Christmas Eve Feast of Two Fishes
Christmas Eve dinner was very indulgent. Jim keeps telling me that I was a complete invalid, sleeping in a hospital bed in the dining room last year. Looking back, this complete invalid made Christmas dinner. But, following that train of thought, I decided that instead of my usual 7 fishes feast, we would just have 2, caviar and lobster. I love caviar; fine quality caviar is just the best taste in the world. I bought Pepperidge Farm sandwich white and cut off the crust. I toasted it, buttered it and sliced diagonally. I hardboiled and chopped an egg. I did not have crème fresh and I don’t like onion with it. Jim served a wonderful champagne called Henriot Blanc Souverain.
A while back I walked into Costco and found 4# of cooked lobster pieces. After researching lobster bisque recipes, I went back to Costco and bought their lobster bisque. I thawed 2# of the lobster pieces. After making the following Lobster Puffs to accompany the bisque, I put the remaining pieces of lobster in the bisque as it was warming. With the dinner we had a Gainey Vineyard Chardonnay. The recipe for the puffs comes from a cookbook by Jean Pierre Tardy who runs a party venue in Newtown, PA.
Ingredients:
1 puff pastry sheet
½ C flour
1 C lobster meat
1 roasted red pepper; deseeded and chopped (I bought mine in a jar, already seeded)
1 t tarragon
1 T chives
1 T sage
½ t cayenne pepper
1 egg
1 egg yolk
½ T water
Non-stick cooking spray or parchment paper
Directions:
1. Place the puff pastry sheet on flat surface. Sprinkle flour on puff pastry and, using a rolling pin, roll sheet to twice its original size. Cut into 6 pieces. I rolled the puff pastry between two floured sheets of parchment paper. Sticking was not a problem.
2. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
3. Combine lobster meat, roasted red pepper, tarragon, chives, sage, and cayenne pepper in a bowl to make lobster salad.
4. Divide the lobster salad onto the middle of the six puff pastry squares.
5. Combine, egg, egg yolk, and water in a small bowl to make a glaze. Brush the edges of the piece of puff pastry.
6. Bring corners of each piece of puff pastry to center and seal to make a package. Turn each puff over and brush tops with more glaze.
7. Place the puffs on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.
Lobster bisque to me is a little bland and these added zip to the meal. This whole meal while opulent in ingredients was a breeze to make. We had a delightful evening enjoying each other’s company and opening gifts.
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