Chocolate-Hazelnut Cake with Chocolate Covered Praline Hazelnuts

This cake is a chocolate lover's dream - a rich, double-layer chocolate cake with a creamy, whipped ganache and a chocolate glaze. The cake is dressed with hazelnuts that have been toasted, candied, coated in tempered chocolate and rolled in Dutch-process cocoa powder, and with fancy bittersweet chocolate swirls.

Our daughter turned 7 last week. 7!!! Being the daughter of foodies, why wouldn't she request a Belgian chocolate cake for her birthday? My husband heard the request and got to work! As he said, he couldn't let her down.

He chose a rich chocolate-hazelnut cake with so many elements he was in the kitchen for 4 hours on Saturday. But this cake - SO worth it.

Instead of making a single layer cake, he turned this recipe into two layers of rich chocolate cake. He layered the cakes with whipped, creamy chocolate ganache in between and on top. Next, he drizzled a chocolate glaze on all of the cake.

He could have stopped there, but this cake is seriously over the top in so many ways - layers, taste, elements, and beauty. In addition to the whipped chocolate ganache and the chocolate glaze, this cake has 2 more toppings - chocolate swirls and chocolate-covered praline hazelnuts.

The swirls started with tempered chocolate that he chilled in a thin layer and then scraped to make chocolate swirls.

The hazelnuts start by toasting hazelnuts that are then candied in a caramelized sugar. Once cool, they are coated in tempered bittersweet chocolate and chilled until hardened. The final step is rolling them in Dutch-process cocoa powder.

Drooling yet?

Once we sang happy birthday and cut the cake, you didn't hear anything out of any of us for about 10 minutes, except "Mmmmm...." and "wow...." And our 7-year-old was very, very happy :)

Chocolate-Hazelnut Cake
Adapted from: Martha Stewart

Tip: Read the entire recipe before starting since several elements can be done together. Such as the hazelnuts for the cake and the hazelnuts for the topping can be toasted together and then separated. The ganache and glaze can be prepared together and then separated to whip some and to keep some as the glaze.

The Cake Ingredients and Directions

• 4 oz hazelnuts
• 13 1/3 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened (1 2/3 sticks)
• 2/3 c Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 6 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 2/3 c all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp table salt
• 2/3 c boiling water
• 1 3/4 c packed, dark brown sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/3 c buttermilk, at room temperature
• 2 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• Equipment: 2 9-inch cake pans; food processor; hand or stand mixer. 

Directions

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place hazelnuts on a baking sheet and bake until toasted, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a clean kitchen towel and rub to loosen skins. Transfer them to a food processor and grind with the granulated sugar until fine, but not pasty. Stir in the flour, baking soda, and salt.
• Butter your cake pans and then dust with cocoa powder, shaking out any excess. 
• In a heat-proof bowl, mix the cocoa powder and boiling water until smooth. Once smooth and cooled, stir in the buttermilk and vanilla. 
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar on high until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well blended. 
• Switch mixer to low and add in half of the dry ingredients (the ground hazelnuts/sugar, flour mixture). Once blended, add in the cocoa mixture. Then add in the rest of the dry mixture, mixing until just incorporated. 
• Scrape batter into your prepared pans so they are both even; smooth on top. Bake 50 min - 1 hr until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes; remove from a pan until completely cooled.
• Directions for frosting and decorating the cakes can be found after the rest of the instructions below. 

The Chocolate Glaze and Whipped Ganache Ingredients and Directions

• 1/1/2 lb bittersweet or semisweet chocolate
• 3 3/4 cups heavy cream

Chop the chocolate with a serrated knife and place it into a heat-proof bowl. Bring the cream to a boil over high heat. Pour over the chocolate and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Use a rubber spatula to gently loosen the chocolate, and stir until smooth. Let sit at room temp for 30-60 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

To make the whipped ganache: take 2/3 of the prepared glaze and transfer to a bowl. Place that bowl over a larger bowl of ice. Whip the chocolate with a balloon whisk until lighter in color and spreadable, removing the bowl from the ice bath and returning it as needed. 

The Chocolate Swirl and Candied Hazelnuts Ingredients and Directions

• 2 cups hazelnuts
• 1 c granulated sugar
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 lb bittersweet chocolate, very finely chopped
• 1/4 c Dutch-process cocoa
• Equipment: baking sheet, heavy skillet, parchment paper, stainless bowl, saucepan, a bench scraper, a sifter

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place hazelnuts on a baking sheet and bake until toasted, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a clean kitchen towel and rub to loosen skins.
• Place sugar and water in a medium heavy skillet. Stir with a fork over medium-high heat until dissolved. Let boil without stirring for 3 minutes. 
• Add nuts to the pan. stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar mixture coats the nuts. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper; let cool. 
• Once the nuts are cool, place half of the chocolate in a stainless bowl, and place the bowl over a pan with 1 inch of simmering water. Stir until chocolate is melted and hot. Add the rest of the chocolate, remove the pan from the water, and let stand 5 minutes and then stir until smooth.
• Pour half of the chocolate onto an inverted baking sheet and spread with the scraper until smooth and about 1/8 inch thick. Let stand until tacky. Hold your scraper at a 45-degree angle and scrape the chocolate off the surface to make the curls. Store curls at room temp in a parchment-lined airtight container.
• Add candied nuts to the remaining chocolate in the bowl, stirring until coated. Spread nuts on a parchment-lined baking sheet and let stand until set. 
• Sift cocoa powder over the chocolate nuts and toss to coat. Store in a resealable plastic bag in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Finishing the Cake

• Place one layer of the cake on your serving plate. Spread some of the whipped ganache on top of the cake. Place the second layer of the cake on top of the ganache. Frost the entire cake with the remaining whipped ganache.
• Pour the chocolate glaze onto the center of the cake, letting it drip over the edges. 
• Let the cake stand at room temperature until the glaze is set. 
• Decorate with the swirls and nuts. 
• Store in the fridge until 30 minutes before serving. 

Celebrating 10 Years with our Best Recipes

Today Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations turns the big 1-0!! Ten years of sharing recipes from my kitchen - I can't believe it!

It's funny to think back on how much has changed in ten years both with this blog and with me personally. When I look back through the blog year by year I can remember things happening in my life by the way I was cooking and the food I would make. Kind of like when you hear an old song and it brings back a memory. My food brings back so many memories of times in my life. Oh how things have changed! Ten years ago we were both in our early 30s -

Ten years ago I had never cooked risotto. I had never baked something that didn't come in a box. Believe it or not, I had never worked with bone-in chicken (except that one time I made chicken soup from scratch in high school). There were so many dishes and ingredients I hadn't heard of, or wasn't brave enough to try. I (thought) I loathed mushrooms and blue cheese and eggs. Things like homemade tomato sauce, pan sauces, homemade frosting and whipped cream did not exist in my kitchen. And my knife skills? None. I still used to put my index finger along the top of my cheap knives.

But then after being married for about three years, I took an interest in cooking, mostly because both my husband and I were getting sick of tacos, stuffed peppers, pepper steak, and cheese nip chicken. Sadly, that's about all we ate when we were both home... Thank goodness for work travel!

When I first jumped into really cooking, I immediately discovered that I did not enjoy measuring and preferred to go by taste, look, and smell. I soon started to read recipes and decide what I'd change before even trying the recipe. I had some failures and some successes, and learned a LOT along the way. Weekly I was trying at least 2-3 new recipes, and Saturday nights were dedicated to date nights at home where we'd cook something new and fancy together (yes, my husband is an awesome cook and loves being in the kitchen whenever he can!). I don't think we ate the same thing more than twice for at least 2 years because I was in love with experimenting and creating new recipes. That is when I decided to start this blog - it was really just a way to keep track of recipes. I had no idea where it would take me.

During those first few years, favorites were discovered and put on rotation, however I never lost that love of creating new recipes. Over the years my food has evolved to suit our lifestyle, and these days, instead of spending hours on one recipe, I focus a lot more meals to feed my family. Although every now and then I do get a full day in the kitchen and love it!!

Writing this blog has taught me and brought me so much more than just cooking.

Entertaining and planning menus is one of my favorite things to do. I love sitting with my notebook writing out ideas and I totally appreciate that my husband lets me run them by him a million times. Luckily he enjoys it too, and we love creating holiday menus together. We often start talking about Christmas months before the big day!

Photography has also become a hobby of mine. I know I still have a lot to learn and hope to find the time to take some classes soon, but on my own I can see much improvement. Those early food pics were pretty homely, as my husband would say! (so please, as I share some old recipes below, be mindful of that :)

And finally, it's crazy to think that I wasn't even on Facebook when I started this blog. There was no such thing as Twitter, Instagram, Yummly, Pinterest, Snapchat, Tumblr, etc. I could go on and on! It has been fun connecting with people through those platforms and learning the best ways to use them to connect with all of you (and meanwhile my 6 year old sees a logo and knows what social media platform it belongs to - it's like second nature to them!).

Since my life and this blog are completely entwined, I can't help but think of how my personal life has changed over the past ten years. Ten years ago I was in my early 30s, married almost 4 years and working in the corporate world, traveling the country (and world) for pharmaceutical and medical meetings. After the birth of my daughter I decided to move on from that life, and now I consider myself very lucky that I am able to work part-time for now so I can be there for the school bus, school events, and extracurricular activities with my amazing 6 year old daughter.  Ten years ago I wasn't even thinking of kids yet, and now this little one is almost 7! How awesome is it that she loves to get in the kitchen with me and we can pretty much get her to try (almost) anything. Most recently she tried mussels and loved them! She's an energetic little girl and keeps us on on toes - our little first grader who loves acting, dancing, cooking, singing, playing outside, reading, writing, making lists, playing games and telling jokes. Things haven't always been easy over the past ten years - although blessed to be in our forever home, it has been a continuous work in progress and it always seem like something is going wrong or breaking. We have both dealt with unemployment, secondary infertility, pregnancy losses, and the death of our first dog, Daisy Mae. During all of those times, I always turned to cooking as my therapy. Family and cooking have been my one constant through all of these ten years. 
So take a trip down memory lane with me as I share my most popular and/or favorite recipes. These are recipes that have been shared the most, liked the most, and recipes that have been favorites of my family. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My top post of all-time comes from May of 2008 - Time for a Party. In this post I shared a menu for a party including this recipe for tortilla pinwheels, and now I see them pinned all over Pinterest. They are a hit! I take them to every party and get asked for the recipe several times at each party. Sometimes simple is the best! 

My husband has contributed several recipes, desserts, and wine reviews to this blog. Two of his recipes are in my top searched, pinned and shared recipes! He loves making this Maine Lobster Stew, has made it for the last 2 years on Christmas, and is always looking for excuses to make it again. I'll take credit for helping with the plating and taking the photos. 

Another recipe of his that sends a lot of people to this blog through searches is his Beef Negimaki. After ordering it several times at our local sushi place he decided to make it on his own. We both agreed it was even better than the restaurant's! Since this post is from 2009 the pic isn't great, but what I do love about this post are the step by step photo instructions for cutting and rolling the beef. 

My top breakfast post of all time, and one that I make often, is a grab and go breakfast - Egg Muffins for Breakfast-on-the-Go. 

I'm so happy that this next recipe is in my top ten of all time because it is one of my favorites - Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes with a Lemon-Garlic Aioli. "Too hot to cook" and "grilled chicken salads" are both so commonly searched, and lead my followers to this post for Yakitori Chicken with Cold Veggie and Soba Noodle Bowls. This is one of my top chicken recipes as well as a top salad recipe. 

With close to 200 chicken recipes in this blog, it was really, really hard to narrow it down to my favorite. I have so many, from this French Onion Braised Chicken and this Gruyere Chicken with Mushrooms, to Shredded Chicken with Chiles and Chicken and Dumplings. I finally chose a popular recipe, and it is fitting that it is a bone-in recipe - Garlic Herb Roast Chicken with Vegetables. 

Soups are cooked in my kitchen once a week over the cool and cold months, so with over 80 soup recipes in this blog it is hard to choose a favorite. This Potato and Corn Chowder with Bacon is one of my most popular, and it is one of my favorites because it is so hearty and well, bacon!

It's funny that ten years ago I had never made risotto, and now I have over 20 risotto recipes on this blog. Risotto is in my top ten search words, so I picked one of my favorites for this anniversary post - Three Garlic Risotto. I have been making this one for years (it was probably one of the first risotto recipes I ever made!) but finally just blogged it recently. 

Still, after ten years of doing this, I only use my crock-pot for shredded/pulled chicken, pork or beef. My top slow cooker and top pulled pork recipe is this amazing Guinness Pulled Pork. I'm so happy it gets so much love because it definitely gets a lot of love in this house! Korean Pulled Pork Tacos

My personal favorite pulled pork recipe is the pork for these Korean Pulled Pork Tacos. These are pretty popular on Pinterest, too! 

And sticking with the pork theme, this Stuffed Pork Loin with a Mushroom Wine Gravy is one of my most popular posts. It is a great recipe, perfect for holidays or entertaining, and the tutorial for cutting and rolling the pork is spot-on. This post, and the picture, are from 2008 - 

This is a newer recipe and it quickly became my second most popular appetizer - Cheesy BLT Stuffed Jalapenos, and it is easy to see why. Look how yummy! 

Let's finish this off on a sweet note! I don't bake that often - my husband is actually the baker in the house. This cake recipe has become a favorite of both of ours, and is my most popular dessert recipe on the blog - Philly Fluff Cake. 

Thank you to all of my readers and followers for making the last 10 years possible. I have enjoyed sharing and learning with all of you, and I appreciate all of your comments, likes and shares. I look forward to continuing this journey in my kitchen and with this blog, and hope you will be there with me! Thank you!

Tequila Lime Grilled Flank Steak

This summer we have been all about grilled meat, chicken or fish with simple salads and grilled veggies. One of my husband's favorites is grilled flank steak. We have had it several times over the past few months, but the one he made last week was by FAR the best! You HAVE to try this marinade!

He created one of his amazing marinades using mostly tequila and lime. He let it marinate overnight for a total of 20 hours and man did that steak take on some amazing bright and zesty flavors!

He takes great pride in his grill marks. Halfway through cooking on one side, he will turn the meat 90 degrees to get those beautifully crossed grill marks. And since we both like our steak cooked differently - I prefer medium well (I know, I know - I'm working on that!) whereas he prefers medium - this flank steak was perfect because the edges cooked a touch more for me, so we were both happy.

This was a huge piece of steak - look at the shape on this thing!

This marinade is so simple - you have to try it. I will file this recipe under to many categories - summer cookout, entertaining/dinner party, easy weeknight meal, summer meal and makes great leftovers. On day 2, put some of the sliced steak over a salad for lunch, or make tacos, quesadillas, or fajitas.

Enjoy!

Tequila Lime Grilled Flank Steak
Original Recipe by Jon of Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations

Ingredients

• 2-lb flank steak
• 1/4 c Olive oil
• 1.5 oz Tequila
• 3 Cloves of garlic, minced
• Juice of 1 lime
• Zest of 1 lime
• A few pinches each salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

• Mix all of the marinade ingredients. Place flank steak in a gallon Ziploc bag or shallow dish. Pour marinade over the steak and marinate in the fridge for at least 8 hours, up to 24 hours. 
• Heat grill to high
• Remove steak from the marinade and place on a hot grill. Be careful - the tequila in the marinade will make your grill flare up a bit!
• Grill 8 minutes per side turning 90 degrees halfway through for good grill marks
• Let rest 10 minutes before thinly slicing across the grain

Lemon Bundt Cake with a Vanilla Butter Glaze

I think my lemon kick was contagious because this cake recipe was chosen and baked by my husband. I couldn't help but laugh when he told me he was leaning towards a lemon cake for Easter.

I was also happy he chose a dessert that would fit perfectly in my new cake dish. I have been looking for a cake stand with a glass dome cover for a while and was lucky to stumble upon this one at Home Goods several weeks ago (and it was only $19.99!!). Isn't it pretty?

This simple lemon cake with a vanilla glaze made the perfect Easter dessert and would work well through spring and summer. After a fabulous Polish feast for dinner, this cake was the perfect sweet and bright note.

Lemon Bundt Cake
Source: Martha Stewart

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature, plus more for pan
• 3 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
• 2 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 lemons)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2.5 cups granulated sugar
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup sour cream

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• Butter and flour a 12 cup Bundt pan
• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, lemon zest, baking soda and salt; set aside
• Using an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar on medium high until light and fluffy; 4-5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the lemon juice.
• With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture and sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated - do not overmix. 
• Spoon batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Firmly tap pan on a work surface to level batter. 
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 55-60 minutes. If the cakes begins to brown to quickly, tent loosely with aluminum foil. 
• Let cake cool in the pan 30 minutes, then turn onto a rack to cool completely. 

Vanilla Butter Glaze

Source: Food.com

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp melted butter
• 2.25 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 Tbsp water
• 1.5 tsp pure vanilla extract

Directions

• Whisk the melted butter, sugar, water and vanilla extract until smooth
• Let stand 3 minutes or until it starts to thicken
• Drizzle over the cake

Maine Lobster Stew

It was the summer of 1992 and I had just graduated high school when my best friend asked me to go to Maine with her. She wanted to visit a guy she liked who had recently moved. I wasn't all that excited about it, to be honest. I knew we would have a great time together, but I was really only going along so she could see her crush. As it turns out, my dad had a business trip planned to Boston for later in the summer, so we all went there for a few days of sight-seeing and Red Sox baseball before my friend and I took the short bus trip up to Portland, Maine.

When we got there we met up with her friend who took us to his fraternity house where we would be staying for a few days. It was summer so most of the guys weren't there, and that's probably why my parents let me go!! It was pretty quiet so my friend and I were just sitting out front when all of the sudden this little red car came screaming down the street and into the driveway - windows down, music blaring, and a cute guy driving. I soon found out that his name was Jon and he had a strong Maine accent and used words like "wicked" and "pissah." I was immediately smitten. And get this - not even 24 hours later I told my friend that this guy was the guy I was going to marry.

Fast forward almost 24 years and here we are... married almost 13 years with this adorable little five and a half year old who has so much energy, personality, will try anything, and has no fear. And as for my husband, he still has that awesome Maine accent. 

So it should come as no surprise that my husband loves lobster. I love hearing his stories of having lobster races with his brother when they were kids before his mom would drop the lobsters into a pot of boiling water. Lobster was a part of life, not a luxury purchase, so to this day, he can't believe how expensive lobsters can get down here in PA. He was so used to getting cheap, fresh lobster whenever he wanted.

Several times when my father-in-law would come for a visit, he would bring us cooked lobster meat packed in dry ice. We made things like lobster rolls, lobster omelets and pasta with lobster. But for years my husband talked about his desire to make lobster stew. One night we were talking about our Christmas dinner menu ideas and he immediately said he wanted to make lobster stew.

I quickly learned that lobster stew doesn't have any meat or veggies - it is simply lobster meat in a warm cream base. But the way the stew base is created is what makes it so special. The word "stew" in lobster stew is more like a verb than a noun.

For weeks he researched recipes, analyzed them, pointed out what he liked and didn't like, until he found the most authentic recipe that reminded him of the lobster stew he used to eat in Maine. Then came the search for the perfect Maine lobsters. He visited a few seafood stores before deciding on one and placing his order.

The cooking of this lobster stew became a major spectator event in our house that would last for 2 days. My husband had his game face on and we were all so excited to watch this come together. Every step, beginning with my father-in-law walking in with his large lobster pot that traveled all the way from Maine and my husband bringing home the lobsters to watching him ladle the finished product into bowls brought oohs and aahs. And you should have heard everyone when he brought the perfectly plated bowls to the table!

There were a lot of steps to making this stew. First he had to cook the lobsters. Once they chilled in ice water, he was able to tear off the tails and claws and then remove all of the meat from the claws and tails.

He wants me to note here that a lobster has 2 claws, a crusher claw and a ripper claw. The crusher claw has molar looking teeth and is bigger and more rounded, while the ripper claw is longer and skinnier and has smaller, spiny teeth. He decided to chop the crusher claw meat and leave the ripper claw whole. That's what you see in the picture of the bowl of stew - everyone was able to get a full ripper claw in their stew.

So once the meat is removed, he cooked the lobster bodies in butter, sherry, milk, and cream. This would become the base for the stew. This lobster body and milk mixture then sat in the fridge overnight.

The next day, he removed the bodies, strained the milk mixture and slowly reheated it. The lobster meat was cooked in butter before adding it to the liquid.

After adjusting seasoning and adding lemon juice, the stew was done. He took his time perfectly spooning the stew into our bowls, making sure that everyone had a lot of meat and one full ripper claw. Isn't that an impressive looking bowl of yum???

It was almost too pretty to eat. I couldn't stop taking pictures of it!

This was my first experience with lobster stew. Actually, the only 2 people at the table who had ever had the opportunity to enjoy lobster stew were the 2 Mainers - my husband and father-in-law. Everyone else at the table couldn't stop thanking my husband enough for making this, that is in between "mmmms" and other compliments to the chef, of course.

I found the broth to be rich, velvety and savory while sweet from the lobster, with a bit of nutty, almost oakiness from the sherry.

This stew really isn't difficult to make - all of the steps are simple. It is time consuming, though, and you need to be patient while removing all of the meat from the lobsters. But other than that, if you follow the steps and take your time, I think that any home cook could master this one. And with Valentine's day falling on a weekend this year, it might just be the perfect time to try it. What's more romantic than lobster?


Lobster Stew
Source: Lydia Shire, as seen on Portland Monthly
 (the only change Jon made to this recipe was to use 5 one-and-a-half pound lobsters instead of 6 one-pound lobsters)

Ingredients

• 5 each 1.5lb Maine lobsters
• As needed, salt
• 12 Tbsp butter (separated, 8 Tbsp and 4 Tbsp)
• 1 cup medium or dry sherry
• 6 cups milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 pinch cayenne 
• 1-2 pinches paprika
• To taste, salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 sprigs parsley, leaves only, cut into strips

Directions, Day 1

• Bring a very large pot of salted water to a boil
• Plunge the lobsters into the boiling water and boil until just cooked through, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl of ice-water to prevent them from cooking any longer, keeping them submerged until completely cool.
• Drain the lobsters and separate the tails from the bodies, setting the bodies aside. Crack the shells and remove all of the meat from the tails and claws (keep the ripper claw meat whole for beautiful presentation!!).  Chop the meat into large chunks (again, except that ripper claw); cover and store in the fridge until day 2. 
• Melt 8 Tbsp butter in a large heavy bottomed pot (he used our Dutch Oven) over medium-high heat. Add the lobster bodies and tail shells and cook, stirring often, until the shells turn a deep red, 5-8 minutes.
• Add sherry and boil for 2 minutes, and then add the milk and cream and return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring often, until milk and cream reduce by one-quarter and thickens slightly, 20-25 minutes. Add cayenne, paprika, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove pot from the heat and set aside to cool. Once cool, cover and refrigerate overnight. 

Directions, Day 2

• Strain the milk mixture into another medium pot, discarding the bodies and solids, and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. (My husband notes that the next time he makes this he will heat the mixture just a touch before straining in order to soften any of the fats to save them from being discarded). 
• Meanwhile melt 4 Tbsp butter in a large skillet. Add the lobster meat and heat until warmed through, 3-5 minutes, and then transfer the meat to the pot with the milk mixture. 
• Add lemon juice and adjust seasonings. 
• Divide stew between 6 bowls (this made more like 8 servings) and garnish with parsley. 

We served the stew with homemade no-knead crusty bread which was perfect for sopping up the broth. Our second course was jumbo lump crabcakes with roasted garlic smashed potatoes and roasted asparagus. 

Grilled Beef Negimaki

A few years ago Jon made Beef Negimaki, Japanese Beef and Scallion Rolls, for the first time. We have made it several times since, and last week decided to try cooking on the grill.

For the instructions on how to prep and roll the beef, as well as the marinade ingredients, click here. The key to being successful with these rolls is to pound the meat evenly. Instead of a small meat pounding tool, Jon prefers to use a small frying pan to pound the meat. Place plastic over the meat before pounding it.

Jon cooked these on the grill to medium. In the meantime, I took the marinade and brought it to a boil on the stove, then lowered it to a simmer and let it reduce for about 8 minutes. It made the perfect sauce to be poured over the rolls.