Valentine’s Day is one of the worst holidays ever. It’s an awkward, commercial Hallmark event designed to sell cards, and restaurants quickly jumped on this money train offering high margin prix fixe meals and overbooking their seatings. I prefer to have a nice meal out just for the hell of it on a random night. Why on Earth would I decide to celebrate a special occasion out on the town when everyone else has the same idea? My meal at Rathbun’s steak last year to celebrate a larger than expected tax return was a heck of a lot more memorable/awesome than my abomination of a dining experience at Antica Posta on Valentine’s Day a few years ago. Especially when it comes to dining out, celebrating without a commercial reason can be a lot more fun. Less pressure. Less crowds. More spontaneity.
With that being said, we did decide to make a nice meal at home the other Saturday night. Katie said she was willing to try lobster (bad vegetarian!), and when a friend sent me the link to the Epicurious Lobster Mac & Cheese, I knew this was the perfect choice. I love mac n cheese, and actually I’ve had this dish before (thanks Mom) so I knew it was worthy. It’s also not too difficult. The ingredients are a bit costly, but the amount I spent is definitely less than a 3 course meal + booze in any Atlanta restaurant that night.
We got some creme brulee going before we started everything else. We used vanilla and brandy as the flavoring, it was stupidly easy. They immediately went into the oven then into the fridge once they were set.
The first course was a vegan Caesar salad, from the great website 101 Cookbooks. You use silken/soft tofu in the place of the egg, and almonds are added for texture. While it wasn’t my favorite Caesar dressing, it was quite acceptable. I didn’t have the capers or caper brine so that could have helped kick it up a bit and add some of the funk you lose by not using anchovies. I added some Worcestershire to try to help it out. If you’re vegan, or if you’re just not into mayo/egg then give this a shot.
Note – you may have to blend the tofu for quite a while in your food processor to get a creamy, smooth texture.
Here we have one of the two little guys ready to face death. All the other lobsters called this one “hammer claw”, in regards to his misshaped right claw. Obsessively depressed over his disfigurement and wilted by the jeering of his peers, he was ready to depart to a better place. He told me.
Speaking of lobster:
Gorgeously sweet carrots from YDFM.
This photo is getting ready for the preparation of the the lobster stock, an integral part of the flavor of this dish. This dish simply consists of the meat, the stock, cream, and a relatively small amount of fontina cheese. The complex flavor of the dish comes from the stock.
You cook the shells, add some oil, add the vegetables, add brandy, then add water, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or so. Then you strain/squeeze out the liquid and you are left with lobster stock that is worth its weight in gold. I may do a post just focusing on this part as I made more stock the next day using the other lobster shells.
As I said, once the stock is ready, it’s just a matter of assembling the pieces. We used gemelli pasta, which I think lends itself well to macaroni and cheese. The pasta is bite size and the texture picks up the sauce well.
The mac is thinner than most, with great silky texture, and a powerful yet not over the top seafood flavor. It really is sort of like a dense bisque with lots of meat. The whole process of this meal does take some time, but I wouldn’t call it difficult. Just plan ahead, get your mise en place going, and give yourself plenty of time so you don’t feel rushed. I also recommend a glass of wine while cooking. Cava or prosecco is a good choice for inexpensive bubbles.
Speaking of wine, the Taittinger Champagne Brut we had with the mac was pretty decent. Not as much complexity or depth of flavor as I was looking for, but for the price it’s not a bad buy for real Champagne. It had an above average amount of tiny bubbles, it was quite crisp, lots of acidity, but the finish of tart citrus/granny smith apple wasn’t largely appealing to me. Something with a little more cream would have been nice with the pasta. Still, not a bad buy, $34.99 at YDFM.
The creme brulee was fantastic but we screwed up the topping. We couldn’t find fuel for the torch so I found a method online where you melt the sugar and cook it until it appears slightly yellow, then you pour it on top of the dessert and let it harden. It failed miserably. That’s ok, I like the custard the best anyways.
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