Today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the Lenten season in Catholicism. It lasts until Easter. For this year it's Sunday, April 4th and includes fasting on Friday's as well keeping the day meatless. Don't worry I won't go into a whole thing about it. If you want to know the history you can google it. There's tons of information out there on the interweb.
One of the things about lent is to sacrifice something(s) during that time. Sacrifice being things that you do that you're willing to give up or live without. 40+ days isn't so bad. Before I know it, Easter is already here. Time has been going by really fast lately that I tend to lose track of what day of the week it is. So what did I give up? For me, it's food related. First is meat. Instead of just meatless Fridays, I'm going the whole lent meatless. No chicken, beef, pork, duck. I don't mind going vegetarian with an occasional fish or seafood dish here and there. I need to have some sort of protein. Besides, a lot of my cooking already involves veggies. The second thing I decided to give up is...chocolate! Gasp!! What?! Yes. I shall give up chocolate for the time being. But being an admitted choc-o-holic that will be quite tough and probably drive me nuts. That means no spoonfuls of nutella to snack on. Sigh. And no chocolate chip cookie or that slice of chocolate cake on a film or tv productions. Darn! I ain't worried though. I like to look at this as a way to help me better my eating habits, too. (Sort of...hahaha)
Alrighty...now onto number two of my Valentine's/Chinese New Year meal for the single. I had gotten a couple lobster tails to accompany my little ramen shiitake alfredo dish. I don't have lobster often. Maybe once a year. The kinds I usually eat are the steamed versions. I've seen them grilled, but I had put ol' Georgie away for the time being and didn't want to lug him out again just for this. So my only other option left was to bake them. Plus, that gave me some time to finish off making my alfredo sauce and boiling up the ramen noodles.
These tails are relatively easy to make. Just give them a light rub of extra virgin olive oil or butter. Cooking time depends usually. 6 oz or smaller would relatively cook in about 8-10 minutes. I have gotten a couple 12 oz Caribbean tails. If I ate that at a restaurant I would have ended up paying a hefty price just a single meal. Heck, I'm glad I did them at home instead. Saved me some money. Anyway, I stuck a couple skewers to keep the tails from curling. I coated them lightly with some olive oil and baked it at a 400˚F oven. Delicious with a couple lemon wedges.
Baked Lobster Tails
2 6-12 oz lobster tails - thawed or fresh
olive oil or butter
Preheat your oven to 400˚F
Baste the lobster tails with a little olive oil or butter and place on a roasting pan or baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes 15-20 minutes for 12 oz tails.
Serve with a side of lemon wedge and some melted butter.
25 comments:
Your lobster tails look beautiful!
Ooooh, nice! I am totally into lobster!
You are so good! I'm being such a whiner about giving up something for Lent and here you are going all out with NO MEAT! That one would be a little hard for me, if only because I'm not sure that I could get my husband on board (and I'm not about to make two different dinners for 40 nights!) I did give up chocolates one year and I can tell you that it helped me kick my multi-chocolate bar-a-day habit.
Perhaps I can persuade hubs to go meatless if I dangle lobster tails as delicious as these in front of him . . .
is lobster expensive out there? it's fairly cheap here (obviously), but just curious how expensive it is.
I'm such a bad Catholic - I totally forgot it was Ash Wednesday, thanks for the reminder! I tried giving up chocolate one year and almost made it through Lent, until I accidentally ate some chocolate mousse on the 38th day (oops). And I'd be willing to give up meat if I could have lobster everyday :)
Jenn, that look really luxurious.
My daughter loves lobster, I have to make it for her soon!
The photos look amazing too!
Dawn: Lobster price here vary from 7 for 6oz to around 10-15 for 12oz per tail. I guess it depends at which market you get them from
Oh, I want one! Those lobster tails are just gorgeous!
seriously? chocolate?!
How cool!! I would have never thought to bake lobster--I love the simplicity of that. Too bad I don't live near Maine and inexpensive lobster ;)
They are beautiful!
no chocolate? What a commitment! But I bet if I got lobster, I think I could forgo chocolate. :)
So simple and yet can be such a special meal. Good luck with your Lent.
These are perfect to go with your Alfredo Ramen! How good of you to give up two things for Lent.
You're a stronger person than me giving up two for Lent.
Your lobster story reminds me of how my hubby came back from a trip and declared himself a vegetarian who ate fish. Just no meat. I had no idea what to do, but we started with shrimp and lobster every day for the first few weeks. I thought it was great, but he was getting sick of it. Still not sure how that's possible.
Mr. Nutmeg Nanny would go crazy over these lobster tails. He is a lobster freak! I guess growing up on the East Coast will do that to you :)
wow they look amazing and I admire you for giving up chocolate your a brave girl
let me know if i can put it on the seafood blog, I need to cook lobster, it wasn't live was it!
Rebecca
CC: Sure you can put it on the seafood blog. No it wasn't alive when I got it. I haven't made it to that step yet. hahaha...
Wow, nicely done!
The tails are just lovely!
Good luck with giving up meat & chocolate. For me, meat would be no problem. But chocolate?? I don't think I could do it. You have a strong will!
Simple is best when cooking a delicate lobster tail I think.
Those lobster tails look wonderful! Best of luck with giving up meat and chocolate for lent. I'm sure you'll come up with some great veggie recipes!
Terrific post! Congrats on Top 9 today! YAY!
LL
If only I weren't allergic to lobster... Mmmmmmm! You have beautiful, mouth-watering photos!
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