Lobster Bisque

Posted on January 1, 2013 by jgisvold

Happy New Year everyone! On New Year’s Eve, I cooked some lobster bisque and a cheesy pull-a-part bread and my husband cooked some steaks and liver on the grill. It has become a tradition on New Year’s Eve to cook whatever we want. I usually want lobster and Ben wants his steaks. It’s our way of bringing in the New Year’s since we can hardly stay up past 10pm anymore. Isn’t that sad?!

My vacation is done today and I’m back to work tomorrow. There’s a few new things I’d like to accomplish this year. I’d like to join a gym and get off my lazy butt and start working out again. I am excited to start taking Zumba classes at our local YMCA or wherever we decide to go. I’d also like to try Yoga or water aerobics.

I ended up getting almost a pound and a half of lobster for myself this year which was a little bit too much. Next year I’m just going to get one really big lobster tail. I just love lobster. I wish I could have it for every meal I eat, but that would get really expensive. I love how filling it is and to me, lobster tastes kind of sweet. I love lobster bisque and I’ve had several different versions of it. One I had at the HODO restaurant and another version when I was in Jamaica. I love it when there’s huge chunks of lobster meat in the bisque. I also made a cheesy pull-a-part bread to dip the soup in. It was real cheesy, buttery, and garlicy.

Lobster bisque recipe from gimme some oven

Lobster Bisque

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Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped yellow onions
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
3 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups seafood stock
1 cup white wine
1/4 cup cognac or brandy
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream

Directions

Step 1
In a large stockpot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and tomato paste, and saute for 5 minutes or until the onions are cooked and translucent. Sprinkle the mixture with flour, and stir to be sure that it evenly coats the veggies. Saute for 1 minute.
Step 2
Add the seafood stock, white wine, cognac, lobster meat, paprika, bay leaf, thyme and cayenne, and stir to combine. Cook for 30 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent the bottom from burning.
Step 3
Remove the bay leaf and sprig of thyme. Stir in heavy cream, and season if needed with extra salt and pepper
Step 4
Then puree the soup using an immersion blender. Or you can transfer the soup in small batches into a traditional blender and blending until smooth. (Always be careful not to fill a blender too full with hot liquids.)

Hibachi Recipes

Posted on December 14, 2012 by jgisvold

Wow, it’s been a really busy week here. I had two potulucks at work. Both were right after each other. I brought a pasta salad with bacon, cheddar, and tomatoes in it for one and Buffalo chicken dip for another. Lot’s of cooking this week. I really didn’t make anything new either. Had some Lasagna soup earlier this week and that lasted for a couple of days. So here you are with 3 brand new recipes in one post. Lucky you!

Recently, I went to a Hibachi restaurant for a friend’s birthday party. Ben and I don’t normally eat at those types of restaurants because they’re really expensive. It’s super easy to make everything at home. All it takes is a little time and love. The restaurant we go to starts off their meal with a bowl of mushroom soup. The soup is good and flavorful, and it doesn’t have much to it. Just a special type of broth, some sliced mushrooms, and scallions for decoration. It is so divine.

Mushroom soup recipe from Carrie’s Cooking

Mushroom Soup

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Ingredients

1/2 stalk celery
1 small onion
2 carrots chopped
2 tablespoons fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
3 tablespoons beef bouillon granules
1 cup sliced mushrooms
8 cups water

Directions

Step 1
In a large saucepan or stockpot, combine the celery, onion, carrot, ginger, garlic, and a few of the mushrooms. Add chicken bouillon, beef bouillon, and water. Place the pot over high heat, and bring to a rolling boil. When the mixture reaches boiling, cover, reduce heat to medium, and cook for 45 minutes. It can cook for longer than 45 minutes (sometimes I leave it on for a couple hours), you will just need to add more water if too much water evaporates.
Step 2
After it's cooked for at least 45 minutes strain the cooked soup and discard all of the vegetables, leaving the broth. Serve the broth with sliced mushrooms and sprinkle french friend onions over the top

The way they serve each course there is kind of confusing to me. Next they give you rice with this really good sauce called Yum Yum, sauce. I’d rather have my rice and protein together. Then you also get to chose if you want any noodles. The noodles are so good… Probably because they use a lot of butter and MSG.

Hibachi Noodles from Best of the Veg

Hibachi Noodles

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Ingredients

Japanese dried noodles
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
8 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon chili sauce
2 tablespoons semesame oil

Directions

Step 1
Cook noodles according to package directions.
Step 2
In a jar combine remaining ingredients and shake well.
Step 3
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sauce to the pan with the noodles. Toss the noodles around in the sauc e for 2 minutes and Serve.

Homemade Yum Yum Sauce

Yum Yum Sauce

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Ingredients

1 1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon paprika

Directions

Step 1
Using a fork or a whisk, blend all ingredients together thoroughly until well mixed and the sauce is smooth. Refrigerate overnight to allow flavors to blend. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Every recipe I thought, was pretty similar to what I was served at the restaurants. If you want to make these recipes at home it’s good to have some Asian ingredients stocked up in your fridge. I like to keep my fresh ginger in the freezer and I take it out to use it whenever I want. These are some ingredients I recommend that you keep on hand.

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

Posted on November 23, 2012 by jgisvold

The first time I made this soup it was eaten up so fast, I didn’t get to take a picture of it. I also added about a tablespoon of pesto sauce that I got at Trader Joe’s. That made this soup extra delicious.

It starts off with 2 cans of tomato soup. People won’t even know you started off with that after you add in all the other ingredients. The chicken broth and half and half make this ten times better. I just dumped in the package of frozen tortellini into the boiling soup and waited until they floated to the top. Ok, I just don’t suggest dumping in the package of tortellini like I did, or else you’ll have boiling hot water splatter all over your shirt. Don’t wear white while making this soup either. Sprinkle on parmesan cheese on top or serve with garlic bread.

Creamy Tomato Soup recipe from Plain Chicken

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

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Ingredients

1 package frozen tortellini (9 oz )
2 cans condensed tomato soup
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 cups half-and-half
1 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Directions

Step 1
Cook tortellini according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
Step 2
In a Dutch oven, combine the soup, broth, half and half and seasonings. Heat over medium heat for approximately 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Add tortellini to soup. Stir in cheese.
Step 3
Sprinkle each serving with additional cheese if desired.