Lobster Tails With Champagne Vanilla Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• TO MAKE THE SAUCE: Cut the vanilla bean in half and split lengthwise. Place in a small saucepan with the thyme, shallots, and champagne. Bring just to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until reduced to 1/4 cup. The reduction will be a clear golden color. Remove from the heat and strain the reduction through a sieve. Reserve the vanilla bean. Rinse the saucepan and return the reduction to the pan. Using a sharp paring knife, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the reduction. Bring the reduction to a simmer and whisk in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time to fully incorporate, until glistening and smooth. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary. Remove from the heat and set aside until the lobsters are ready. Keep warm. Place the tails, shell-side down, on a cutting board. Split the tails lengthwise to expose the meat. In a small bowl mash the butter with the lemon juice, chives, and salt using the back of a fork. Spread the butter over the lobster meat and between the shell and the meat. Grill the tails, shell side down, over Direct Medium heat, until opaque throughout, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the meat from the shells and serve immediately with the warm sauce.From Weber's Big Book of Grilling. Copyright © 2001 Weber-Stephen Products Co. All rights reserved. First published by Chronicle Books LLC, San Francisco, California.

Steps:

• Place lobster tails in a saucepan of well-salted water, cover and bring to a boil. As soon as the pan comes to a boil, turn off the heat and allow lobster tails to sit in hot water for 5 minutes. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for pasta. Drain lobster tails and let cool, just until they are cool enough to handle. Remove lobster meat from tails by gently cracking apart the underside of the shell, or carefully cut through shell with a pair of sharp kitchen scissors. Cut lobster tails on an angle into 1/2" slices and set aside.
• With the tip of a pairing knife slice open vanilla bean and scrape out seeds. Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package directions until al dente. While pasta is cooking heat a large skillet on medium high. Add butter to skillet and when it foams add vanilla bean seeds and pod and shallots and reduce heat to medium low. Cook, stirring for 1 munute. Add lobster pieces and continue cooking and stirring until lobster is cooked through and coated with butter mixture. Reduce heat to low and drain pasta, reserving about 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water.
• Add hot pasta to skillet along with 1/4 cup of pasta cooking water, increase heat to medium and continue tossing mixture until sauce thickens slightly, adding a bit more cooking water if needed to nicely glaze pasta. Season to taste with salt and pepper and arrange pasta on serving plates. Sprinkle with parsley and finishing salt.

Steps:

• Place a roasting pan large enough to hold the lobsters in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees. With the tip of a sharp knife pierce lobsters between the eyes to sever the spinal cord. Crack claws using the blunt edge of a cleaver or a hammer. Place lobsters in the hot roasting pan, drizzle with oil and roast until red, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven, and set aside.
• Melt 2 teaspoons of butter in a small saucepan, add the shallots and saute over low heat until soft and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add wine and vinegar, raise heat and cook at a moderate boil until the liquid is reduced to 1 tablespoon, about 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, and whisk in 6 tablespoons of butter, about 1 tablespoon at a time until all is incorporated. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the sauce, stir to combine and strain into a clean saucepan. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper, and set aside.
• When the lobsters are cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the claws. Detach the tails, and discard the heads. With a pair of scissors, cut the shell on the underside of each tail in half lengthwise, remove the meat and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Loosely cover the meat with aluminum foil, and keep warm.
• Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large pot, and add spinach and watercress. Stir until greens have melted down, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until greens are tender, about 5 minutes. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper.
• To serve, reheat the sauce over low heat until warm, whisking constantly. Place a bed of greens on each plate, arrange the lobster meat on top and spoon the sauce over the lobster. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Make bread pudding:
• Fill an 8-quart kettle three fourths full with salted water and bring to a boil. Plunge lobster headfirst into boiling water and simmer, covered, 8 minutes. Immediately transfer lobster with tongs to a large bowl and cool.
• When lobster is cool enough to handle, remove meat in the following manner, reserving shells and body: Break off claws at body of lobster. Crack claws and remove meat. Twist tail off lobster body and with kitchen shears cut thin hard membrane on underside of tail to remove meat. Chop tail and claw meat and chill, covered, for bread pudding. Discard head sac from lobster body. With a sharp knife or kitchen shears chop or cut lobster body and reserved shells into pieces and chill, covered, for sauce.
• Preheat oven to 300°F.
• Cut enough of brioches into 1/4-inch dice to measure 2 packed cups and spread in one layer in a shallow baking pan. Bake brioche in middle of oven until dry but not golden, about 12 minutes. Finely chop white part of leek. Trim cremini stems flush with caps and discard shiitake stems. Cut cremini and shiitake caps into 1/4-inch dice.
• In a 9-inch heavy skillet cook leek in oil, covered, over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and sauté over moderately high heat, stirring, until tender and any liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated. Remove skillet from heat and add brandy. Carefully ignite brandy and cook over moderately high heat, shaking skillet, until flames die out. Continue to cook mixture, stirring, until any remaining liquid is evaporated and season with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in lobster meat.
• In a large bowl whisk together yolks, egg, cream, cayenne, and salt to taste and gently stir in brioche croutons and lobster mixture. Chill bread pudding, covered, until brioche is soaked with custard, 2 to 3 hours. Bread pudding may be made up to this point 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.
• Make sauce while bread pudding is chilling:
• Finely chop carrot, celery, and white part of leek separately. In a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan cook leek in oil over moderate heat, stirring, until softened. Add carrot and celery and cook, stirring, until celery is slightly softened. Add lobster shells and body and sauté over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes. Stir in tarragon. Remove pan from heat and add brandy. Carefully ignite brandy and boil mixture, shaking pan, until flames die out and brandy is evaporated. Add wine and water and simmer mixture, uncovered, l hour.
• With a knife halve vanilla bean lengthwise. Pour lobster stock through a fine sieve into a large bowl, pressing hard on solids, and transfer liquid to cleaned pan. Boil stock until reduced to about 1/2 cup. Stir in tomato purée and bring to a boil. Stir in vanilla bean and cream and simmer sauce until reduced to about 1 cup. Season sauce with salt and pour through a fine sieve into a small saucepan. Chill sauce, covered, while baking puddings. Sauce may be made up to this point 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.
• Preheat oven to 300°F. and butter four 1-cup ramekins (4 by 2 inches).
• Divide bread pudding among ramekins and arrange in a roasting pan. Add enough hot water to roasting pan to reach one third up sides of ramekins and tent roasting pan with foil. Bake puddings in middle of oven 45 minutes. Carefully remove foil and bake puddings until a knife inserted in centers comes out clean, 15 to 25 minutes more. Remove ramekins from roasting pan and let puddings stand 5 minutes. Reheat sauce over moderate heat until hot and add chives.
• Run a thin knife around edge of each pudding and invert a plate over each ramekin. Invert puddings onto plates and turn right side up.
• Serve puddings with sauce.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 525 degrees.
• Put one tablespoon of the butter in a saucepan and add the shallots. Cook briefly, stirring. Add the wine and the two 2-inch lengths of vanilla bean. Cook down, stirring, until the wine is almost evaporated. Add the fish broth and cook down over high heat, stirring, until reduced by half.
• Add the cream and cook the mixture about two minutes, to about one cup. Split the remaining piece of vanilla bean and add it.
• Strain the sauce through a fine sieve, pressing with the back of a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to extract most of the juices from the solids. Discard the solids.
• Return the sauce to a saucepan. Add salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and swirl in two tablespoons of butter.
• Place the live lobsters close together in a casserole and place in the oven. Bake 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, pick over the spinach to remove and discard any tough stems or blemished leaves. Pick over the watercress to remove the leaves. Discard the stems.
• Heat the remaining two tablespoons of butter in a skillet and add the spinach and watercress. Cook, stirring, until wilted.
• Split the hot lobsters lengthwise down the center. They will not be fully cooked at this point. Arrange the halves split side up on a baking dish and return to the oven for about one and one-half minutes.
• Crack the claws and arrange them in another baking dish. Bake about two minutes.
• Remove the meat from the lobster tails. Spoon the spinach into the center of a serving dish. Arrange the lobster tail meat over the spinach. Arrange the cracked claws around in a symmetrical pattern. Garnish, if desired, with one lobster carcass split in half. Spoon some of the sauce over the lobster tails and serve the rest on the side.