Lobster-Crab Shells and Cheese

April 22, 2011 epicureasian

2 4oz lobster tails
4oz fontina cheese
4oz gruyere
4-6oz aged white cheddar
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/4 cup of milk
16oz medium pasta shells
2-4oz butter
2-4 tablespoons flour
6oz white crab meat (usually shredded but chunk okay)
1 tablespoons of fresh or dried basil (optional)
garlic powder
pepper (white pepper optimal)

Cut lobster tails in half and let marinade in melted butter for 10-20 minutes. Fire up the grill and heat until flames burn down, and coals are grey and hot. Place tails meat side down and grill for 2-3 minutes. Turn over tails, drizzle any remaining butter into the meat, and grill for another 2-3 minutes. Lobster tails should be a nice opaque white/pink to indicate doneness.

Boil pasta shells until al dente, about 9-10 minutes, drain. Prepare the butter-flour roux in a sauce pan, mixing over medium heat, keeping the roux at a pale, creamy color. Add the cream until heated through. Meanwhile, chop into cubes or shred all cheeses (easier to shred if cheese is hardened). Stir in cheese slowly in batches, making sure that each batch is melted and incorporated thoroughly before adding the next batch. Add milk to thin the cheese sauce if necessary. Reduce heat to medium-low, continue to stir so that cheese sauce doesn’t burn. Season with garlic powder and pepper to taste.

Transfer pasta to bowl. Pour cheese sauce over pasta. Mix crab meat into pasta, fold until shells are coated with sauce and crab meat.

Remove lobster from tails and chop into chunks, then use as a topping on the pasta. Sprinkle chopped basil leaves for color and flavoring over the pasta.

Ye Olde Garden

Yellow salvia, variegated herbs & geraniums

April 17, 2011 epicureasian

Visited NHG on Saturday…missed the daylily show but bought what I came for: a yellow salvia greggii, Moonglow. The specimen I purchased is laden with unopened buds, so I can’t wait to see it bloom!

I also spotted a variegated basil at NHG, named Pesto Perpetuo–awesome colors, but I wonder how I will propagate it. Internet reading indicates that this is a variant of Greek basil, suggested to be a perennial. Only time will tell if this basil will endure our extreme Texas climate. Thoughts of preserving it sends me on a hunt for seeds, but it’s one I’ve rarely seen available on my regular online seed retailers. I should buy some rooting hormone…

I’ve also purchased a 4″ pot of salvia officinalis Tricolor, another herb purportedly perennial, here in Texas. It’s another sage to add to my current catalog of salvias, one with more functionality than my other salvias. This will be the fifth type I am currently growing; the others being greggii, x jamensis, coccinea, farinacea, and sinaloensis. I am considering taking some cuttings for use as an ornamental plant.

Round out my variegated plant purchases is a scented geranium, Prince Rupert. It’s listed as pelargonium crispum French Lace on Dave’s Garden. My first geranium specimen, Orange Fizz, reached a height of almost four feet before it perished during our fierce winter this past year. I should have kept the root stock to see if it might have come back, but unfortunately it was ill-placed in the purple bed. I am reading up on the care of this newest geranium in the hopes of propagating its return.

Ye Olde Garden

After the hail storm

April 15, 2011 epicureasian

We’ve had a spate of mild weather lately, until last night when a hail storm struck, damaging tender young plants. Some vinca seedlings I had sitting out suffered the most damage, but most other plants will recover. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of debris strewn about the yard caused by the hail storm, so a cleanup will be on the gardening agenda this weekend.

I have express my dismay upon discovering that the Diana Blueberry dianthus blooms weren’t even blue, lavender, or some shade reminiscent of blue. All the dianthus sitting in the blue bed are opening pink, or picoteed pink. I’m beginning to suspect that these Blueberry dianthus are the Super Parfait Red Peppermints that I thought perished last year, but those were supposed to be RED!

I am concerned with one of the variegated felicia specimens planted next to the fence. It appears to be dying; the honey says its probably due to lack of sun, but I can’t imagine that might be what’s ailing it. Another fence hugger, our Frostproof Gardenia, has been curling up and dropping nearly most of its leaves, and there’s been no sign yet of any new foliage. I’m sad to say that it is probably due for replacement or relocation.

There are few garden shows to see this weekend. Calloway’s is hosting their Rose Festival and sponsoring several garden tours this month and next–Southlake being the first of the series. NHG has their daylily sale, and Argyle Acres opens their Iris gardens to the public.

Speaking of roses, we’ve determined the yellowing on the nether parts of our Midnight Blue is attributable to too much watering. We’ve cut down on the moisture and it is retaining its blooms longer. The neighboring purple salvia greggii echo the colors of our Midnight Blue. And now the gauras planted next to the house are getting in the act, starting to put forth blooms. I need to plant the ornamental peppers in this purple bed to get them going.

I adopted out some herbs and pepper plants yesterday; and now I’m in the mood to plant more–even though I have zero room for them. I suppose I should try to coax more Lime Basil plants from seed–my first two attempts at early hardening seems to have killed the youngsters. I’d also like one regular basil plant, which I will perhaps keep potted. I’m also seriously considering onions and garlic, plus fostering some more hostas.

I will also need to start more vinca, since I find that I’m not producing enough.

Some interesting gardening reading that I’ve found recently:

And who knew that Coppell had its own nature park?