Lobster and Steak Dinner with Mushrooms in a Chardonnay Sauce, and a side of Garlic Asparagus (Tuna Steak for my Roommate)
Lobster and Steak Dinner with Mushrooms in a Chardonnay Sauce and Garlic Asparagus
(Tuna Steak For My Roommate)
I have been craving a nice lobster and steak dinner, so I decided last night would be the night that I made myself one. But I knew my roommate isn't a big lobster or steak fan, so I asked them what they would prefer, figuring that they would ask for crab legs, but they opted for either Tuna or Swordfish, which ever was looking more fresh that day. So I stopped into my local supermarket and picked up a NY Strip steak, and stopped into my work on my day off to pick up a Soft Shell "Quarter" Lobster, and the yellowfin tuna was looking exceptionally great, so picked up my roommate a nice sized tuna steak.
I get that some of you are from away and might not know lobster terminology so I will break it down for you. When buying a lobster, you have options, one for the size, the sizes are Chix (1-1.24lb), Quarter (1.25-1.45lb), Half (1.5-1.74), and Select (1.75lb+). Some places will have variations of this size scale, but this is pretty much standard in Maine. The other option is Hard Shell or Soft Shell. As a lobster ages the shell gets harder, until it gets to the point that it starts to outgrow its shell and sheds the old hard shell, and becomes a Soft Shell. So what is the difference? Well hard shell lobsters have more meat, because the lobster is starting to outgrow it's current shell, and preparing to shed the shell, so that sounds good right, more meat! Well, not so fast, the issue is that the meat is tougher, shedding a shell is a pretty stressful process, and honestly I feel like that comes across in the flavour of the lobster, also though yes, the shell is more full of meat, but also you are getting more shell weight as well, because of the thickness of the shell. A soft shell on the other hand, has a more tender, and sweeter taste, and is much more pleasant to eat, and is just absolutely delicious, and in my opinion should not be ruined by dipping in butter, but enjoyed as it is, this is as good as lobster gets, tender, sweet, and full of flavour. Chix, Quarters, and Halves all have the option of hard or soft shell, however the Selects almost always come as Hard Shells. The reason is that the selects are older lobsters, and they don't shed their shells as often as the younger ones do, and they will get to the point that they will just not have enough energy to shed their shell, and will get crushed to death in their own shell. So the best buy for eating, one lobster per person, is either Quarter or Half soft shells. Complications arise though, soft shell lobsters must be eaten the day that they are purchased, because they only survive about 24 hours max out of water before they die, and a lobster should not be eaten if it has died, because bacteria starts breaking down the meat within seconds. Hard shell lobsters on the other hand can survive up to 36 hours out of the water, so if you are traveling, and want to take lobsters home with you, then you are forced to get hard shell lobsters, rather than the better tasting soft shells. Another benefit of soft shells is that often the shells are so soft that you don't even need crackers to break the shell, and can simply do it with your hands, hard shells on the other hand require tools. I have had a select before that had such a thick shell that we needed a hammer to break the claws open, and honestly though it looked big and impressive, it was a pain the ass to eat, and not a very fun experience. Tough different lobsters have their uses, chix are great for kids, people with small appetites, meals with a lot of sides, or a twin lobster dinner, Quarters and halves are perfect for most adults with just a few sides to enjoy one lobster per person, the Selects are good for entertaining where it might act as a centerpiece, but I find them the best to use for doing a fancy dish like Lobster Thermador, which to serve the lobster shell is split in half the long way, and then each side is filled with the filling and the meal is eaten out of the shell, for a dish like that a Select is ideal. If you are doing lobster rolls, you might opt for culls (lobsters missing a claw), or lobsters that are otherwise not visually appealing, though soft shells are still better. I like using hard shell lobsters for things like making a chowder, pasta, or something else where the lobster isn't enjoyed individually but as an ingredient. So there, now you know a bit more about purchasing and using lobsters!
I get that some of you are from away and might not know lobster terminology so I will break it down for you. When buying a lobster, you have options, one for the size, the sizes are Chix (1-1.24lb), Quarter (1.25-1.45lb), Half (1.5-1.74), and Select (1.75lb+). Some places will have variations of this size scale, but this is pretty much standard in Maine. The other option is Hard Shell or Soft Shell. As a lobster ages the shell gets harder, until it gets to the point that it starts to outgrow its shell and sheds the old hard shell, and becomes a Soft Shell. So what is the difference? Well hard shell lobsters have more meat, because the lobster is starting to outgrow it's current shell, and preparing to shed the shell, so that sounds good right, more meat! Well, not so fast, the issue is that the meat is tougher, shedding a shell is a pretty stressful process, and honestly I feel like that comes across in the flavour of the lobster, also though yes, the shell is more full of meat, but also you are getting more shell weight as well, because of the thickness of the shell. A soft shell on the other hand, has a more tender, and sweeter taste, and is much more pleasant to eat, and is just absolutely delicious, and in my opinion should not be ruined by dipping in butter, but enjoyed as it is, this is as good as lobster gets, tender, sweet, and full of flavour. Chix, Quarters, and Halves all have the option of hard or soft shell, however the Selects almost always come as Hard Shells. The reason is that the selects are older lobsters, and they don't shed their shells as often as the younger ones do, and they will get to the point that they will just not have enough energy to shed their shell, and will get crushed to death in their own shell. So the best buy for eating, one lobster per person, is either Quarter or Half soft shells. Complications arise though, soft shell lobsters must be eaten the day that they are purchased, because they only survive about 24 hours max out of water before they die, and a lobster should not be eaten if it has died, because bacteria starts breaking down the meat within seconds. Hard shell lobsters on the other hand can survive up to 36 hours out of the water, so if you are traveling, and want to take lobsters home with you, then you are forced to get hard shell lobsters, rather than the better tasting soft shells. Another benefit of soft shells is that often the shells are so soft that you don't even need crackers to break the shell, and can simply do it with your hands, hard shells on the other hand require tools. I have had a select before that had such a thick shell that we needed a hammer to break the claws open, and honestly though it looked big and impressive, it was a pain the ass to eat, and not a very fun experience. Tough different lobsters have their uses, chix are great for kids, people with small appetites, meals with a lot of sides, or a twin lobster dinner, Quarters and halves are perfect for most adults with just a few sides to enjoy one lobster per person, the Selects are good for entertaining where it might act as a centerpiece, but I find them the best to use for doing a fancy dish like Lobster Thermador, which to serve the lobster shell is split in half the long way, and then each side is filled with the filling and the meal is eaten out of the shell, for a dish like that a Select is ideal. If you are doing lobster rolls, you might opt for culls (lobsters missing a claw), or lobsters that are otherwise not visually appealing, though soft shells are still better. I like using hard shell lobsters for things like making a chowder, pasta, or something else where the lobster isn't enjoyed individually but as an ingredient. So there, now you know a bit more about purchasing and using lobsters!
Ingredients:
Lobster:
1 Soft Shell Quarter Lobster
Water to Steam the Lobster
Sea Salt
Steak and Tuna Steak:
1 NY Strip Steak (sized to your preference)
1 Yellowfin Tuna Steak
Steak Seasoning (you can use a premixed seasoning, or mix your own. I used a seasoning that my roommate made for smoking, which has course salt, and cracked black peppercorns, and not sure what else)
Oil to coat the bottom of your grill pan
Garlic Asparagus:
1 Bunch of Asparagus (I prefer thin stalks, but you do what you prefer)
Olive Oil
5 cloves of garlic
1 Shallot
Sea Salt (to taste)
Juice of half a lemon
Mushrooms in Chardonnay Sauce
Drippings from the steak (cook it in the same pan after the steak is done)
olive oil
Mushrooms (a bowl full of sliced mushrooms is what I used)
Parsley (a handful chopped)
Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper to taste
1/2 cup of chardonnay
1 Table Spoon of Worcestershire sauce
Recipe:
Get all of your ingredients together, and as far as timing for this many things at once goes, practice is really all I can say, timing is the hardest part in my opinion. So I will give you recipes for each part, you will want to perfect the timing of when to start what on your own.
Lobster:
1.Fill a pot with water, enough to cover about a half or less of the lobster in water.
2. Add enough salt that the water tastes like the ocean, so make it quite salty.
3.Bring to a boil
4. Add the lobster (if your pot is too narrow for it to sit in the bottom, then put it in head first.
5. Cover and steam
6. When it is done remove from water and set aside to cool a little.
You will know it is done by the bright red colour, also the tale should start to separate easily from the body. (I will do a full post in the future on how to properly eat a lobster, since I see so many people leaving so much of the lobster behind when they eat a lobster, for some reason people seem to think that the tail is the only good meat on the lobster, I will tell you right now they are wrong. The tail is the most boring and bland tasting part of the lobster, it is by far the worst meat on the whole lobster, and the part I look the least forward to eating, the claws and legs is here the true great meat is).
Garlic Asparagus:
1. trim off the tough bottoms of the asparagus
2. heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a 12" skillet on med heat
3. add minced garlic and minced shallot and cook until aromatic
4. add in the juice of 1/2 of a lemon
5. add in the asparagus, and toss until covered in all sides with the olive oil, then sprinkle sea salt to taste, and give it a good stir again.
6. cook until the asparagus is tender (don't let your garlic burn, so turn that heat to 4 or 5 (or med low) and cover. Stir frequently.
7. When the asparagus is tender, remove from heat and serve with tongs
Steaks (Beef and Tuna)
Honestly the cooking for both of these is the same concept. I cooked both rare, because that is where the best flavour is for both, but you do it the way you like, except well-done as that will ruin both the beef and the tuna.
1. liberally season both sides of the steaks
2. Heat a grill pan over a med heat (this is a pan with ridges in it, that give cook lines like a grill) with olive oil drizzled over it
3. Add your steaks
4. cook the steaks to your liking, flipping half-way through. For tuna steaks I like to watch the side of the steak, and when it is almost cooked halfway up the side, I flip it.
5. When the steaks are done remove and let them stand for a few minutes before serving
Mushrooms in Chardonnay Sauce:
1. After the steaks are removed from pan, add some more olive oil, enough to cover the bottom of the pan in a thin layer, keep it on the med heat that you cooked the steaks on.
2. add the minced garlic, and thinly sliced shallot, and cook until aromatic
3. add about 1/2 cup of chardonnay, to deglaze the pan, and let the alcohol cook off for a bit
4. add the mushrooms, sea salt, and black pepper, and stir frequently until the mushrooms are beginning to soften.
5. add a handful of chopped parsley, and a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce
6. Cook over med heat until the sauce reduces (you can whisk in some corn starch if it is too water to reduce, this will serve as a thickening agent)
7. Use to top your steak and rice
Jasmine Rice
Do I need to even say this? Follow the directions on either your rice cooker, or on the bag of rice. Either way, this should be the first thing you do when doing this meal, like honestly start it before you even start getting the rest of your ingredients together.
This was a great meal, and definitely one suitable for a celebratory occasion, whether it be fore some big significant event, or maybe you just want to celebrate making it through the day. It looks a lot harder than it really is. I love making meals like this, I love the looks on people's faces when I serve them a meal like this. I think one of the things that I love most about cooking is making people happy when they get to enjoy something that I lovingly made for them. To me this is a pretty simple dinner, nothing about it is really that hard, and since I live in Maine this is a pretty affordable meal as well, though I do work at a seafood market, and that does allow me a discount on seafood, but even without that seafood in Maine is as affordable and accessible as beef or pork is in the middle parts of the nation. Also everyone should eat more seafood, it is one of the best meats as far as health qualities go, and lobster is low in negative things like mercury that people are so concerned about, also yellowfin tuna is a pretty safe species of tuna to eat as well, and is high in the omega fats that we all need more of (though remember to always cook fish with the skin on, even if you don't eat the skin, still cook it with the skin, the skin is what contains those great omega fats that the doctors say we need more of, so cook it with the skin, even if you remove the skin when you eat it). I hope you enjoy this, and I hope that you go out and make your own version of this, and please show me photos if you do.
Lobster:
1 Soft Shell Quarter Lobster
Water to Steam the Lobster
Sea Salt
Steak and Tuna Steak:
1 NY Strip Steak (sized to your preference)
1 Yellowfin Tuna Steak
Steak Seasoning (you can use a premixed seasoning, or mix your own. I used a seasoning that my roommate made for smoking, which has course salt, and cracked black peppercorns, and not sure what else)
Oil to coat the bottom of your grill pan
Garlic Asparagus:
1 Bunch of Asparagus (I prefer thin stalks, but you do what you prefer)
Olive Oil
5 cloves of garlic
1 Shallot
Sea Salt (to taste)
Juice of half a lemon
Mushrooms in Chardonnay Sauce
Drippings from the steak (cook it in the same pan after the steak is done)
olive oil
Mushrooms (a bowl full of sliced mushrooms is what I used)
Parsley (a handful chopped)
Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper to taste
1/2 cup of chardonnay
1 Table Spoon of Worcestershire sauce
Recipe:
Get all of your ingredients together, and as far as timing for this many things at once goes, practice is really all I can say, timing is the hardest part in my opinion. So I will give you recipes for each part, you will want to perfect the timing of when to start what on your own.
Lobster:
1.Fill a pot with water, enough to cover about a half or less of the lobster in water.
2. Add enough salt that the water tastes like the ocean, so make it quite salty.
3.Bring to a boil
4. Add the lobster (if your pot is too narrow for it to sit in the bottom, then put it in head first.
5. Cover and steam
6. When it is done remove from water and set aside to cool a little.
You will know it is done by the bright red colour, also the tale should start to separate easily from the body. (I will do a full post in the future on how to properly eat a lobster, since I see so many people leaving so much of the lobster behind when they eat a lobster, for some reason people seem to think that the tail is the only good meat on the lobster, I will tell you right now they are wrong. The tail is the most boring and bland tasting part of the lobster, it is by far the worst meat on the whole lobster, and the part I look the least forward to eating, the claws and legs is here the true great meat is).
Garlic Asparagus:
1. trim off the tough bottoms of the asparagus
2. heat enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a 12" skillet on med heat
3. add minced garlic and minced shallot and cook until aromatic
4. add in the juice of 1/2 of a lemon
5. add in the asparagus, and toss until covered in all sides with the olive oil, then sprinkle sea salt to taste, and give it a good stir again.
6. cook until the asparagus is tender (don't let your garlic burn, so turn that heat to 4 or 5 (or med low) and cover. Stir frequently.
7. When the asparagus is tender, remove from heat and serve with tongs
Steaks (Beef and Tuna)
Honestly the cooking for both of these is the same concept. I cooked both rare, because that is where the best flavour is for both, but you do it the way you like, except well-done as that will ruin both the beef and the tuna.
1. liberally season both sides of the steaks
2. Heat a grill pan over a med heat (this is a pan with ridges in it, that give cook lines like a grill) with olive oil drizzled over it
3. Add your steaks
4. cook the steaks to your liking, flipping half-way through. For tuna steaks I like to watch the side of the steak, and when it is almost cooked halfway up the side, I flip it.
5. When the steaks are done remove and let them stand for a few minutes before serving
Mushrooms in Chardonnay Sauce:
1. After the steaks are removed from pan, add some more olive oil, enough to cover the bottom of the pan in a thin layer, keep it on the med heat that you cooked the steaks on.
2. add the minced garlic, and thinly sliced shallot, and cook until aromatic
3. add about 1/2 cup of chardonnay, to deglaze the pan, and let the alcohol cook off for a bit
4. add the mushrooms, sea salt, and black pepper, and stir frequently until the mushrooms are beginning to soften.
5. add a handful of chopped parsley, and a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce
6. Cook over med heat until the sauce reduces (you can whisk in some corn starch if it is too water to reduce, this will serve as a thickening agent)
7. Use to top your steak and rice
Jasmine Rice
Do I need to even say this? Follow the directions on either your rice cooker, or on the bag of rice. Either way, this should be the first thing you do when doing this meal, like honestly start it before you even start getting the rest of your ingredients together.
This was a great meal, and definitely one suitable for a celebratory occasion, whether it be fore some big significant event, or maybe you just want to celebrate making it through the day. It looks a lot harder than it really is. I love making meals like this, I love the looks on people's faces when I serve them a meal like this. I think one of the things that I love most about cooking is making people happy when they get to enjoy something that I lovingly made for them. To me this is a pretty simple dinner, nothing about it is really that hard, and since I live in Maine this is a pretty affordable meal as well, though I do work at a seafood market, and that does allow me a discount on seafood, but even without that seafood in Maine is as affordable and accessible as beef or pork is in the middle parts of the nation. Also everyone should eat more seafood, it is one of the best meats as far as health qualities go, and lobster is low in negative things like mercury that people are so concerned about, also yellowfin tuna is a pretty safe species of tuna to eat as well, and is high in the omega fats that we all need more of (though remember to always cook fish with the skin on, even if you don't eat the skin, still cook it with the skin, the skin is what contains those great omega fats that the doctors say we need more of, so cook it with the skin, even if you remove the skin when you eat it). I hope you enjoy this, and I hope that you go out and make your own version of this, and please show me photos if you do.
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