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View Full Version : And now for something completely different...


Al Czervik
01-12-2014, 05:57 PM
I'm not sure about all the rest of you, but I get into ruts where I seem to cook the same old things over and over again. My wife and I have a rotation of a couple dozen meals that we enjoy and prepare consistently well, but after a while we need to change things up. With that in mind, plus the current Throwdown going on

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=178591

I figured I would try to prepare something completely different. For inspiration, I called on a fond memory of decades gone by...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_eYSuPKP3Y

I'm not normally much of a dessert type of person but this meal called for one, or at least it called for my version of one (to be explained later). Ingredients as follows...

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/21/9vfc.jpg

Dump chocolate in the food processor...

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/577/3dzw.jpg

Chop up into fine granules...

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/707/yoev.jpg

Add butter, cream, vanilla, cinnamon, egg yoke and blend...

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/845/352y.jpg

And pour into plastic wrap lined ramekin to be chilled in fridge overnight. This is now basically a big chocolate truffle. :thumb:

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/827/47h4.jpg

Fast forward to the next day. Start of with a couple small lobster tails and some shrimp (aka crevettes in French :idea:)...

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/36/8iz9.jpg

Coated with oil, sprinkled lightly with various herbs/seasonings and on to the Weber they go...

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/59/y3cg.jpg

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/138/mmki.jpg

And a few minutes later they are good to go... :mrgreen:

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/9/yx01.jpg

While the lobster and crevettes were resting peacefully in the fridge, it was time to make up some sauce. Start by melting some butter...

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/41/kyad.jpg

Add some flour, whisk for a minute or two to make a roux and forget to focus the farkin' camera... :mad:

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/826/nrfz.jpg

Add warm half and half and continue to whisk over heat until it begins to thicken...

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/843/r8mm.jpg

Add salt, pepper, some grated nutmeg and whisk thoroughly...

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/706/uhnq.jpg

Add about 3oz of grated Gruyere...

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/21/fvfq.jpg

And once it's all stirred in and melted we have a Mornay sauce... :thumb:

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/543/zaak.jpg

At this point, I poured off about half of the Mornay sauce (for later use) and added dijon mustard, lemon juice, dry sherry and a few drops of hot sauce...

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/19/nwjm.jpg

I gave it a good wisk and I added one egg yoke...

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/854/0adq.jpg

Whisked all together and now we have a Thermidor sauce... :thumb:

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/855/uyfr.jpg

Now back to the lobster and crevettes. Gave them a rough chop...

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/838/3znk.jpg

Added the Thermidor sauce...

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/839/3hvq.jpg

Spooned the mixture (plus some grated parmesan and parsley)back into the reserved lobster shells...

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/824/xr6k.jpg

And on to the Traeger for about 15 minutes at 375F...

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/34/6od8.jpg

Remember the chocolate truffle I made the day before? Well I spooned it into a little pâté dish and plated it up with a couple graham crakers...

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/547/cnip.jpg

Consequently I'm calling this a truffle pâté... :thumb:

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/703/3isq.jpg

Wow. This is really taking a long time isn't it? :shocked: I'm getting thirsty. Is anyone else getting thirsty? Well, I think it's about time for a little snifter of brandy... :thumb:

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/546/2vq4.jpg

Oops. I almost forgot one of the critical ingredients...

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/191/1q0y.jpg

And here we have the finished meal. Lobster Thermidor aux crevettes with a Mornay sauce, garnished with truffle pâté, brandy and a fried egg on top and Spam (which is under the fried egg)... :thumb:

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/839/8dcj.jpg

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1024x768q90/829/j2vb.jpg

If you made it to the end of this post, thank you for hanging in there. If you are wondering, I did eat it all and it was very tasty... :hungry: Not sure I would do it again unless I had nothing better to do, but it was "Something Completely Different" and well worth the effort. :mrgreen:

Gore
01-12-2014, 06:00 PM
Wow, that was fabulous Al.... and I was expecting salmon. :loco:

Al Czervik
01-12-2014, 06:07 PM
Wow, that was fabulous Al.... and I was expecting salmon. :loco:

Thanks Gore... It was a toss up between this, salmon or beef ribs. Those are probably next on the agenda. :thumb:

ShencoSmoke
01-12-2014, 06:17 PM
I'm not usually fond of using teenage girl text lingo but as I was looking at the pics I was thinking OMG

MIZZOUBBQ
01-12-2014, 06:17 PM
Wow that Looks great!!

campdude
01-12-2014, 06:27 PM
That looks great and qualifies as something different. It's fun to do different now and again.

Garrett
01-12-2014, 06:28 PM
Wow!! That looks good!!!

c farmer
01-12-2014, 06:31 PM
Holy ****. LOOKS AWESOME.

Mason Dixon Bowhunta
01-12-2014, 06:36 PM
Outstanding! :clap2:

bbqwilly
01-12-2014, 06:40 PM
Other than shrimp I really don't care for sea food. But that looks amazing. Great job Mongo.

jafo28
01-12-2014, 07:39 PM
Mouth is watering! Man that looks good!

Bonewagon
01-12-2014, 07:40 PM
Very nice Mongo! Looks terrific.

ssv3
01-12-2014, 07:40 PM
Beyond awesome. That is incredible work.:thumb:

MisterChrister
01-12-2014, 07:45 PM
I just licked my phone screen......

Offthehook
01-12-2014, 07:54 PM
Dang good eats

landarc
01-12-2014, 07:59 PM
Never seen anything like it, brilliant

Fwismoker
01-12-2014, 08:02 PM
Very creative and impressive!

bbqgeekess
01-12-2014, 08:32 PM
Your killin' me with all that food pron! lol .. .dang that sure looks good! Very fancy!

snook806
01-12-2014, 08:41 PM
now my screen is all full of saliva...lol.....good looking eats!!!!!

HankB
01-12-2014, 08:53 PM
Wow. Big Wow. I'm presently working on my entry but it will be hard to compete with that! :hungry:

Harbormaster
01-12-2014, 08:56 PM
That is indeed impressive.

And to top it all off, I learned about Mornay and Thermidor sauces, which is good to know.

Chopper Duke
01-12-2014, 08:58 PM
You are my new hero!

rookiedad
01-12-2014, 09:05 PM
you are a BAD man!

Desert Hawg
01-12-2014, 09:05 PM
It all looks good, you can call me crazy, never been a big fan of lobster, but loves me some Spam.

jeffjenkins1
01-12-2014, 09:09 PM
Good job Al! Now I want some!

Jeff

Braddymac
01-12-2014, 09:12 PM
Absolutely beautiful, and inspiring! My wife knows how to do all those fancy sauce things, and I can supply the sea animals cooked however she likes... And the fish monger is but a half mile away... I may have to do this with her! Thanks for the great pics!

deguerre
01-12-2014, 09:35 PM
Speechless. What Bob said. Brilliant.

JazzyBadger
01-12-2014, 09:50 PM
I mean, I guess it's okay. :heh:

I'm bookmarking this to give it a go. Nice ode to Monty, by the way.

Shagdog
01-12-2014, 09:54 PM
:hail: :hail: :hail: :hail: Great cook! Really impressive.

:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: Bravo!

smileyman
01-12-2014, 10:02 PM
Great use of spam !!

Stingerhook
01-12-2014, 10:09 PM
Now that looks fantastic.

CabinFever
01-12-2014, 10:12 PM
wow...nice spread!

sportsnut
01-12-2014, 10:38 PM
Love the Lobster and Shrimp!!:clap2:

SmokeFan
01-13-2014, 01:48 AM
That looks awesome! Gives me all kinds of ideas. :thumb:

sliding_billy
01-13-2014, 01:56 AM
What an amazing cook.

Diesel Dave
01-13-2014, 05:29 AM
Great cook and write up.

I'd hit that so hard............well I'd hit that :heh:

That does look really amazing Brother :thumb:

robbq
01-13-2014, 05:39 AM
Beautiful meal. The spam and egg put it over the top!

bluetang
01-13-2014, 07:07 AM
Way to bring it Al!

Al Czervik
01-13-2014, 09:30 AM
Nice ode to Monty, by the way.

Thanks. Gotta love Terry Jones and Michael Palin for writing such a classic skit... :thumb:

gtr
01-13-2014, 09:43 AM
Fark, dude. I'm amazed - great thinking, great cooking, and great reportage. Picking up a camera while making a roux is a brave thang!

Phubar
01-13-2014, 09:49 AM
Phabulous work Al!

Al Czervik
01-13-2014, 10:04 AM
Fark, dude. I'm amazed - great thinking, great cooking, and great reportage. Picking up a camera while making a roux is a brave thang!

Thanks gtr... I picked up a cheap camera tripod a year or two ago and it makes life so much easier! :thumb:

Will work for bbq
01-13-2014, 11:31 AM
Hey Mongo! Whats the next TD going to be? :heh:

All kidding aside that looks absolutely amazing!!! And that's a pretty nice cutting board you have there. :hungry:

Al Czervik
01-13-2014, 11:44 AM
Hey Mongo! Whats the next TD going to be? :heh:

All kidding aside that looks absolutely amazing!!! And that's a pretty nice cutting board you have there. :hungry:

Thanks Pauli... It was a fun little project for the weekend, and the cutting board was a Christmas present from Mrs. Czervik. :mrgreen:

SmokinJohn
01-13-2014, 11:53 AM
Wow!

Thought you were making some mac and cheese, and you bust out with Mornay AND Thermidor?

Fantastic!

But you left out the aubergines and shallots......

Will work for bbq
01-13-2014, 11:53 AM
The cutting board was a Christmas present from Mrs. Czervik. :mrgreen:

I was hoping it was a prize for the first person who spotted it, maybe you should double check with her just to be sure. :becky:

cowgirl
01-13-2014, 11:56 AM
Awesome cook Al!!

akoda
01-13-2014, 11:58 AM
Damn, you got some mad skills :) all of that looks delicious

Al Czervik
01-13-2014, 12:39 PM
Wow!

Thought you were making some mac and cheese, and you bust out with Mornay AND Thermidor?

Fantastic!

But you left out the aubergines and shallots......

It's funny you bring that up... I ran into the audio version and the video version as noted below:

"The audio of the sketch available at http://www.detritus.org/spam/skit.html and the video from http://linux.gda.pl/pub/spam/ seem to have different menus! Specifically, the video does not have the following menu item:

- Spam, Sausage, Spam, Spam, Spam, Bacon, Spam, Tomato and Spam

and the final menu item in the audio is:

- Lobster Thermidor aux Crevettes with a Mornay sauce Served in a Provençale Manner with Shallots and Aubergines garnished with Truffle Paté, Brandy and a Fried egg on top and Spam,

while in the video it is:

- Lobster Thermidor aux Crevettes with a Mornay sauce garnished with Truffle Paté, Brandy and with a Fried egg on top and Spam,

without the italicized portion.

The transcript of the sketch available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anwy2MPT5RE seems to support the video rather than the audio."

In the end, I went with the easier video version. :thumb:

I was hoping it was a prize for the first person who spotted it, maybe you should double check with her just to be sure. :becky:

I'll check but unless you have a forklift to move it around you probably don't want it and risk getting a hernia like I did when I moved it outside to take the pics... :tsk:

Grabnabber
01-13-2014, 02:28 PM
Dang, all that PLUS a fried egg AND spam???? I said it once today and I'll say it again: Would Hit!! :thumb:

Big George's BBQ
01-13-2014, 02:41 PM
WOW That looks OUTSTANDING AL I mean Mongo

Smok'n n Joke'n
01-13-2014, 04:01 PM
WOW.....how are we suppose to top that?

Seefyre
01-13-2014, 04:14 PM
That is some next level que, I appreciate the multi-step dedication to the final plate!

THoey1963
01-13-2014, 06:01 PM
This is not a bookmark so I can try to attempt this in the future only to fail miserably.

Very nice job. Think I'll try the Lobster Thermidor and just pair it with a nice Ribeye...

GL-BBQ
01-13-2014, 10:04 PM
Looks great.