Pasta Risotto with Lobster

Sometime before the holidays when we were on a 3-way call, our meal plan for Christmas started at paella, and ended at me screaming at about where, in the vast depths of the world wide web, all the brothy lobster pasta recipes were hiding. We always agree the foods we make and enjoy the most rarely come from following a recipe, but when I'm spending 3 hours a day trying to trick Google into filtering up less frequented blogs, I neglect the reality that I'll end up doing what I want, regardless. For me, it's always about the reassurance that someone somewhere else did it, and it worked. The journey of getting to what I want is truthfully more about peace of mind. Shout out to all of you that share a similar psychosis in your life, be it a throw pillow or a party dress or something equally as trivial as picking a carb for dinner.

After days of this madness, I discovered a recipe that put my disease to rest (and one from possibly one of the only male chefs left I can use recipes from), for Thomas Kellers pasta risotto, and it was nearly everything I wanted. Something about the bizarre addition of whipped cream finally satisfied me, and felt like it was just begging to be paired with butter boiled lobster.

| Amanda

Pasta Risotto

2 tbsp. unsalted butter

½ cup finely minced shallots

8 ounces small tubular dried pasta such as ditaloni (we used ditalini rigati)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 quart chicken broth, hot

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated

¼ cup (before whipping) heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks

Butter Boiled Lobster

1-2 small lobsters

4 tbsp. butter

Kosher salt

fresh tarragon or parsley

Prepare lobsters; boil or steam lobsters in stockpot with water 12-15 minutes, depending on size. This guide helps! Take meat from tail and claws, discard body. Rinse meat and set aside.

Heat butter in large pot or dutch oven until melted, add shallots. Stir on medium-low 6-8 minutes or until translucent. Add pasta and stir 2 minutes. Add wine. Add a ladle full of chicken stock at a time, stirring occasionally until liquid absorbs, and then continuing to add by the spoonful. When the majority of the liquid is absorbed, the pasta should be cooked and al dente. Add parmesan.

Meanwhile, reheat lobster in a small pan with butter and fresh herbs.

Whip heavy cream and very slowly add to pasta, stirring just slightly. Top with lobster and serve.

Note: Since we were doing this for a group for Christmas, we wanted to get the lobster cooking out of the way. If you have more time or are able to, we would definitely grill the lobster next time, or cook it simultaneously and leave it more whole.