New Years Eve Feast

Greg and I decided to stay in for New Years Eve this year, a low-key way to cap off a fairly low-key 2013. I had an idea to cook a nice meal together, and decided on some surf and turf. I was going to do filet mignon and scallops but Greg got me this amazing stainless steel Cuisinart cookware set for Christmas and I couldn't wait to use the stock pot and steamer insert. Thus: lobster tails.

I've never cooked either filet mignon or lobster tails so this was a bit ambitious of me, but I figured that as long as one of those elements turned out edible, we would be ok. I expected something to go wrong and was prepared to write it off as an expensive experiment. Well this is where I start to sound braggy, because it turns out I seriously underestimated myself. I think my success can be attributed to a combination of a lot of research, a good sous chef, and the fact that I was just in the zone that night. And perhaps most importantly: quality ingredients. We spent awhile at Central Market picking out what we wanted, which also included ingredients for a butternut squash and saffron risotto. I wanted to incorporate some wintery, seasonal elements so in addition to featuring the squash I got some leeks for roasting.

Here's a quick breakdown of how I assembled the meal. If you plan on making one or all of these dishes, I suggest reading ahead first as there are some important notes on timing.

Roasted Leeks

This is an ingredient you are going to want to read up on before using. I've never cooked with leeks and I am so glad I did my research on how to prep them. The reason is that they are dirty you guys. A simple rinse will not do. You must chop them up and soak them because there are clods of dirt in between each layer. It was truly a surprising amount and I totally would have missed it and served mud for dinner had I not been prepared. Anyway, after a thorough cleaning I drizzled one inch long pieces with olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted at 400 for about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes or so. These can be roasting away while the rest of the meal is going.

Butternut Squash and Saffron Risotto

I used Ina Garten's recipe with a few small modifications, namely less salt and less saffron. Make sure to use unsalted chicken stock, use less salt than specified when roasting the squash and add only 1/2 teaspoon of salt when you add the saffron as opposed to a full teaspoon. The cheese you add at the end will have plenty of salt, trust me (speaking of cheese: you better buy a nice wedge of parmigiano reggiano to grate up - this is not optional). The other modification I made was that I only used a gram of saffron. Look, the stuff is not cheap and I thought a gram would be plenty. Turns out the recipe calls for like 4 times as much. To be honest though, I thought the saffron was almost overpowering, so consider using less or even omitting it altogether. You'll be fine.

A very important element to risotto is doing all of your prep beforehand, so factor that in. You don't want to get to a critical step and reach for a sealed bottle of wine, unmeasured rice or ungrated cheese.You can even roast the squash the night before, like I did.

Filet Mignon

We splurged and got some very nice cuts of meat, a little over 2 inches thick. You're going to want to get them out of the fridge about 45 minutes to an hour before you plan to cook them so that they can come to room temp (You're busy doing your prep for the risotto anyway right?) When I do steaks, I always put them on a cutting board, brush them generously with oil then rub them with a good amount - probably more than you think you need- of sea salt and coarsley ground pepper and let them come to room temperature. When it's time to cook them  (i.e. when the risotto is on the home stretch) get a cast iron skillet very hot (drops of water should dance and evaporate quickly) and make sure your oven is preheated to 400 (If you're roasting those leeks it already should be). Now, I always anticipate smoke when I sear steaks so go ahead and pop that battery out of your smoke alarm. Just don't forget to replace it!

Sear the steaks 4 minutes each side then 30 seconds or so around the edges so that the whole thing is seared and has a nice crust. You can expect smoke, but do not move them around. You don't want to interfere with the sear (rhymes!) and really you don't have to worry about them sticking. Resist the urge to peek and just be patient. Pop them in the oven for 5 minutes, then wrap them in foil and let them rest while you finish up. I recommend reading up on how to tell doneness by touch, just don't forget to factor in the additional cooking that will happen while the meat is resting.

Steamed Lobster Tails

You can broil them or poach them in butter, but I really wanted to use my fancy new pot with steamer insert so that's what I did. I got some water boiling earlier in the game, with some white wine, lemon, peppercorns and garlic in it. There are conflicting opinions on whether adding aromatics to your steaming water will actually infuse the meat with flavor, but I figured it couldn't hurt. I prepped the lobster tails like so, omitting the garlic on top but adding a pinch of cajun seasoning and steamed the 2 4oz tails for a total of 6 minutes. Some people recommend running the lobster under cold water afterward to stop the cooking, but I just used a conservative cook time and plated immediately. This will be made substantially easier if you do the prep while the steaks are resting and the risotto's finishing up, and cook the tails last.

A quick note: When shopping for your lobster, make sure to get cold-water. I bought these Maine lobster tails at a very reasonable price, frozen, and thawed them in the fridge overnight since we did our shopping the day before.

The finished product. Excuse the poor photo - I was just so damn excited to eat!

As you can see my lobster tail was a little bit mangled and ugly but I didn't give a damn because it was absolutely delicious, better than some of the lobster I've had at restaurants. Make sure to add another little pat of butter and a squeeze of lemon. The filet was a gorgeous medium rare. I served it on top of the roasted leeks and topped it with some garlic and herb compound butter I had made the night before. I won't bother with a recipe for the butter since there are so many online, but I will tell you that I like to sautee the garlic instead of leaving it raw. I will also divulge my secret ingredient.

Are you ready? It's anchovy paste. Just trust me.

I'm not going to say this was a cheap meal, but it was cheaper than it would be at a restaurant. Plus, I got some fun time in the kitchen with Greg (he can stir risotto like no other) and the smug satisfaction of making a truly restaurant quality meal at home.

My choice of accompaniment didn't hurt either ;)

Hope you all had a fun, safe and decadent New Years Eve as well. Cheers!