Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Happy New Year to all!


Happy new year!!!

From Daryl aka Avery:

I hope this finds you happy, alert, and raring to go to tackle a new year. What makes this year different than any other? You, your attitude, your enthusiasm. Okay, I guess that pretty much is how we should look at every day, right? I try. Believe me, I try. :)

Fun days ahead with all the football games. Yesterday, Stanford (my alma mater) won!  Go Cardinal.  (A color, not the bird - silly, yes, but what can you do? Choosing a color and a dopey tree for a mascot was the student body's way of protesting having their longtime mascot, a regal Indian, 86'd, thanks to a petition. Ergo, petitions work.)

Anyway, for the end of college football season and looking forward to the professional season windup, I decided to make some lobster bisque. I was inspired by my stepdaughter's beautiful son, Eliijah. He is just starting to learn to cook and has great enthusiasm. He is picky about food, but when he likes something, he really likes it and wants to learn to cook it. He had lobster bisque at Red Lobster. I looked up the recipe and it didn't look quite right. I think restaurants are sneaky and sometimes post things that are close but not the real thing. So, Eliijah and I tweaked it.

This is Eliijah learning that a piece of bread between your teeth while chopping onions keeps the fumes from getting into your eyes.

This soup took a few steps, but it was well worth it. Delicious. We served it with a green salad and breadsticks (gluten-free for me). What a fun night.

Enjoy.






LOBSTER BISQUE
(Gluten-free)



Ingredients:

2 Lobster tails
4 cups water
2 cups dry white wine
2 cups chicken broth (gluten-free)
½ cup butter
1 cup onions, finely diced
½ cup carrots, finely diced
½ cup celery, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, diced
½ cup tapioca starch or sweet rice flour
¼ cup brandy
1 ½ cups tomatoes, (diced) (I used canned, liquid strained)
1 teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups heavy cream



Directions:

Chop the vegetables and set aside.

Put water, wine, and chicken stock in deep pot and bring to boil. Place lobster tails in the broth. Reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered for 6 minutes. Remove lobster from broth and set to the side. When cool, remove the back shell and dice the lobster meet into tiny cubes.

Meanwhile, strain broth through a sieve into a bowl and set aside.

Return pot to the stove and add the butter. Melt. Add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Heat for 3 minutes on medium. Stir. Add the brandy. Stir. Add the gluten-free flour. Stir until all flour incorporated.


Add the tomatoes, paprika, thyme and salt. Stir well. Add the reserved broth. Stir and bring to a boil. Cook for 25-30 minutes on medium low heat.

Remove from the heat and puree the mixture in small batches. Return to the pot. Add the lobster and cream.  Heat about 3-5 minutes and serve. 

Note: I got lobster tails at the grocer. 2 did the trick. They were frozen and not too expensive.

* * * * * * *

The 4th in A Cheese Shop Mystery series: 
TO BRIE OR NOT TO BRIE
coming February 2013.

You can pre-order the book HERE. 

Click this link to watch the TRAILER

Click this link to read an EXCERPT.

Click this link to hear a PODCAST

You can learn more about me, Avery, by clicking this link.

Chat with me on Facebook and Twitter.

And if you haven't done so, sign up for the mailing list
 so you can learn about upcoming events, releases, and contests!

Also, you probably know by now about my alter ego,
DARYL WOOD GERBER...and her new series
A COOKBOOK NOOK MYSTERY series
debuts July 2013

"Like" Daryl's page on Facebook and "follow" Daryl on Twitter.
"She" doesn't say all the same things "Avery" does. Promise.

Say cheese!

***********







14 comments:

  1. Oh, yummy! Now all I need is a couple of lobster tails (yes, there is an ocean near where I live, and our supermarket does have a tank of live lobsters). I've been lobster-deprived for years: my husband grew up in landlocked Indiana, and still doesn't understand what all the fuss is about with lobsters. Poor man!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Funny isn't it, Sheila, re: the fuss about lobster. The tenderness and meatiness is something special.

      Enjoy.

      Avery/Daryl

      Delete
  2. Lobster bisque! Yummy! We celebrated new years day with a lobster dish.
    For outrageously delicious lobster stew, go to the Jordan Pond House in Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine. Served with fresh popovers (not for the GF crowd), it's lobster, cream, and sherry. Not much else. Your version sounds like a more "realistic" approach.
    I'll need to try it out.

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    Replies
    1. Libby, this was definitely realistic if a little one can help do all the fixings. We had fresh popovers (the gluten-free) kind on Christmas day. Loved them. I'll be sharing that recipe in a couple of weeks. They were so good and can be made all year round!

      Hugs and happy new year.

      Avery / Daryl

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  3. Sounds delicious Avery, and I love the photo of the sous-chef:). So much fun to have a colleague in the kitchen...

    You have also solved a question for me. I could never understand why Stanford called themselves "the Cardinal"--sounded so silly. But now I get it! We are huge UConn women's basketball fans--sorry to say our team whomped yours this week:). If you don't watch the Stanford women play, it's worth it--they are wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lucy, I agree. Fun having a "colleague" in the kitchen. My son and DIL are here for holidays and we're cooking often! My son loves to cook!

      Re: Stanford b-ball. Yes, the ladies are good. They're going to win some, lose some. UConn is always good! Congrats to your team.

      Avery / Daryl

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  4. Oh yum! I have a refrigerator full of leftovers, but I have to say this would really hit the spot right now.

    What a handsome sous chef! I bet everyone loved his bisque.

    ~ Krista

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    Replies
    1. Yep, everyone loved his bisque. He loved the praise.

      Avery / Daryl

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  5. Lobster bisque is a favorite of mine, too. Cheers to your handsome little helper. I'm lovin' the white wine and brandy in this recipe, and looking forward to whipping it up.

    The most incredible lobster bisque I ever had was at a little diner near the water in Folly Beach, SC. I enjoyed it with a good friend while sitting at the bar, and the place served it with a shot glass full of sherry, which we poured into our bowls right before eating--fantastic. Or, as Alton Brown would say...

    That's good eats!
    ~ Cleo

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    Replies
    1. Cleo, I agree, the extras with the lacing of liquor added a nice zip. Very tasty. Definitely "good eats."

      Daryl / Avery

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  6. Hey Avery/Daryl... Happy New Year to you as well and what a soup. I make a crab bisque that is close to yours, except the tapioca starch.Been too cheap to try lobster tails, but love the idea... Once a year I do the ship live lobsters overnight thing and believe it or not we end up with too much to eat in one sitting. This sounds better than a last minute left over lobster roll.

    And BTW, not meaning to one up you, but my college (U of Illinois) had Chief Illiniwek was retired a few years ago, but worst was my high school... Google " Pekin, Illinois mascot " sometime for the worst mascot name I have ever heard about... They did change the name a few years after I graduated, but occasionally my old cheers come back to haunt me.

    My best for the new year and will be making a preorder for the 4th in the series. It;s one of my favorites from you all!

    Dave who used to be Year on the Grill

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dave, thanks for chiming in. Worst mascot one-ups-manship. Huh! Who'd a thunk? LOL

      Daryl / Avery

      PS Thanks for reading my series and enjoying. Tell a friend :) It seems to me word of mouth is the best way for any of these things (books, recipes) to get around.

      Delete
  7. This looks wonderful, Avery. My husband will absolutely flip! And I have frozen lobster tails (on special this week!) in my freezer.
    The sous-chef is adorable. What fun!

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    Replies
    1. Okay, MJ, I have to admit I don't know many people who have frozen lobster tails simply on hand. :) Lucky and smart you.

      Happy new year!

      Avery / Daryl

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