The price of lobster

I decided to make this lobster pasta this week and spring for a lobster tail.

I should have run screaming when I asked the guy at the seafood counter for a small tail and he said, "do you want the house payment size or the car payment size?"

It didn't occur to me that I would actually spend more on a lobster tail in a market than I would for a fully cooked lobster at a restaurant. I spent $31 on that piece of lobster tail at Central Market.

Oh, well. Live and learn.

Fettucini with Lobster Sauce

12 oz fettuccini pasta, cooked
10 oz can of shrimp bisque *I used this garlic shrimp and tomato bisque that I found at Central Market
1/2 c half and half
1/4 c dry sherry
1 cooked lobster tail, shelled and sliced

In medium saucepan, combine bisque, half and half and sherry and stire over medium heat. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. Simmer for five minutes. Add lobster to sauce and stir until heated through. Serve sauce over pasta.

Ranch Dressing

1/2 c mayonnaise
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c buttermilk
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp fresh minced dill
1 Tbsp dried chives
3 Tbsp fresh minced parsley
2 Tbsp fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1 dash Tabasco
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp ground white pepper

Combine all ingredients and chill for 30 minutes before serving with mixed greens.

What I liked about this dish: The lobster was absolutely delicious and the pasta dish was fairly easy and not too complex to prepare and make.
What I disliked about this dish: The lobster was expensive (see above) and the shrimp bisque smelled a little weird.
Cool kitchen gadgets used: I had bought fresh parsley for a dish three weeks ago, fresh dill for dilly potatoes the day before Christmas Eve, and fresh mint for sangria on Christmas Eve. I have an herb keeper that I bought at Sur La Table a few years ago that I was keeping my fresh herbs in and it really did keep them fresh...I used up the rest of the dill and the parsley for my dishes tonight. I also used my herb snippers to cut the dill and the parsley leves away from the stems (great little tool) and my mezzaluna (Spanish for "half-moon") is utterly priceless for mincing fresh herbs.
Tastiness factor: The lobster pasta was not too bad, but in retrospect given how much I had spent on the tail, I think I would have rather just ate it boiled with drawn butter and had the pasta on the side. If I were going to make it again, that's probably what I'd do. The Ranch dressing, on the other hand, was the spiciest pepperiest dressing I've EVER tasted. It smelled great coming out of the refrigerator, but after I put it on my salad, it just was WAY overpowering and way too hot. Not at all the creamy dilly Ranch that I envisioned today when I started mixing it together, that's for sure. If you like pepper, you'll probably love it, but I personally did not care for it.

All in all, the meal was not lost, and I ended it with my last piece of coconut cake from Christmas Eve. My Christmas sweets are now officially gone.