Cooking With Rania: Mother's Day Meal
This week, Rania Harris is in the Pittsburgh Today Live kitchen making the perfect meal for any mom this Mother's Day!
Baked Stuffed Lobster Tails
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 3 tablespoons melted, for brushing
1 medium onion, finely diced
4 sprigs fresh tarragon ~ stems removed ~ leaves chopped
¼ cup chopped Italian parsley
¼ pound peeled raw shrimp, cut into ½ inch pieces
¼ pound raw scallops, cut into ½ inch pieces
¼ pound jumbo lump crabmeat, picked for cartilage
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ cup dried cornbread, crumbled
4 (each 1/2 to 3/4-pound) lobster tails, thawed if frozen
1 cup dry white wine
Clarified butter and lemon wedges for serving
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Melt 8 tablespoons butter in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions. Cook for 5 minutes, or until soft, but not browned. Stir in the tarragon and the parsley. Add the seafood. Cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and cool. Gently fold in the cornbread. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Split top side of lobster shell down center with scissors, keeping tail fan intact. Pull shell open and gently lift tail meat out, keeping it attached at fan end. Cut away the shell, again, leaving the meat attached to the fan. Score the meat all the way down the middle, being careful not to cut through all the way. This opening will ultimately hold the stuffing. Season with salt and pepper.
Pour wine into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Place lobster tails in dish. Spoon stuffing in the opening of the meat and brush with melted butter. Bake (uncovered) 12 to 15 minutes in center of oven, until meat turns from translucent to opaque (white) and stuffing begins to brown.
Remove from oven when internal temperature reaches 140°F Drizzle pan juices lightly over lobster and serve immediately with clarified butter and lemon wedges.
For Clarified Butter:
Melt ½ cup butter over medium heat until frothy. Pour into a small glass measuring cup. Let stand 5 minutes. Skim foam from the top with a spoon and discard. Pour off clear, clarified butter to use for dipping. Discard solids left in bottom of cup.
Brown and Wild Rice Pilaf with Porcini and Parsley
½ cup wild rice - rinsed in a sieve
1 ½ ounces dried porcini
1 cup hot water
1 ¾ cups cold water
1 cup long grain brown rice
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 ½ cups chopped fresh parsley
Directions:
To a small saucepan of boiling water add the wild rice, remove from heat and let the rice soak for 30 minutes. In a small bowl combine the porcini and the hot water and let the mushrooms soak for 30 minutes. Strain the mixture through a rinsed and squeezed paper towel set over a measuring cup, reserving 3/4 cup of the soaking liquid. Wash the porcini under cold water to remove any grit and chop them. In a large saucepan bring the cold water and the porcini soaking liquid to a boil. Stir in the wild rice, (drained well) the brown rice, and the salt, and simmer the mixture, covered, for 40 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender. While the rice is cooking, in a large skillet cook the onion in the butter over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until it is softened and stir in the porcini. Add the rice to the skillet with the parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Combine the mixture well.
Serves: 6
