In all honesty, I am not fully recovered from the big weekend lobster bake… still putting away all that stuff I dragged out of storage. Plus, I have been busy making lobster stock from all those shells.  Therefore, we’ll start the week of recipes slowly and begin with clarified butter. This was used for dipping the lobster and other seafood.

Clarified butter is what is left when melting unsalted butter – after the water evaporates, some solids float to the surface and are skimmed off, and the remainder of the milk solids sink to the bottom and are left behind when the butter fat (the clarified butter) is poured off.

Drawn butter is an American term for clarified butter. It has a higher smoke point than regular butter, which makes it much better for sautéing. It also has a longer shelf life than fresh butter and since is has negligible amounts of lactose, it is more acceptable to people with lactose intolerance.

And just in case you’ve heard of it before and have been wondering… ghee is the East Indian form of clarified butter.

Also note that there is about a 25% loss in the quantity of butter, after clarifying.  You may clarify any amount of butter. I started with 2 sticks (1 cup) but realized that would not be enough for the dinner party, so I ended up clarifying another 2 sticks, or a full pound of butter.

Feel free to save the milk solids you’ve skimmed off.  They can be added to rice, polenta, soups, popcorn, or even your morning toast or oatmeal.  I used them in the boiled potatoes at the lobster bake ~ that recipe will be up in a few days.

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Last night was the big Lobster Bake at the Hopkins’ home. If you weren’t invited, don’t feel bad…. this was a donation dinner from a fundraising event, so unless you were at the fundraiser and had the winning bid…  sorry!

There were eight lovely guests. It is currently 11:30 AM the following morning and Dave and I have just now finally gotten it all cleaned up. Here is a pictorial of the event… recipes to follow.

The lobsters arrive via Fed-Ex from Maine.

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Do you ever dream of a new kitchen? I do! Even though I have a very nice kitchen and one that has even been envied by others… the thought of a new kitchen makes me just sigh with delight.

For me, the kitchen should be at the heart of every home. It’s the room where you share your stories of the day with the rest of your family. It’s the room where you listen to your children complaining over something that they’re not happy about, as well as the room where you lend them a shoulder to cry on. But it’s also the place where you can entertain.

Luckily, there is a new website to peruse and drool over.

Cultivate.com is Williams-Sonoma’s first-ever design website focused solely on kitchen design and remodeling. Cultivate is packed full of editorial content, loads of inspiration, plenty of tips, and fabulous advice all about kitchens.

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OK, I give in. Since a couple more people played and a few of you sent me emails – I concede. Here are the answers for the second edition of “What the Heck is That?!?”  And very impressively, this time we had one person get all three items correct. Kudos to my super smart (and super sweet!) friend, Kim!

Object #1

This is a manche à gigot, otherwise known as a leg of lamb holder clamp. Gigot is the French word for a leg of lamb or mutton and manche means handle. So this tool is used when slicing the leg of lamb. It is attached to the shank and then tightened to provide a clean grip for the carver.

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I know I said that today I would post the pictures and answers from yesterday’s game, “What the Heck is That?!?”. I’m going to hold off for a day or two. Maybe by then more of you will play the game. (see the image above of a very sad face). To be fair, I have sent the answers to Dagmar, the only participant besides Marissa. Thanks for playing, Dagmar! (happy face!)

So, what to do today… how about I show you my plans for Saturday? A dress rehearsal of sorts. This Saturday I am delivering on an auction donation I made for a very worthy cause. The donation was this.

The winners of the item chose to have the dinner at my house, so I’ve been busy for the last several days trying to find and round up all my “clambake” “beachy” stuff. Turns out I have a whole bunch of it, even though I live in the dry arid desert. Here is what I was able to find in my cupboards, garage, storage sheds, etc.

I know it’s hard to tell what is what in this photo, so how about some closeups? (not as closeup as the photos in the game that I’d love for you to play), but just closeup enough to explain what things are and what I’ve done with it all.

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It’s time to play “What the Heck is That?!?”   Here is a refresher of how it works – I post three closeup photos of items found in my kitchen. You leave a comment telling me what you think one, two, or all three of the items are.  And remember, a wrong guess is immensely more fun for everyone than no guess at all!

As with Round 1, there is one small restriction. Marissa, you may not post your guess or guesses until after 6 PM (Pacific Time). I am fearful of your knowledge of my kitchen. Connor, you can play whenever you want, I have no fear of your observation of my kitchen, nor do I believe you will even see this – until weeks from now… if ever.  Sigh…

I will post the answers and full photos of the 3 items tomorrow. Let the game begin!

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You’ve had your tart, and your panini, so now it is time for a big helping of roasted veggie lasagna.

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Not much to say here, except these are pretty fabulous sandwiches!

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We’re going to use the first portion of the roasted vegetables from yesterday’s post in this recipe. You will need to estimate and set aside 1/4 of the yield from each vegetable, keeping them separated. Then make a tart crust (or you could just use 1 sheet of puff pastry).  I link you to a tart dough recipe here on the blog. You’ll only need half of it, but go ahead and make the full amount. You will love this tart and you’ll want to make it again, I promise! So make the full amount and freeze the other half of the dough and it’ll be even easier to make the next time.

I served the tart at a dinner party atop baby greens that were lightly coated with this vinaigrette,  but straight up is great too.

P.S. I’m just sorry that I served it on this bright peppermint stripe platter (hey, it was still the Christmas season) because it totally distracts from how bright and colorful the tart is. Go back up and see the top photo for proof of that!

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Today, we’re going to roast some vegetables and then use them for three different meals for healthy, meatless… and most importantly, delightful dishes. This one batch of roasted veggies will yield enough to make a Roasted Vegetable-Goat Cheese Tart, Veggie Lasagna, and Roasted Vegetable-Mozzarella Panini Sandwiches.  Be certain to keep all the vegetables separate when you refrigerate them, you will need it that one for at least one of the recipes.  You can store them all in the same container, just do mix them up with one another.

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