Surf And Turf Garden Salad With Raspberry Vinaigrette... Snooty Style

Last week was my hubby's birthday so I made the dinner he requested. It consisted of prime NY strip steak, lobster tail, spinach souffle, garlic bread and a rustic peach tart for dessert. Even though we split the steak and lobster, I still had some leftover.


As it turns out, it was just the right amount for this salad. I also had some tomatoes from our *topsy-turvy* planters that needed to be used, so this was the perfect light meal for us. It's basically a I-don't-know-what-the-heck-to-make-so-I'll-check-the-fridge type of dinner. Maybe you'll like it as much as we did!  


Surf & Turf Garden Salad: Ingredients:

leftover steak,

thinly sliced leftover lobster tail,

thinly sliced small package of baby spinach

fresh mushrooms,

thinly sliced 1/2 or 1 whole avocado,

thinly sliced 4 spring onions (green onions),

thinly sliced fresh garden tomatoes,

chopped gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

Raspberry Vinaigrette


Directions: 1. Begin building your salad by spreading the baby spinach over a plate. 2. Add sliced mushrooms and the tomatoes. 3. Next, add the sliced avocado. 4. You can now add the sliced lobster and sliced steak. 5. Last of all, sprinkle the sliced green onions, the gorgonzola cheese, topping with your favorite vinaigrette. 6. Enjoy!

Lobster Quesadillas With Sides Of Refried Beans, Pico & Guacamole... Ole'

I had every intention of posting this recipe for Cinco de Mayo, but I guess a day late won't make me a slacker. Now, whenever we have lobster tails we can never seem to eat more than half, so we save the lobster meat to have lobster quesadillas the next night. I suppose you could use fresh lobster, but then my question would be "Why would you?" Leftover lobster is perfect for this task and that way you can still dip your lobster in clarified butter, yes? Surely, you wouldn't want to miss that! 



Lobster Quesadillas: Ingredients:

4 (5-ounce) lobster tails (approximately 10 ounces actual lobster meat)

2 tablespoons neutral-flavored oil, (i.e. grape seed or canola oil) plus extra for sauteeing quesadillas

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 clove garlic, passed through a garlic press

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1/3 teaspoon fine sea salt

8 (6-inch) flour tortillas

4 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 medium avocados, peeled and diced

1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Using a pair of kitchen shears, cut through the underside of lobster shell and remove lobster meat from shell. Reserve shells for lobster stock or another use. Dice lobster meat into 1/2-inch chunks. Or, you could just use leftover lobster.

2. Place lobster chunks in mixing bowl. Add 2 tablespoons oil, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, garlic, lime juice and salt. Toss gently to combine ingredients and coat lobster thoroughly; marinate 15 minutes.

3. Heat a medium non-stick saute' pan over medium-high heat. Add marinated lobster and saute' until just cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.

4. Place one tortilla on a work surface and layer with one fourth of the lobster, cilantro, avocado and cheeses. Cover with second tortilla.

5. Heat a non-stick sauce pan or griddle with 2 tablespoons oil. Place filled tortilla in pan, cook on medium-low heat until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Remove from skillet and cut into wedges. Continue process with remaining ingredients, wiping out pan and adding oil between each quesadilla. 6. Serve hot with sides of refried beans, pico de gallo sauce, and guacamole. If you're feeding a crowd of big eaters you might want to make some Spanish rice as well.