Valentines Creamy Lobster Pasta
Grilled Caesar salad
Fresh Pasta from scratch
Lobster Pasta
Cheddar bay biscuits
White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
served with a Heart Shaped Mocha Cookie
Grilled Caesar Salad with Garlic Croutons
Yield: 2 servings
2 thick slices Italian bread or 4 thick slices French baguette cut in 1 inch cubes
¼ cup olive oil,
Vegetable oil for brushing grill pan
1 tablespoon Italian parsley, chopped
½ cup grape tomatoes split lengthwise
1 large egg yolk
1 small anchovy filet or ¼ teaspoon anchovy paste
Juice of ½ lemons
1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced and divided
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 head romaine lettuce, split lengthwise
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Preheat cast iron grill pan at medium-high heat.
To make garlic croutons: In a small bowl toss bread cubes, garlic, and parsley. Drizzle 2 tablespoons olive oil over mixture, gently tossing as it is added. Season with salt and pepper and mix being careful not to mash the bread. Spread out croutons on small parchment lined rimmed baking sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes or until croutons are just crispy outside but still soft inside. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
To grill romaine: Brush preheated grill pan with vegetable oil Place split romaine head cut side down in pan at 45’ angle. Sear for 1-2 minutes, then rotate romaine 90’. Grill for 1-2 more minutes or until desired grill lines are achieved. Immediately transfer lettuce to cooler uncovered to chill before it can wilt.
To make Caesar dressing: Add egg yolk, ½ teaspoon garlic, Dijon, and anchovy to a medium mixing bowl. Whisk vigorously to combine and extract flavor from garlic. Squeeze half of lemon into mixture and whisk to incorporate
Fresh Pasta Dough
yield: 2 servings
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt
Making fresh pasta dough is fun and very easy. Traditionally, the dough is mixed directly on a board or counter but it is acceptable to begin the dough in a bowl to limit the cleanup. Laminate counter tops are fine for kneading dough but natural or engineered stone is best as it is non-porous and maintains constant temperature, especially important when working with yeast doughs.
In a bowl or on a countertop, combine the salt and flour. Using your fingers, create a well in the center of the mound, being sure that the well’s walls are equally thick and high. In a separate container, combine eggs and olive oil. Scramble eggs with a fork to incorporate oil.
Add 1/3 of egg/oil mixture to center of well. Using a swirling motion, pull flour from inner walls of well into eggs and mix until it forms a thick paste. If working on a countertop, be careful not to break through the walls of the well as egg will run out over the work surface. When center is no longer runny, add half of remaining egg mixture and stir to paste. Add remaining liquid and repeat. Continue to mix until fork is no longer effective and then turn dough out onto work surface.
Knead dough by flattening, folding it in half and pressing hard with the palm of your hand. Rotate 90’ and repeat over and over until dough is a consistent color (no patches of flour or egg mixture) and begins to feel springy. Pasta dough should be visibly bumpy but soft and smooth to the touch. To test, press a finger into dough. The depression made by your finger should spring back almost entirely. Flatten dough into a disk 1 ½ inches thick, wrap with saran and place in cooler to rest for 20-30 minutes or until finger divot does not bounce back. This means that the gluten that was excited in the kneading process has relaxed and the dough is ready to be rolled and cut.
Creamy lobster pasta with homemade pasta
yield: 2 servings
1 pasta recipe, prepared and rolled out
½ cup lobster
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup parmesan
1 teaspoon fresh dill
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ cup white wine
½ lemon, zested and juiced
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper to taste
In a large skillet over medium heat add oil and garlic. Cook garlic for 30 seconds then pour in white wine, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Cook slightly and pour in heavy cream. Stir in parmesan, dill, red pepper flakes, and allow coming up to a boil and turning heat off. Stir in butter, and lobster. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Boil fresh pasta and add directly into sauce once cooked.
Cheddar Bay Biscuits
Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Garlic Butter Topping:
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon fresh parsley finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, garlic powder, and salt. Whisk together the melted butter and buttermilk. Combine with the dry ingredients until incorporated. It will make a thick dough. Fold in the cheddar cheese.
- Measure out each biscuit in a ¼ cup measuring cup. The measuring cup worked great for packing the dough into the cup and spooning the dough out onto the baking sheet. It made perfect round biscuits.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes in preheated oven until golden brown. Combine garlic butter topping ingredients and brush onto each biscuit. Makes 11 biscuits.
The BEST Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
Chocolate cookie Crust¹
1 ½ cups ground oreo’s(170g)
2-3 oz butter, melted
Cheesecake
32 oz cream cheese² softened to room temperature (910g)
1 cup sugar (200g)
⅔ cups sour cream (160g)
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup white chocolate chips melted
2 cup frozen raspberries tossed lightly in flour
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325F (160C).
Prepare crust first by combining oreo crumbs and melted butter and use a fork to combine ingredients well.
Pour crumbs into a 9” Springform pan and press firmly into the bottom and up the sides of your pan. Set aside.
Cheesecake
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl (using a hand mixer) add cream cheese and stir until smooth and creamy (don’t over-beat or you’ll incorporate too much air).
Add sugar and stir again until creamy.
Add sour cream, vanilla extract, and salt, and stir until well-combined. If using a stand mixer, make sure you pause periodically to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula so that all ingredients are evenly incorporated.
With mixer on low speed, gradually add lightly beaten eggs, one at a time, stirring just until each egg is just incorporated. Once all eggs have been added, use a spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl again and make sure all ingredients are well combined. Mix in melted white chocolate and then fold in by hand the raspberries.
Pour cheesecake batter into prepared springform pan. To insure against leaks, place pan on a cookie sheet that’s been lined with foil.
Transfer to the center rack of your oven and bake on 325F (160C) for 50-60 minutes (or longer as needed, see note 3). Edges will likely have slightly puffed and may have just begun to turn a light golden brown and the center should spring back to the touch but will still be Jello-jiggly. Don’t over-bake or the texture will suffer, which means we all suffer.
Remove from oven and allow to cool on top of the oven⁴ for 10 minutes. Once 10 minutes has passed, use a knife to gently loosen the crust from the inside of the springform pan (this will help prevent cracks as your cheesecake cools and shrinks). Do not remove the ring of the springform pan.
Allow cheesecake to cool another 1-2 hours or until near room temperature before transferring to refrigerator and allowing to cool overnight or at least 6 hours. I remove the ring of the springform pan just before serving then return it to the pan to store. Enjoy!
Chocolate Shortbread Heart Cookies
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature + 3 Tbls
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips melted
Sprinkles for decorating
Instructions
Sift the flour, cocoa, and salt together. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla extract. Slowly add in the flour mixture and mix until combined. Between two sheets of waxed paper, roll the dough 1/4-inch thick as evenly as possible.
Chill for 30 minutes.
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper. Cut out the cookies with a heart shaped or other cookie cutter. Arrange the cookies, on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake the cookies for 15 minutes, or until crisp and firm. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for two minutes and then transfer to a wire
cooling rack to cool completely.
When the cookies are cool dip the hearts into the melted chocolate. I only dipped about 1/4 of the heart. Sprinkle the chocolate section with sprinkles, if desired. Place the heart cookies on wax paper until the chocolate is completely set up.
