If you don’t barbecue and set off fireworks during 4th of July, are you even an American? I’m just borrowing this catch-phrase for the day that is all over social media. But seriously though, how  is this possible when Houston has been seeing rains non-stop?  I saw the forecast a couple of days ago so I deferred from buying my tomahawk steaks because I did not want to grill in the rain. I decided to cook lobsters instead.

If you have an Asian store nearby, get your lobsters there. I got mine from Ranch 99 at $10 per pound. The same ones are $14.99 at HEB and much more miserable and sick-looking.  I got 4 lobsters even if there’s only 3 of us. The 4th is my back-up.

Being a chef-wanabe, I am cooking it three ways.

First, Steamed Lobster and Corn.

Have 2 inches of water in a pot, put 2 ears of corn, cover until lobsters are bright red (about 15 minutes). Cover your ears as you will be hearing them scream. I researched this and was comforted by the fact that they don’t have vocal cords. The “screaming” is some sort of gas escaping its cavities. I was comforted knowing that the lobsters were not screaming, just farting. Let that sink in.

Save the claw meat and carcass as you will be needing it for the two other dishes.

Second Dish is Maine-Style Lobster Rolls.

I used Avocado Mayonnaise because Tom Brady said so. Seriously. We have his book, I read it there somewhere so when I saw a jar at Whole Foods, I ditched the regular mayo. In that 2 seconds I placed the jar in my shopping cart, I felt like Giselle Bundchen.

Third Dish is Lobster Bisque.

Put the lobster shells from tails, claws, knuckles and legs in a big pot and add 5 cups of water. Simmer for 5 minutes then strain.

In a large saucepan sauté half an onion and one stalk of celery until soft. Add half a cup of tomato paste then half a cup of sherry. When bubbling, add 1/3cup of uncooked rice, 1 tsp thyme, salt and pepper, a bay leaf. Add lobster stock. Simmer for 25 minutes. Allow to cool for 15 minutes then transfer to blender. When smooth, add juice of one lemon and a cup of heavy cream.

There was a slight bitter after-taste which I soon found out was caused by a head of one lobster that I thought i discarded. Google told me that I can offset this by adding more lemon. It worked!

So that makes our 4th of July spread. Everything cooked indoors while watching the news of other areas of the city that are starting to flood. Hopefully, the rain will stop soon. For the meantime, we pause and give thanks for being in this  great country that made our dreams come true. Happy Independence Day y’all!

I have watched Gordon Ramsay’s video on how to make beef wellington over and over. It is very daunting. It seems like the kind of dish that will always end up overcooked or undercooked. Either way, a piece of really good (and damn expensive!) meat goes to waste. So I was contented in ordering them in restaurants, or better yet, having it at my sister-in-law’s, Ginger, who makes it so well.

Enter the Anova, my new favorite kitchen gadget which promises a fail-proof cooking of this wonderful piece of beef. Use beef tenderloin (center cut). I used two pieces of filet mignon since I wasn’t able to order the longer piece from the butcher because I forgot that i was going to make this today… It is Superbowl and I cheer for a 40 year old quarterback with a really bad defense, so I had many things on my mind.

Here’s what you need for this dish: 1 pound of beef tenderloin, 1 shallot, 3 cloves of garlic, 8 oz mushrooms, prosciutto, mustard,puff pastry, egg wash.

The beef is seasoned and  cooked  for 2 hours at 124F.

While that’s cooking, start making the duxelle. Use an 8oz crimini mushrooms (chopped), 1 shallot (minced), and 3 cloves of garlic (minced). I put all these in a food processor because I’m lazy. Just make sure you do it in pulses so it does not end up pureed.

Once beef is done, remove from vacuum and pat dry.

Freeze for 20 minutes. Then wrap with puff pastry. Brush with egg wash.

Bake for 475F for 10 minutes or until crust is golden brown

In my years of winning and losing, there is one thing I learned — GRACE (not an easy feat nowadays with all the clever memes). So I will refrain from spouting opinions on that game today. My team had a disappointing finish to an otherwise great season, but my beef wellington, however, finished great! Thank goodness to technology…

This was a successful first try! I would be more careful in choosing my prosciutto, though, because the one I used here was salty. Otherwise, it turned out pretty and delicious! If only the Patriots won, the day would have been perfect.