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!

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