lobster to retrieve the meat, and chopped the meat into bite size pieces.  Then I wanted to char up the ears of corn, but I was feeling to lazy to hike up four stories to the grill, so I took the grate off the burner, cranked up the heat and stuck the corn on top of the flame.  Don’t worry Mum, I was very careful.

Then I ran my knife down the ears of corn to take off the kernels.  I went on to shred the cheese and chop up the tomatoes and jalapenos.  Once I had my ingredients ready, I melted a little butter in a sautee pan and began assembling.  My one tip for quesadilla construction is sprinkle the cheese on the bottom tortilla first, add the rest of the ingredients, then add more cheese.  That way, the cheese acts like a glue, holding the quesadilla together.

I tend to cook my quesadillas very slowly, on low heat, to make sure everything gets nice a hot on the inside, without burning the outside.  Once you have a successful flip and the second side gets nice a toasty, you are ready to chow down.

Dollop the Old Bay/sour cream mixture on the quesadilla and you are good to go. 

My beverage(s) of choice with the meal was the new Shipyard Summer Ale and homemade iced tea, sweetened with brown sugar.   Yes, I double fisted with dinner.

The quesadilla was so delicious…sweet lobster meat, sweet/smokey corn, a little spice and a little bit of sharp cheddar cheese.  I would definitely recommend this for entertaining…sure to be a crowd pleaser. 

- Jackie

This has been an insanely hot summmer.  I normally like the heat, but it’s been prohibitively hot and sticky for weeks on end.  This is a great recipe for a cold dessert that’s really tasty, really chocolately, and not too unhealthy.  It’s been a hit the times I’ve served it or brought it to an event, and it’s super easy to prepare.  

Ingredients:

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 container Cool Whip

1 tsp vanilla or rum extract (I use vanilla)

1 tsp cinnamon

I use the giant measuring cup pictured to cut down on the number of dishes I need to do. 

First, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave – stirring every 20 seconds until fully melted.  Just be careful not to overcook! 

Then gently fold in the Cool Whip, making sure to keep the mixture smooth.

Add the vanilla or rum extract and cinnamon, and stir until fully blended.  Pour into serving dish and refrigerate for at least half an hour.  I usually serve with strawberries and/or pretzels, but you could also do cinnamon pita chips or other fruit slices. 

It’s so smooth and light, yet creamy, and very chocolately.  The cinnamon and extract really add a depth of flavor that will keep you coming back for more!  Enjoy and stay cool!

- Elizabeth

This is not the first time I’ve blogged about barbeque.  And it probably won’t be the last.  I’ve grown to like barbeque sauce so much that for my birthday last week my parents gave me this giant vat of Sweet Baby Ray’s, shown here with a watermelon purely for scale (watermelon was not part of the salad). 

Needless to say, you should probably brace yourselves for many more barbeque recipes.  

Last week I made myself a big dinner salad, inspired by a salad at the Cheesecake Factory.  Their salads are all amazing, albeit not very good for you.  I don’t often eat there, but when I do I’m so overwhelmed by their ridiculously huge menu that I tend to default to the barbeque chicken salad because I know it’s good (and it makes my decision way easier).   Here’s what I did:

First I roasted some chicken tenders in Sweet Baby Ray’s (of course) sauce.   Once they were done, I let them cool on the counter, then refrigerated them for later.  I assembled most of the salad early in the day, which made dinnertime much easier, and it was nice to get the hot oven part of the day done early.

Then I drained and rinsed a can of black beans and a can of corn.

I rinsed a package of organic mixed greens, then tossed in the corn, beans, and some grape tomatoes that I had halved.

When it was time for dinner, I added avocado (one of my top ten favorite foods… I think… perhaps I should make a list… and laminate it), a few of the bbq chicken tenders, and a light ranch dressing.  I don’t often use storebought dressing, but I didn’t feel like making my own; I also don’t often eat creamy dressings, but for this salad, ranch is really good.  Next time, if I’m not feeling lazy, perhaps I’ll make my own chipotle ranch to add a little heat.

The salad was perfect for a super hot day (super hot summer!), and with the greens, beans, tomatoes, avocado, and lean chicken, it was a pretty healthy dinner.  Several dinners, actually, as is my M.O. 

Do you have a favorite summertime salad???

- Elizabeth

“What the blog is a garlic scape?”  is something you would have heard me ask not two months ago.  Then all the sudden all I hear about is garlic scapes.  Okay, maybe not all I hear about, but it seems to have burst into my food blogging life pretty rapidly.  So what is a garlic scape you say?  The scape or stalk serves as the stem from which the seed head of the garlic bulb is formed and in the spring, the scape is then removed in order to focus all the garlic’s energy into bulb growth (thank you Wiki and Wisegeek for the definition).  The garlic scape has a lovely mild garlic taste to it, much like chives.   I had read so many blogs and articles about garlic scape pesto, I decided to give it a whirl.  One of the things I love most about making pestos is that you don’t have to make the everyday basil/pine nut variety.  You can use whatever herb you want and whatever nut you want…and presto, you have great pesto.  Lame play on words? Yea, I thought so too.  Anyways, here’s what I did…

2 bundles of garlic scapes

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup toasted, chopped walnuts

1 or so cups of olive oil

First, I chopped up the scapes and whirled it around the (mini) food processor.  And did the same with the parmesan cheese.

Then, chop up the walnuts even finer and add it all back into the food processor.  Drizzle in the oil olive slowly, and of course add more or less oil as needed.  When it’s all combined, sprinkle in some pepper and salt if desired and voila!  You’ve got yourself some garlic scape pesto!

The walnuts in the recipe make a huge difference in balancing out the garlic flavor, but really any nut will do.  This recipe makes a lot of the pesto, but you’ll want a ton since it’s so yummy!  That night for dinner, I put the pesto on top of some haddock fillets, wrapped them in tin foil and grilled it.  Soooo delicious.  But you can also use the pesto as a spread in a sandwich, or lather it on some bread (see below), use it on top of bruscetta or as my friend Jen loves it: topped on a piping hot grilled wheel of brie cheese served with crostini.  So many things you can use pesto for, and it’s super easy to make! 

- Jackie