Thursday, June 17, 2010

Father’s Day Surf and Turf And A Giveaway Winner!

 

Want to pamper your Dad on Father’s Day? Or maybe just indulge in a special meal for a special someone? Unless you’re a vegetarian, this combo is sure to win you brownie points and give you a free pass on the dishes.

The lobster tails were an indulgence, granted. But I couldn’t resist when they went on sale for 1/2 price recently at my supermarket. The price of the beef wasn’t exactly chopped liver either, since I made the shish-kebobs with Black Angus Choice sirloin steak. But you could try a less expensive cut and marinate it longer. Besides, for the two of us I used less than 3/4 pound of beef.

Truth be told, I didn’t serve these both on the same night. Aside from breaking the bank, we just can’t eat that much at one sitting. The lobster tails alone were about 7 ounces each – that’s a lot of seafood for one person.  But if you want to impress your Dad, your boss or your favorite significant other, get that grill going on all burners and present both these dishes at the same meal.

Both are really easy to prepare but let’s start with the beef. I cut the steak into chunks and marinated it with about 1/4 cup of soy sauce, a drizzle of olive oil, the juice of half a lemon, two smashed garlic cloves and a couple of sprigs of minced rosemary. Let the mixture sit in the refrigerator about a half hour to one hour.

Use wooden skewers that have been soaked in water and start threading them with the meat, alternating with peppers, onions and cherry or grape tomatoes.  Place over hot coals and grill until desired doneness. For us, people like our steak medium rare, it was only about five minutes on each side, turning once.

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Now for the lobsters, which are a little trickier to prepare. 

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There are plenty of ways to cook lobster tails. Honestly, my favorite way is to steam them – plain and simple. But since it’s summer and the grill is king, I decided to try them this way.

Take a heavy knife or kitchen shears and cut down the middle right through the shell. It will take some strength, and be careful not to cut yourself because the edges of the lobster shells are sharp.

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Put some olive oil in a bowl and mix in some herbs and spices. I used about 1/4 cup of olive oil (You could use softened butter if you prefer) and I added some fresh chopped thyme, some paprika, some minced garlic, salt and pepper.

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Lift the meat away from the shell and spread some of the olive oil over the shell. Replace the lobster meat over the shell.

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Do the same thing to the other side, but reserve a little of the olive oil mixture.

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Place the lobster tails, shell side down, on the grill. Brush the lobster meat with the olive oil mixture that you reserved.  Keep a little water handy to spritz on the coals in case you have a flare-up. DON”T LEAVE THE GRILL. You don’t want to set fire to the lobster tails and see all that money you spent go up in flames.

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After they’ve cooked for about 10 minutes on the shell side, flip them over. There was actually no flare-up when I flipped them over, because most of the olive oil had either been absorbed into the lobster meat or had already dripped down into the coals. Cook them on this side for another 10 minutes. If it looks like they’re not done, just keep them on longer. A lot depends on your grill and on the size of the lobster tails.

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Serve with melted butter and some lemon wedges.

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Now for the winner of the Tupperware Quick Chef giveaway. I used a random number generator and the winner was number three - Kristin!! Congratulations! Kristin send me your address in a separate email so I can mail you the prize. Thanks to all of you who left a comment, especially those of you who left a suggestion on how to improve the blog. Many of you said I need to have a recipe finder and I couldn’t agree with you more. I’ll be working on implementing it in the next few weeks.

19 comments:

  1. Congrats to Kristin! Those lobster tails and kebabs looks so good!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. Congratulatioons Kristen. This is one decadent and tasty meal to celebrate the special men in our lives:D

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  3. Congratulatioons Kristen.
    Linda, your lobsters tail really really tempting. The kebabs also look gorgeous and delicious. Such a perfect meal for father's day.

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  4. Congratulazione alla vincitrice. La tua aragosta alla griglia è molto invitante, voglio provare la ricetta quanto prima. Sono certa che tuo papa' ha gradito il tuo pranzetto. Ciao Daniela.

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  5. Ooooh that lobster is to die for! I never made it on the grill. I wish they would go on sale here, or maybe they are and I haven't looked good enough! I'll be on the prowl next time I go shopping, you've inspired me!

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  6. Your photos are fantastic! Like I am right there eating the lobster!
    Did you get a new camera?
    Happy Father's Day to Mr. Ciao Chow.

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  7. My husband would love both the surf and the turf. Your photos are amazing!

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  8. Linda - amazing! I've never grilled lobster - always afraid I'd toughen it up and I usually just buy it for New Year's. You have me in the mood now. Maybe just for hubby and me! I usually splurge on the steak because I don't buy a lot of it. Together or apart - this would please every man in my life - and better yet - it would please me also! And congrats to Kristin!

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  9. This looks wonderful! My step-dad would just love these kebabs. And I've never done lobster on the grill - it looks so good!

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  10. This is like the perfect meal for father's day! Euh.. can i come over? :) That picture of the lobster tails on the grill got me craving big time.

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  11. Two delicous meals!! My mind is ticking over at the possiblities. We Australians love firing up the barbeque!

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  12. Incredible! The lobster had me drooling with envy. I have never prepared lobster, but I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a good deal. Blogger has a feature to create pages to create a recipe finder pretty easily. I have one one my blog, of which I've been far too scarce.

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  13. We had a grilled lobsters on my bithday ..they were so good! Surf and turf is definitely a worthy indulgance for Father's Day!

    Congrats to Kristin!

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  14. Looks delicious but after my fiasco last week with the Cobia fish (see my two posts) I am not touching any fish for the next few weeks. Happy Father's day to your husband and all the men in your life.
    Joyce

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  15. Yum! That looks fantastic, and yes, the summer is the perfect time to grill everything.

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  16. You treat your "father" well. This looks so good it set my stomach growling. It is a perfect celebration meal. Have a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary

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  17. I am not a father but I would tell a lie so I could be feted with the shish kebab and lobster tails!

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  18. Grilled lobster tails sound terrific, I especially like your sauce. Good advice - don't leave the grill!
    LL

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  19. Black Angus shish-kebab?! - YUM!! And the lobster tails looked amazing :)

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