There is truly nothing better than being in the kitchen with people you love...especially around the holidays. Last night I had the pleasure of being in the kitchen with my best friend. I have been wanting to try and make lobster risotto for quite some time and that is just not the kind of recipe you want to make for just yourself. So I invited myself over to make risotto for my best friend and her husband, however this time there was a caveat attached...she had to make her famous toaster oven rib eye. We also decided to make artichokes sauteed in olive oil and garlic. And of course we had to drink wine...not because we wanted to...but because it was festive (yes slight exaggeration bordering on drama here).




So I do not have a lot of lobster cooking experience. I am very good at ordering lobster in a restaurant and I excel at dipping it in melted butter and putting it in my mouth. However, I really did not know a whole lot about the nuances of cooking lobster. So I went to the store and purchased 5 lobster tails. I do have to admit I thought the butcher was kind of cute and so I asked him how to cut open a lobster and he was extremely helpful telling me where to cut using a sharp knife. Unfortunately my crush was extremely short lived as when I told him I was making lobster risotto he gave me a blank stare as if he had ABSOLUTELY no idea what risotto was. Seriously? You don't know what risotto is!!! Oy!! The End!!

Back to the risotto...so take chicken broth and bring it to a boil. Add the lobster and cook for 4 minutes. Remove the lobster tails and let them cool. Once they are cool enough to handle remove the lobster meat. I actually used kitchen shears and cut the back of the shell and the meat came out very easily. I chopped the meat and set it aside.

I took the lobster shells and put them in a ziplock bag and took out my aggressions on them with a meat mallet. The shells then go back into the broth and you simmer them for 20 minutes so the broth absorbs the flavors. Don't worry the shells are strained out. After they have cooked strain the broth and put it back on the stove to simmer.

Saute 1T butter in a pan and then add the arborio rice. Add 1 cup of the broth and cook, stirring constantly until the liquid is nearly absorbed. Add the broth 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until it is nearly absorbed. I actually did find that I needed to use extra chicken broth because my risotto was still pretty al dente even after using all of my broth...but that was just my experience.

Once the risotto is cooked add the butter, extra broth, peas and chopped lobster. Voila!!

The risotto was nice and creamy, the lobster was rich and the broth had a nice seafood flavor and the perfect amount of salt. I would have liked a little Parmesan cheese, but that is probably because I am use to traditional risotto recipes.

Here is the risotto recipe if you would like to try it:

• 4 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth$
• 3 (5-ounce) American lobster tails
• 3 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 cup uncooked Arborio rice or other medium-grain rice
• 3/4 cup frozen green peas, thawed

Preparation

1. Bring broth and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil in a saucepan. Add lobster; cover and cook for 4 minutes. Remove lobster from pan; cool for 5 minutes. Remove meat from cooked lobster tails, reserving shells. Chop meat. Place shells in a large zip-top plastic bag. Coarsely crush shells using a meat mallet or heavy skillet. Return crushed shells to the broth mixture. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Strain shell mixture through a sieve over a bowl, reserving broth; discard solids. Return broth mixture to saucepan; keep warm over low heat. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add rice to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in 1 cup broth mixture, and cook for 5 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Reserve 2 tablespoons broth mixture. Add the remaining broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion is absorbed before adding the next (about 22 minutes total). Remove from heat, and stir in lobster, the reserved 2 tablespoons broth mixture, 2 tablespoons butter, and green peas.