Lobster mac and cheese

For us the holiday season is all about special meals. Christmas Eve dinner was my project: lobster mac and cheese with a side of roasted baby bok choy.

Several years ago Denver restaurateur/chef Frank Bonanno won “Top Chef” on the Food Network. He sealed the deal on the final episode by trotting out his signature lobster mac and cheese. I subsequently found two recipes via Google, both attributed to him. To my dismay, they were quite different from one another. I made this 2 times before and was never quite satisfied. So this time around I just thought and thought about it and came up with a version that was exactly what Peter and I slavered over in our minds. It’s a little unorthodix (no béchamel), but unique unto itself.

I left the claw meat intact so that I could mount it on top of the finished dish (just for fun). We found some orecchiette pasta (“little ears”) at Sunflower Market. There were no instructions about how long to cook it. I tested it earlier in the day – 15 minutes to the perfect al dente (a long time, don’t you think?).

Mascarpone brought creamy texture to this party but not much flavor. That's where the smoked mozzarella came in, adding just the right touch of cheesiness without overwhelming the lobster flavor.
Here it is:

Lobster mac and cheese
1 lobster (about 1 ½ lbs.), steamed, cooled, and meat removed
½ cup white wine
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1 large shallot, minced
pepper to taste
2 tbsp butter
1/3 cup heavy cream
½ cup mascarpone cheese
1 more tbsp butter
1/3 cup smoked mozzarella, grated
6 oz. pasta, cooked in salty water

Place the wine, vinegar, shallot, pepper, 2 tbsp butter, and cream in a large sauté pan. Bring to a simmer and let it reduce by 1/3 to ½ . Stir in the mascarpone, mozzarella and additional butter. Add the lobster meat (except the claw meat).

Try to time the cooking of the pasta so that it’s ready to spider into the sauce right at this moment. Drop the lobster claw pieces into the pasta water to warm them. Stir everything together to coat with the sauce. Serve in heated bowls and top with a piece of claw meat.

Sautéed lobster with mushrooms and ginger, braised Chinese broccoli

If there ever was a recipe that is a keeper, this is one of them. We nearly wet ourselves over it.

A Wednesday New York Times food section a couple of weeks ago apprised us of the price drop for lobster and offered up some recipes, one of which we tried today. It’s an Asian-inspired stir fry and is magnificent. Since it’s not a recipe you’ll easily have access to (unless you get the Times every day), I’ll include it here along with my version of braised Chinese broccoli, our side dish with the lobster.

Sorry, no picture today.

Sautéed lobster with mushrooms and ginger
1 ½ tbsp vegetable oil
1 inch ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, pressed or minced
3 oz. enoki mushrooms
4 medium dried shiitake mushrooms
2 scallions, white and light green parts
1 1-1/2 lb lobster, steamed 10 minutes, meat removed
¼ cup chicken stock
1 1-1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp rice wint vinegar
½ tsp sesame oil
1/8 cup chopped cilantro
juice of ½ lime
cooked rice for serving (preferably basmati)

Reconstitute the dried mushrooms by soaking in hot tap water for 20-30 minutes. Remove the stems and discard and slice the mushrooms at about 1/4”.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in both mushrooms and the scallions and cook, tossing occasionally, until soft and golden, about 4 minutes.

Stir in lobster, stock, soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil. Cook until most of liquid has evaporated, 2-3 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings. Stir in cilantro, sprinkle with lime juice and serve with the rice in hot bowls.


Braised Chinese broccoli
6 good-sized stalks of Chinese broccoli (gai lan)
1 lge garlic clove, pressed or finely minced
splash each of soy sauce, fish sauce, Chinese cooking wine
¼ cup chicken stock
1 tbsp vegetable oil
lemon pepper or regular black pepper

Wash the broccoli and drain on paper towels. With a sharp knife trim about an inch off the bottoms and then slice through the thick parts of the stems without separating them from the leaves.

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds stirring constantly so it does not burn.

Add the broccoli to the pan and stir fry for 2-3 minutes, tossing occasionally with a pair of tongs.

Add soy, fish sauce, wine, stock and pepper. Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes, turning occasionally.

Lobster Mac and Cheese

The chef, Frank Bonanno, won a “Top Chef” contest on Food Network by trotting out his signature dish at Mizuna, his restaurant here in Denver. I found two versions of his recipe on-line, neither of which quite did the trick. So I did what I do best, I fixed it.

Lobsters are currently very cheap, $7.89 per pound at our favorite Chinese supermarket, Pacific Ocean Market in the Alameda Square shopping center.

We’re going to indulge and have steamed lobsters for New Years Eve and another lobster dish on our 28th anniversary, Jan. 3, 2009.

Just for the record, the diminutive portion you get at Mizuna goes for $18. Our home portions were about 3 times larger and, while not exactly the same, very, very good.

Lobster Mac and Cheese
1 lobster, about 1 ½ lbs.
7 oz. whole wheat rotini or other pasta
3/4 cup mascarpone
¼ cup white wine vinegar
2 large shallots, sliced thin
1 bay leaf
¼ cup white wine
1 stick butter, 8 oz.
1tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed
salt and pepper to taste

Steam the lobster for 10 minutes which will nearly, but not quite, cook it through. Drop it into a sinkful of cold water until cool enough to handle. Remove the claw and tail meat. Boil the lobster shells and the body of the lobster in enough water to cover for about an hour. Remove the shells, strain the liquid, and reduce it by 1/3. Refrigerate and save for shrimp risotto (coming to this space very soon).

Heat a pot of water and a generous bit of salt and cook the pasta according to package directions, stopping just short of its being completely cooked al dente.

Heat the oil in a big sauté pan and melt the butter into it. Add the shallots and the bay leaf and cook over medium heat until softened but not colored. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

Meanwhile, mix the mascarpone, cream, and white wine in a bowl. Add to the sauté pan. Bring to a simmer a cook until it begins to thicken slightly.

Remove the bay leaf and add in the lobster. When the lobster is heated through, add the pasta and toss. Continue heating for 2-4 minutes.

Serve in hot bowls.

For a free excerpt of my book, “A Year of Food,” in which I opine, report, cook, muse and philosophize about everything that passed my lips for an entire year, write to me at: scrout1944@msn.com.