Valentine's Day Dinner & Dessert
Does anyone really go out on dates anymore? I think staying in is the new going out. Meals at home mean you get to dress as sloppy as you want, you can smack your food while talking about anything. You don't have to fear people listening in, and there are no waiters to tip! Lobster mac + cheese is a portion of classic comfort food you can spruce up with a romantic twist. It's the perfect main course or side dish for an at-home Valentine's Day meal.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour + 10 minutes
Yields: 6 servings
Ingredients:
- 1 pound (16 ounces) of cooked lobster meat, chopped
- 1 pound of short cut pasta, I used cavatappi noodles
- 3 cups of whole milk
- 1 1/4 cup of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 1/4 cup of gruyere, shredded (can be replaced with Swiss)
- 1 cup of fontina cheese, shredded (can be replaced with gouda)
- 9 tbs of butter, separated
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 1/2 of crushed Ritz crackers (about 1 sleeve)
- 1/4 cup of flour
- 1/4 mustard powder
-1/4 cayenne powder
- 1 tsp of fresh parsley
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Your Valentine’s Day Card should read: “I don’t want to sound shellfish, but I want you to be mine forever.”
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until al- dente. Do not prepare all the way; it will finish cooking in the oven.
- While pasta boils, add 3 tablespoons of butter to a medium heat skillet + melt
- Drain pasta well and set noodles aside
- Add garlic, lobster meat, and parsley to skillet
- Sauté for 3-5 minutes
- Remove lobster from the pan
- Add 2 more tablespoons of butter to the skillet, throw in crushed Rits crackers and toss until thoroughly coated
- Toast the crumbs for 1-2 minutes, frequently stirring to avoid burning
- Once the crumbs are lightly toasted, remove from heat and set aside
- In the same pot melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat and gradually whisk in flour.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and let the mixture come to a bubble
- While stirring to avoid burning, pour in the milk
- Whisk + raise the heat temperature to a medium- high
- Bring mixture to a boil and frequently whisk until sauce has thickened, about 2-3 minutes
- Remove from heat + stir in all cheeses, mustard powder, cayenne, salt, and pepper
- Stir until cheese is fully melted
- Add pasta noodles to the mixture and 3/4 of the lobster meat
- Transfer pasta to a prepared baking dish
- Evenly sprinkle the remaining lobster chunks + toasted cracker crumbs on top
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the toppings are a golden brown and the sauce is bubbling
- Remove from oven and let it sit for 5 minutes
- Set the table, create a romantic atmosphere, and serve the love of your life.
This dish is great. It's creamy, it's light, and it doesn't have that intense aroma literally no one wants after a Valentine's Day meal. This works as a surf + turf side dish to a slab of meat, or it's perfect alone. What you put with it does not matter, this one is all about being made with love.
BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE…
Two-Ingredient Chocolate Soufflé
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Yields: 1 serving
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup of Nutella
- 2 eggs
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375°
- In two different bowls, separate eggs whites from the yolks
- Mix the yolks + Nutella then, set aside
- Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form
- Gradually fold in the whipped egg mixture to the Nutella + egg yolk mixture until thoroughly incorporated
- Pour the mixture into greased ramekins
- Bake for 20 minutes
This soufflé is the perfect size to split unless you really love chocolate. In that case, double the ingredients and make two! This dessert recipe is so simple, and it can be paired with fruit, ice cream, or dare I say it, even more Nutella!
