Creamy Spaghetti of Lobster and Breaded Veal Scallopini

My family flipping loves shellfish, especially lobsters and since the lobsters were on sale for 7.99/lb, I went and bought two for merely 50 bucks. Instead of boiling the dears alive (ahaha, gotta love my vegetarianism!), I gave them a quick death by piercing a knife swiftly into their head and between their eyes. I placed the lobsters in a pot with minimal boiling, salted water and steamed them for around 15 minutes. When cool enough to touch, I cracked them open, took out all the succulent meat, cut them into to chunks and set aside for the sauce. For extra lobster richness and flavor, I also scooped out the brains and reserved them for the sauce (sounds gross, I know, but it is soooo worth it!).
I made a simple béchamel sauce (that is actually vegan so that I could later use in my own pasta dish) and reserved it.While I boiled my spaghetti noodles (which were basil and tomato flavored), I sauteed some garlic with olive oil and the brains in a frying pan until aromatic and added in a splash of white wine, cooking it down as I added in the lobster meat. Season lightly with salt and pepper before spooning in the bechamel sauce, letting all the flavors mingle and simmer on low heat. As soon as the pasta was al dente, I scooped the pasta into the sauce and mixed it together with a ladle of the pasta water, which helps the sauce adhere to the noodles. Stir in some freshly chopped flat-head parsley (aka Italian parsley) and serve hot.
I served the spaghetti of lobster alongside breaded veal scallopini, topped with brussel sprouts that were cooked in a balsamic vinegar reduction. It's a very low-in-fat meal since the sauce is made with low-fat soy milk and olive oil rather than whole milk and butter. The breaded veal were fried lightly in grapeseed oil, so the fat content there is also low. Nutritious and delicious!!

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Vegan Béchamel Sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup flour
1 cup low-fat unsweetened soy milk/unsweetened almond milk
salt and pepper to taste

In a sauce pan, heat the olive oil on medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 3 minutes to create a roux. Stir in half the cup of milk and whisk until smooth; whisk in the remainder. Leave to simmer until thickens, then season to taste.

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For my own veggie dinner, I had breaded eggplant rounds (I LOVE EGGPLANT) and a baked tofu and eggplant spaghetti with the vegan béchamel sauce. The baked tofu is a recipe that I tried out by The Vegan Zombie, and he has got me hooked. I've always disliked cooking with tofu but this baked tofu recipe is absolutely something I will make again.

EGGPLANT!!

To wash it all down, my brother made us a refreshing, non-alcoholic beverage that is to DIE for! It's called Targa 911 and it is soooo goood!

1 1/2 oz. orange juice
1 1/2 oz. passion-fruit juice
3/4 oz. pineapple juice
3/4 oz. lemon juice
3/4 oz. non-alcoholic grenadine
1/2 cup ice

Stir all ingredients together in a cup or use a shaker. SO GOOD.

Mommy, I Made Pho

This is the first time EVER that I made pho all by myself, without the help of my mom, who is not back from Vietnam yet. Today is my dad's birthday and his favorite dish is Pho. If you do not know, pho is a Vietnamese noodle dish consisting of rice noodles, spiced beef broth, beef slices, beef meatballs, beef brisket, beef tripe and tendons, accompanied with white onions, basil, mint leaves, bean sprouts, lime, chili peppers, cilantro, green onions, culantro/Eryngium foetidum (ngo gai), hoisin sauce, chili sauce and fish sauce. A lot of ingredients, I know. The pho I made only featured rare beef slices, beef meatballs and beef tendon.
There are many other variations, such as chicken pho or seafood pho but traditionally, it is beef. Sometimes an egg is added for EXTRA protein haha.
The most crucial part of a good bowl of pho is the broth. The criteria includes it being clear NOT MURKY, aromatic and full of flavor from hours of simmering beef bones, charred yellow onion, charred ginger and toasted spices such as cardamom, cinnamon sticks, star anise, cloves and coriander seeds. The entire dish took me 3-4 ish hours to prepare...phew.
Also, beef tendons are a bitch to cook. It takes waaaay more than 3-4 hours to get soft all the way through, so I suggest you put it in a slow cooker and cook it over night if you ever want to make pho. PAH.
No, this is not a quick dish.
Why did I want to go through the endeavor to make it from scratch? Because I am passionate about my food and it's my daddy's birthday. It's worth it either way. Plus my brother slurped up his entire bowl of soup, so I know it is good (he never slurps up an entire bowl of broth if it is not good, no matter who makes it).
So, if you want Pho without cooking it, go ahead and go buy a bowl at a Viet restaurant. I assure you they use msg, sweeteners and not a lot of good ol beef bones for the broth. Or, if you want to make it, then go ahead and go buy those pre-packaged pho spices and add it to a pot of ready made beef broth from Campbell. I promise you, it won't be the same.

Broth for two people:

1-2 lbs of beef bones
1 lb of oxtails
half a small cabbage

1 medium yellow onion, unpeeled
1 medium sized knob of ginger, unpeeled

4 sticks of cinnamon
5 anise stars
4 black cardamom bulbs
1 tsp of cloves
1 tsp of coriander seeds

1 tbsp brown sugar
Salt and mushroom granules for taste

In a large pot that can hold up to 6 cups of water, bring the bones with 1 tbsp of salt to a boil and skim off any foam and fat that emerges to the surface. Add in the cabbage once there is no more foam to skim and simmer for 30 minutes.
During the wait, char the onion and ginger on a grill or over a mesh on a gas burner until the onion skin and ginger are almost completely black and become aromatic. Let cool and under running water, scrap and peel off as much of the blackened bits as you can. Add to the pot of broth and simmer for 30 minutes.
Dry roast the spices in your oven or in a skillet over the stove until aromatic. Let the spices cool and tie it up in a spice bag or make a spice package with coffee filters, tied with kitchen twine. Plop that into the broth and simmer under medium-low heat for 1-2 hours. DO NOT COVER with a lid. If you feel there is not enough water, then you better turn the heat lower and add more water.
After 1-2 hours, broth should be aromatic with the spices. Gently stir in sugar and season with salt and mushroom granules to your taste. If you don't have mushroom granules, then salt should just be fine. Turn the heat to high and bring to a quick boil. Spoon hot broth over cooked rice noodles and your choice of toppings. Best served hot ;)
Enough for four servings.

Pho with beef balls, rare beef slices and beef tendon.

Montreal Steak with Dirty Mash and Bleu Cheese Salad

Finally got around to cooking a decent meal for my brother and dad since I got back from Vietnam. I've been gone for two weeks for a family issue and my brother and dad stayed at home...from what I heard, they haven't been eating very good meals, which makes me sad!
So, after school (technically a midterm), I went grocery shopping for some ingredients. My dad lovesss steak, so that was what I planned to make. Everything took me an hour to prepare and cook. Hooraay for rush hour cooking! :)
So, some cuts of top sirloin steak, dry-rubbed with Montreal steak spice and pan-grilled to medium-rare perfection. I allowed the steaks to rest 10-15 minutes before serving, and used the au jus as a sauce for the dish. Served with dirty garlic mashed potatoes (dirty as in I left the peel on the potats) and a side of fresh and crisp romaine lettuce, cucumbers and grape tomatoes tossed in a tangy Bleu Cheese vinagrette with extra crumbled bleu cheese; the salad was served in a very cold bowl to keep it fresh.
Brother and dad enjoyed it very much...I've never seen Tommy eat that much meat before, especially beef; just goes to show how much he missed his sister's cooking hahaha!