Dinner With Friends... And Sharing A New Award

We had our best friends (former residents of Galveston) over for dinner tonight for leftovers. Yes, I said leftovers. Neither of us was able to finish our lobster tails Valentines' Day night, so I kept it and we had the most mouth-watering lobster quesadillas with guacamole & sour cream dollops on the side, Spanish Rice, and refried beans.

Mr. Snoots was very skeptical about serving lobster in a quesadilla, but I assured him that it would all be okay. He shook his head and rolled his eyes during the entire preparation and cooking time, certain that I was going to have a failure to serve our friends. I'm more than proud to say that he was the first one to praise them once we all began to eat. I served a nice 2006 Pinot Grigio from an Italian vineyard called Mezzacorona which Mr. Snoots just happened to pick up on his last trip to Sam's Club. Yes, he still has a lot learn, but he's definitely trying. It was perfect for the lobster quesadillas. Here's the recipe:

Makes 4 (6-inch) Quesadillas.

Ingredients:

4 (5-ounce) lobster tails (approximately 10 ounces actual lobster meat)
2 tablespoons neutral-flavored oil, (i.e. grape seed or canola oil) plus extra for sauteing quesadillas
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 clove garlic, passed through a garlic press
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/3 teaspoon fine sea salt
8 (6-inch) flour tortillas
4 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 medium avocados, peeled and diced
1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese


1. Using a pair of kitchen shears, cut through the underside of lobster shell and remove lobster meat from shell. Reserve shells for lobster stock or another use. Dice lobster meat into 1/2-inch chunks. Or, you could just use leftover lobster.

2. Place lobster chunks in mixing bowl. Add 2 tablespoons oil, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, garlic, lime juice and salt. Toss gently to combine ingredients and coat lobster thoroughly; marinate 15 minutes.

3. Heat a medium non-stick saute pan over medium-high heat. Add marinated lobster and saute until just cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat.

4. Place one tortilla on a work surface and layer with one fourth of the lobster, cilantro, avocado and cheeses. Cover with second tortilla.

5. Heat a non-stick sauce pan or griddle with 2 tablespoons oil. Place filled tortilla in pan, cook on medium-low heat until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Remove from skillet and cut into wedges. Continue process with remaining ingredients, wiping out pan and adding oil between each quesadilla. Serve hot.

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Rubbish By Roan was kind enough to bestow upon me the same award she was recently presented with. I'm pretty sure I don't deserve this award, but I'm thrilled to accept it just the same. Therefore, I shall try to pass this award on to other more deserving bloggers. I think it says Best Blog Darts Thinker. However, my eyesight has run away with the candlestick maker, so it's entirely possible that I'm wrong.



Thankfully, the message remains the same:

“This award acknowledges the values that every Blogger displays in their effort to transmit cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values with each message they write. Awards like this have been created with the intention of promoting community among Bloggers. It’s a great
way to show appreciation and gratitude for work that adds value to the Web.”

So, the deal is that I have to nominate another 15 bloggers to pass this award on to. No problemo. Each of these bloggers has a keen sense of humor and they are great writers as well. Please give them each a click because you won't be disappointed. Here they are:

1. Tales From The Vinyl Village
2. The Incredible Woody
3. The Color Of Home
4. Golf Girl's Diary
5. Two Dogs Running
6. Country Girl On The Chesapeake Bay
7. Ask Allison at Women In Bloom
8. Queen Of The Planet Hot Flash
9. My J'Ollie Blog Home
10. Tales From The Clippy Mat
11. Mental Pause Chronicles
12. The Bliss Of It All
13. Real Women Golf
14. Kansas Chaos
15. Country Girl On The Chesapeake Bay