The $16 Lobster Dinner - Video Review

On the East Coast Lobster is king. And, just last month I found a cheap$kate Lobster Dinner in Levittown, Pennsylvania for 16 bucks! Check out my video below for all the yummy details.

It pays to read the local grocery store ad flyers. This special was from Redner's Warehouse Markets, that ran the week of Father's Day. Holidays are a great time to land grocery deals like this one.

Rednern's is a local grocery chain similar to any small town/city markets. I like local grocers because they carry seasonal produce you may only find in nearby orchards, gardens, and ranches or waterways, plus, the holiday specials are one of a kind. 

Louisiana has Crawfish Season, and in California, Cherry prices drop in early summer, and Avocados are always on sale.

When I saw this Lobster Deal I had to make a video about it. A big 99 thanks to Linda for videoing and co-starring with the Cheap$kate Forager! 

Of course, thanks to Redner's Warehouse Markets. It's where I go for groceries, when staying in my wife's hometown of Levittow, PA. You can read about their Pennsylvania 50-years plus history, here. 

How was the $16 Lobster Dinner sale for Father's Day? Darn tasty. The dinner was cooked and ready to heat up. I removed the veggies and whole lobster from the container, and steamed them. I would suggest steaming the corn and red potatoes for an extra 5 minutes, then add the lobster to steam until warm/hot. Of course, you could eat the lobster meat chilled, or at room temperature.

The lobster tail was firm and sweet. Not as tender as fresh-steamed, but still delicious. I liked the claw flesh the best. They were large and loaded with tender, succulent meat. 

Pull on the tail to expose the large lobster fillet. I use kitchen shears to cut along the top of the shell, lengthwise, to remove the meat.

While the lobster tail was on the small size, the claws provided as much meat as the tail. I used a nut cracker to get it out. Seafood restaurants often provide a small wood mallet to wack the claws. 

All  of the claw has tender meat, but it takes a little more digging to get to it.

If you've never peeled a lobster, there are a couple of thngs to watch for. Like a crawfish, that I grew up eating, the peeled tail meat may have a thin, gritty dark intestine vein along the top to remove.

The lobster claws have a tough, thin, opaque, thumbnail-size cartiladge to slide off the meat. The pencil-thin walking legs have small strands of meat, as well. But they do take a bit of work to get at - detatch and try squeezing out the meat with a bottle or rolling pin. 

Claw cartilage.

The middle body segment, closest to the legs, have a tiny amouts of meat to fish out with a small fork or knife tip. 

 Click on any image to see larger.

In Louisiana, real local Cajuns detach the hea from the tail, and suck the head. A lobster is a bit too large for that, but you can forage for the creamy, green Tomalley in the head/body segments. Chefs prize the Tomalley and add it to a Bisque, Chowder, or just spred it on a cracker like you would Pâté or Caviar.

The Tomalley is the pancreas and liver of the lobster. When you seperate the top shell from the body look for the green goo. It holds a tiny amount of toxins, and is usually fine to eat in small amounts. I survived, but you may want to skip it, if you have medical issues.

My lobter's body had bright orange Roe, or tiny lobster eggs that pop with briny, sweet flavor. 

For a clean presentation, rinse the tail meat closest to the body and trim any discolored tail strands.

The corn and red potatoes were steamed, like the lobster, in a broth that tastes of Old Bay Seasoning. That's the way we do it for a Louisiana backyard Crawfish Boil.

The corn was sweet and tender. The red potatoes were soft and well seasoned from the boiling bath.

 

A sweet Hawaiian Bread Roll was provided - a soft device for sopping up sweet and briny lobster juice.

I've learned to return the day and day-after a holiday sale ends to see if the price has dropped. And, this one plummeted to $9 dollars! Since the meal was cooked, I didn't worry too much about spoilage, like iffy uncooked seafood can.

How does this Lobster Meal rate? While not as good as a fresh Lobster Boil, it held up quite well, especially for the price and convience. The meal had the right amout of seafood boil spicyness and salty/black pepper bite. 

The $16 Lobster Dinner from Redner's Warehouse Market was a tasty way to celebrate Father's Day, wether you're a dad, or not.

Corned Beef and Cabbage - Video Recipe

You don't need the luck of the Irish or a 4 leaf clover for finding good food deals this week of St. Patrick's Day. Just check your mailbox for grocery store flyers or visit your local market for discounted Corned Beef, heads of cabbage, carrots and potatoes. And I have an easy dish to celebrate St. Patty's Day: Corned Beef and Cabbage.

If you are as cheap as me, you will have stocked up on the Irish holiday Corned Beef sales. Not the biggest BBQ day of the year, the 4th of July has such a good deal on beef  (even hamburger was at least $2.89 per pound, if I remember last year's prices right).

Corned Beef is normally in the 5 dollars per pound range, but this week it drops to around 2 bucks, or less, per pound! You can get a whole cabbage for about a buck as well. And carrots and potatoes are always cheap.

My Corned Beef and Cabbage recipe couldn't be simpler to do. When you buy Corned Beef from the market it is ready to cook. Cover the Corned Beef with water and add the packet of herbs contents that come with it, then boil the beef for about 4 hours.

When the Corned Beef is nearly fall-apart tender remove it from the cooking broth. Now a typical Corned Beef is super salty and the broth will be too, give it a taste to make sure.  I usually pour out half the broth and add fresh water to replace. This will lighten the salty brine flavor. When you add water give the broth a quick taste to see if you can handle it.

All you need to do is add the chopped veggies to the broth, including cabbage, red potatoes, and a whole chopped carrot. You cook the veggies until tender - this only takes about 20 minutes. If you like crunchy cabbage, cook the potatoes and carrot for 15 minutes then add the chopped cabbage and cook until desired tenderness, about 10 to 15 minutes.

I use red potatoes, but you can use any potatoes you find on sale. I chop them in quarters (4 pieces) so they will cook faster. I like big chunky carrot slices, too. The cabbage can be chopped roughly into large chunks.

It does take a bit of patience to cook my budget Corned Beef and Cabbage but it's well worth the wait. My budget one-pot meal is really easy to make, that's why so many families have embraced this classic Irish meal. Sometimes this Blarney Chef is full of it, but not this time, my cheap$kate holiday dish is one I make every year, and you should too!

Corned Beef and Cabbage - Video

Play it here, video runs 2 minutes, 22 seconds.

To view or embed on YouTube just click here.

Ingredients

• 1 corned beef - I use cheap point-cut corned beef on sale. They usually weigh 3 to 5 pounds. You can follow package directions for cooking corned beef. 
• 1 whole cabbage - chopped. They have a tough root stem you can remove, but it will tenderize. I only remove if it's discolored brown and extra tough. 
• 1 carrot chopped - You can add another carrot or two, depending on the size. Sometimes I like more veggies.
• 2 red potatoes chopped - You can boil red potatoes whole, but they will take an extra half hour to cook. Okay to use white or russet potatoes. Also, add more potato if you like.
• Water to cover corned beef - When corned beef is cooked, taste broth for saltiness, if too much then replace half the broth with fresh water and taste again - repeat if necessary.

Directions

Corned Beef is a thick and tough piece of meat, so you need to low boil it for about 3 to 4 hours until tender. Time will vary depending on the size of whole Corned Beef brisket. Mine was about 4 pounds. Cheaper cuts of Corned Beef can be fatty, so it's okay to trim off some of the fat.

You can follow Corned Beef package cooking directions. Usually, you cover Corned Beef with water, about 5 cups worth. Most times you have a small packet of spices and herb included, so open and empty the contents into the water. Sometimes I leave out the packet, as the corned meat is seasoned enough for me.

In a large pot, bring the Corned Beef in water to a boil, lower to a low simmer or low boil and cover the pot. Cook about 3 to 4 hours. Check on the pot every hour or so to make sure liquid does not cook out, and add more water if needed. It's okay if the liquid cooks out by half, this will make an intense broth for the veggies.

After about 3 hours you can chop the cabbage, carrot and potatoes.

When the Corned Beef is done, remove it and set aside. Taste the broth to see how salty it is. More than likely it's too salty, so pour out half the broth and add an equal amount of fresh water. Now taste to see if the broth is milder. Repeat this step if necessary to reach your desired flavor.

Once the broth meets your tastes, then add the chopped veggies. Bring to a low simmer, cover the pot and cook veggies about 20 minutes.

If you like crunchy cabbage, first cook carrot and potato about 15 minutes, then add chopped cabbage. Cook until cabbage reaches desired crunchiness, usually 10 minutes or so.

Finally, return the cooked Corned Beef to the pot with veggies and let it reheat for about 5 minutes.

This is a one-pot meal, so just slice off hunks of Corned Beef and serve with the cooked veggies.

Sliced Corned Beef is great in a sandwich too, just click here to see how I make mine, with Homemade Coleslaw!

Grilled Russet and Sweet Potatoes

This is my favorite patio BBQ meal. I have a cheapie gas grill and it cooks burgers and grilled potatoes perfectly. I've done it enough and figured out the timing - start the potatoes first and when they are done on one side, I flip them, then add the BBQ sauce slattered hamburger patty.

I like my burger medium rare, so the potatoes need to begin cooking first. And should they finish early, then I just move them to a cooler part of the grill, until the hamburger is done. If you like your burger well done, then the potatoes only need a minute head start.

I usually grill cheap russet potatoes. They are easier to work with and char slower. Lately, I've been grilling sweet potatoes. They have more sugar so you have to check on them more often, as they will burn and blacken quicker. Well, I like the mix of soft sweet interior and charred smokey skin of the sweet potato.

And if your burger is done right and still juicy, then there is nothing better than using fries to sop up the meat juices after each burger bite.

And when grilling them I use the burger juices. I flip the burger to a different part of the grill and place some cooking potato slices on the greasy and flavorful used burger wet spot.

Potatoes are cheap. I've made grilled potatoes using russet, white and rose, yam and sweet potato. I simply season them with salt and pepper and sometimes a Cajun seasoned salt.

So, during this summer grilling season, make sure to throw on a few thick potato slices alongside your favorite slab of barbequing protein. They are a delicious combination.

Ingredients (about 2-4 servings)

• 2 potatoes - I only peel the yam or sweet potato. Slice potatoes one inch thick. You can slice into ovals or stick shapes.
• Salt and pepper to taste - I also use seasoned salt.
• Oil - optional. Some grill grates are sticky so lightly brushing potatoes with oil will make flipping slices easier. 

Directions
If you have a traditional BBQ grill then fire-up the charcoal or wood chips. If you have a gas grill like I do, then start it a minute before adding sliced potatoes.

Lightly wash or scrub potatoes. You can peel them or leave the skin on. I sometimes peel sweet potatoes and yams.

To speed up grilling microwave whole potatoes for about 2 minutes -- this is optional.

Slice the potatoes. I like them sliced to about one inch thick. You can slice them any way you like, into ovals or like matchsticks (but thicker.) This will give you more of a potato soft center. I like to use larger potato slices because it's easier to handle on the grill. You can always slice the bigger pieces when you serve them.

Lay out sliced potatoes and sprinkle on salt and pepper and/or seasoned salt. Lightly brush or drizzle with oil if necessary - I usually go without it. Sometimes I even add some fresh chopped herbs.

Add the sliced potatoes to the hot grill. Depending on the heat of your grill cook the potatoes until one side is charred. This is when I add my hamburger patty. (If you are grilling chicken, then start chicken and potatoes at the same time - as chicken usually takes longer to cook than a hamburger.)

*If you are cooking a burger with the potatoes then flip the burger to a different part of the grill and add the cooking potatoes on the greasy burger spot - for extra flavor.

Cook the other side of potatoes until charred. That's it. Cooking time will vary depending on the heat of your grill. With my gas grill on low it takes about 5 minutes for each side.

Sweet potatoes or yams have a high sugar content, so they will char black if left on the grill too long, so they need more babysitting - check on them after a couple of minutes.

Potatoes are done when tender on the inside. Try one out to test for doneness.

Lola's First Bite - Video

How cute is too cute? Just watch The Chef's adorable video to find out!

 My neighbors Bob and Lori have a recent addition to their family and her name is Lola. In my newest video series, I will track her First Bites. Almost a year old, Lola is getting her baby teeth in and she is ready to chow down! I plan on filming her first culinary experiences.

First up are red potatoes, avocado and organic plain yogurt. I've never seen so many reactions to a simple bite of bland boiled red potato, or realized the difficulty in eating slippery sliced avocado. And be sure to hang around to watch the funny expressions when Lola reacts to a healthy taste of plain, but sour, yogurt.

Now I can't say the food items were bought at our local dollar store, but I've easily found all three for less than a dollar each or per pound.

I've put Lori and Bob on notice to contact me when peanut butter, lemons and spaghetti are on her menu for the first time. You'll not see a cuter video anytime soon -- until my next Lola's First Bite video! So do check back.

Lola's First Bite - Video

Play it here. The video runs 2 minutes, 9 seconds.

To view or embed from Youtube, click here.

99 thanks to Lori, Bob & Lola.

More Lola!  First Bite 2.0 & First Bite 3.0 (1st Birthday Party) - just click on a name to see them!