Food for my Valentine

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Mr. C and I sure did - a nice relaxing evening at home. Of course, before I got a chance to relax I was busy cooking up a fabulous dinner for Mr. C - Brown Butter Risotto with Lobster. (sounds fancy...uh)

I found the recipe while watching Giada one afternoon and it looked delish. So, when I was doing my pre-Valentines grocery shopping I noticed the lobster was on sale. It was like it was meant to be!

This one definitely is a keeper. Mr. C just loved it and if you didn't want to spend the money on Lobster, it would be great with shrimp or scallops.

Brown Butter Risotto with Lobster

Courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis
Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 40 min
Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients
• 1 lb. frozen lobster tails, thawed (about 2 med. sized)
• 4 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken stock
• 4 tablespoon butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/2 cup brandy **I didn't have any brandy, so I used cooking sherry.**
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


Directions

Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the lobster tails and boil until the shells curl (approx. 5 minutes, depending on size) and the lobster meat turns white. Drain, transfer to a cutting board, and cool for 15 minutes. Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, cut through the top shell lengthwise. Remove the meat and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Keep hot over low heat. **I just heated my stock in the microwave - one less pan to clean!**

In a large saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Cook until the butter begins to foam and then turns brown, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Add the onion and cook, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with the butter. Add the brandy and simmer until the liquid has almost evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of stock and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue adding the stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition of stock to absorb before adding the next. Cook until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, the remaining butter and 2 tablespoons chives. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Transfer the risotto to a large serving bowl. Arrange the lobster meat on top of the risotto and garnish with the remaining chives

This picture doesn't give this dish justice, but believe me anytime I can get Mr. C to eat a dinner

 with no meat and loves it, it's a winner!!