A Special Day & A Special Guest Post!

Don't worry, the CSA post is still coming up later on this evening...

July 14, 2011.  Today is my two year blogiversary!  Can you believe I've been at this for this long?  I never would have dreamed I would have fallen in love with food blogging, let alone not gotten bored with it.  I've made so many dear friends along the way (and I hope to make many many more!) and I think that's been the main reason I've stuck with it.  The blogging community is such a supportive part of my life and I really want to thank you all for sticking around with me =)

But today is extra special because I've got a special guest poster.  The person whose voice remains silent amongst it all - mainly because he's stuffing his face with all the delicious (and not so delicious) food I make! 

So if you haven't guessed yet - it's ANDY!  The "Fiance" part of My Fiance Likes It So It Must Be Good.  So without further ado, I'd like to let Andy take over and show you one of his favorite things to make!

So hello all! This is Andy, the grand inspiration for Peggy’s blog!!!

 Actually Peggy’s love of food and photography are the reason for this awesome place where so many people have come to acknowledge her tasty creations and good stories.

I think it’s awesome that she has found this love and passion for this wonderful hidden talent that she continually grows from and is continually inspired by. I am very proud of her accomplishments and look very forward to sharing my life with her and her being a part if mine!

She asked me a few weeks ago if I wanted to celebrate her 2 year anniversary of her blog, and I said “heck yeah!” I will be a guest food blog champ!!!

So, let’s talk food!

I didn’t know I loved this meal until we visited her brother James when he lived in Savannah, Georgia.

We ended up at this swamp/bayou style eatery with a baby alligator farm out front, which Peggy happened to forfeit her camera lens cap, when it accidentally fell in while taking pictures of the baby alligators… Anyway we got a seafood platter for two which had crab, shrimp, crawfish, potatoes, sausage, and other things I don’t remember, but I do remember it was good! So that is my inspiration for this meal…

If you can buy food and boil, you can make this…

Ingredients:

(Really anything you want to boil, but here is what I have chosen)

(2) Lobster Claws

(2) Decent sized snow crab claws

(1) Half bag of yellow fingerling potatoes

(2) Cobs of corn cut into pieces

(2) Overflowing fistfuls of shrimp

(1) Large U shaped chicken sausage cut into pieces

A lot of melted butter!!!

A lot of shakes of old bay seasoning all over the place!!!

The messier the better!!!

Steps to make this awesomeness!!!

First I place the potatoes and corn in the boiling water for 6-8 minutes

Next I add the chicken sausage and let everything cook for another 3-4 minutes

Last I throw everything in and let her boil for about 10 minutes…

After I deem all satisfactory, I drain the water and drop a stick of butter in to the pan to melt all over the goodness inside… I also place another stick of butter in the microwave to use for dipping everything into.

The last step is to shake old bay seasoning healthily over everything including the dipping sauce!

I hope you try this, or expand my idea and create your own! It’s easy and tasty!!!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that Peggy turns into a savage beast when eating this and usually requires a full roll of paper towels or a shower after!!!!

Thanks for reading and I hope you continue to support Peggy, she really loves this and enjoys all you readers and friends she has made!!!

Cheers and tallyho!

-Andy

 

So there you have it.  And no, I really don't turn into a savage beast when eating this - well... I mean, look at it.  It's not the most prim and proper meal out there - you really have to dig in and eat it! I want to thank Andy for guest posting today and giving you a glimpse of the amazing, goofy, and supportive man that I get to happily spend the rest of my life with!  Love ya babe! 



Stay tuned for later today when the CSA round up is up - still time to get it on the action (e-mail me at mtlabor85@yahoo.com!)

Chili Lobster Surf N Turf

Ok, so this past weekend I discovered that Louisville was home to a Clearwater Seafood Distribution Center. So what do I do? I order two fresh live lobsters to be delivered to my home.

Who knew that this would be the most gratifying and traumatic experience I've had in a long time.


The little critter moved! I've never had my food move! Of course they're gonna move, Peggy, they're alive. What would make me think that it would be easy.

So as I opened the cooler box that they came in, I could feel my body tremble with fear. I'm bigger than these guys and they scared the heebie jeebies out of me! What a wuss I was. I frantically called Andy about 4 or 5 times while trying to kill these babies. He just laughed and said he would do it when he got home from work. But no, I needed to step up to the challenge. I couldn't just give up and let somebody else do it, especially Andy because I would never be able to live it down.


So first I needed a bigger pot. The pot that I had definitely wasn't big enough. So I left the house to go to the store to buy the needed equipment. This made things a tad bit easier. So while waiting for the water to boil in my giant pot, I tried to regain composure. By then, Andy came home and asked me if I wanted him to do it. I had to at least do one of the two lobsters. So I grabbed one of them with a paper towel and as it was flailing it's claws I closed my eyes, dropped the sucker in the pot, and quickly put the lid on. And just silence. No screaming lobsters, no fight, just silence. What a relief.

By then, I was relaxed and felt a new appreciation for chefs that do this on a daily basis. And I let Andy throw the other sucker in there because I had done enough lobster killing for the day. Anyway, had a pharmacist friend, Mike, over for dinner yesterday. He has been my food guinea pig at work for quite some time, so thought I'd treat him to a little surf n turf meal with my new cooked friends.

Chili Lobster Ingredients:

3 head of baby bok choy
2 1 & 1/2 lb live lobsters (or if you don't want to go through the trauma you can just buy cooked lobster meat)
1/8 cup vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons sambal oelek (chili sauce)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 red bell pepper, sliced into 1 inch strips

In large pot of boiling water, cook baby bok choy until bright green. It just really needs a quick dip in the pool. Then take out with a slotted spoon, pat dry, and set on rimmed baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil.

Allow water to come back to a boil and add lobsters, one at a time. Cook each for about 7 minutes, when lobster looks bright red all over. Let lobsters cool on baking sheet. Crack claws from body and chop tail off and remove meat from both. You can save the head and upper body for a flavorful broth, but you won't be using them for their meat. Chop meat up into small bite size pieces, but don't over do it. Put on top of bok choy on baking sheet and cover lobster meat with damp paper towel. Then cover tightly with aluminum foil. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In skillet, heat up the oil. Add the garlic and cook until light golden brown. Then add chicken stock, ketchup, and chili sauce and simmer over high heat for a couple of minutes. Add the egg and keep stirring until sauce is thickened and egg is incorporated throughout. Remove from heat, salt to taste and place in serving bowl.

Bake covered lobster and bok choy for about 7 minutes, until heated through. Serve lobster on top of bok choy, top with sauce, and garnish with red pepper slices.

Sirloin Steak (Turf) Ingredients

1 large sirloin steak (about 1 - 1/2 lb), cut into 2 medium sized steaks
1/2 cup red wine (like a cabernet savignon)
1/2 cup beef broth
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon flour

In large stainless steel pan, cook steak to desired consistency. I like mine medium rare, so it was about 5 minutes or so per side. Let steak rest on cutting board.

Meanwhile, add garlic and flour to pan with sucs (those delicious brown bits from steak). Cook for about 1 minute, or until fragrant. Then deglaze pan with wine and broth, making sure to scrape the sucs from the pan so they're incorporated in the liquid. Reduce liquid until desired consistency.

Cut steak into strips and top with sauce. Pair with lobster and there you have a delicious surf n turf!!