The Best Homemade Seafood Chowder!

The wonderful thing about making seafood chowder at home is that you can use whatever fresh, local (or not-so-local) seafood that is in season.  The recipe here is for a delicious vegetable-packed chowder filled with lobster, scallops and haddock.  You can easily add shrimp, salmon, or other types of fish in addition to or as a substitute for these.  You can even add in mussels, too.  The pictures here are of a chowder I made while visiting Nova Scotia. It was filled with fresh, local scallops, lobsters, and haddock fillets.

Wonderfully delicious homemade seafood chowder, packed with lobster, haddock and scallops.  This version is packed with vegetables, too, and packed with flavor. 

The Best Homemade Seafood Chowder
Serves 6-8

Saute in a large pot over medium heat for 4-5 minutes:
1/3 cup butter
1/2 onion, diced
2-3 carrots, sliced
dash salt and pepper

Add, and saute, stirring regularly for 5-7 minutes:
1.5 lbs potatoes, diced
3 stalks celery, sliced
1/2 - 3/4 cups diced fennel bulb
3-4 cloves garlic, minced OR 1/4 - 1/3 cup garlic scapes, sliced (if in season)

Add and cook an additional 1-2 minutes:
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2-3 tsp Old Bay Seasoning (adds spiciness, so use less if you prefer less bite)
3-5 dashes Tabasco sauce
1/4 - 1/2 tsp dried oregano

I like to saute the vegetables for a longer period in the pan, then they can simmer for less time in order to really bring out the flavors and taste.  

Add, then simmer vegetables for ~7-8 minutes:
~3 cups water (just until top of veggies)
1 tsp GF chicken bouillon seasoning (optional)

Add:
1 cup 10% cream OR milk (lactose-free works great)

Mix in a small bowl:
1/4 cup 10% cream OR milk
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix

Once you've mixed the flour/cream together, you want to add it a little at a time to the bubbling soup.  Stirring and returning soup to a low boil to adjust thickness after you add each 1-2 Tbsp.  I prefer a less thick chowder, and so would recommend just a bit being added.

Here's the chowder after being thickened a bit.  I prefer a just barely thickened creamy soup to the thick chowders sometimes served.  In this picture the soup is ready for seafood to be added. 

Once you've achieved the desire chowder thickness and returned your soup to a boil over medium heat, add the following and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally:
8 large scallops, diced (or equivalent amount of small scallops)
3 haddock fillets, diced

Taste test the soup at this point to adjust with salt and pepper, as desired.  The Old Bay Seasoning has quite a bit of salt, so I usually just add a dash of pepper.

Just before serving, add:
cooked lobster meat from 2 large lobsters, diced (I remove and use the tail, claws, knuckles)

This flavorful seafood chowder is wonderful served alongside garlic bread.  A few breads we enjoy eating as garlic bread are: a tasty GF French-Style Bread, GF white bread, GF naan bread, and homemade GF sourdough bread.

In my opinion, the perfect accompaniment to a fresh seafood chowder and garlic bread dinner is a homemade apple crisp.  If you can find Cortland apples, you'll truly be in heaven.  Enjoy!

A homemade GF apple crisp made with local Cortland apples - yum! 

Grilled Creamy Lobster!!!

Good thing we live on Prince Edward Island! Lobster is so wonderful up here, and the Doiron's Fish Market across the bay from us is a fabulous place to pick it up.  On PEI, they tend to cook the lobster in salt water - which leaves the lobsters with a wonderful, rich flavor I never tasted until moving here.  You can buy them already cooked and eat them cold, make them into lobster rolls, OR you can remove the meat, add a delicate sauce and warm them on the BBQ for an end result that is simply to die for! Sorry there's not many pictures - I'll try to take more next time but there were many moving parts during this meal.  Needless to say, there were no leftovers and I will definitely be whipping these together again soon!  Enjoy!

On the grill! Yum!

Grilled Creamy Lobster!!!

Based on a recipe from The Great Lobster & Crab Cookbook by Whitecap Books

Serves 4-6

Buy four, 1 1/4 lb pre-cooked lobsters (ideally from PEI).  Remove claws & knuckles from each lobster.  Remove meat from claws & knuckles, chop coarsely and set aside in a bowl.  *(you can cut the claws in half with a large knife, to easily remove the meat. I just break apart the knuckles)  

Slice the lobsters in half, longwise.  Remove the tails, coarsely chop and add to the other lobster meat. 

Rinse out the remainder of the insides of the shells (although if you like the roe, by all means, eat it).  Place lobster shells open-faced on a foil lined pan (that can go on the grill). 

If you have an extra set of hands, you can make this while the lobster meat is being removed.  If not, whip this sauce together once the lobsters are done. 

In a small frying pan or saucepan, heat over medium heat: 

2-3 Tbsp butter

Add and cook until tender: 

1/4 large onion, finely chopped

Add and cook until boiling: 

1/2 - 3/4 cup milk (lactose-free works great)

1 tsp Asian mushroom seasoning OR GF chicken bouillon

salt & pepper (lightly)

In a separate small bowl, mix: 

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1/3 - 1/2 cup milk

Add to boiling sauce, stirring until thickened and bubbling.  

Remove from heat and stir in: 

1/4 - 1/3 cup freshly grated extra old cheddar cheese

Mix the sauce with the coarsely chopped lobster meat.  Arrange lobster meat in open-faced lobster shells.  

Sprinkle tops of lobster meat lightly with 1-2 Tbsp GF rice breadcrumbs.  Dot with tiny dabs of butter.  

Grill over medium heat until lobsters have heated through and the breadcrumbs just start to brown.  (Don't let them overcook, you just want them to warm through)

Serve immediately! Enjoy!

Lobster Mac N' Cheese

This is a wonderful sauce, which works great over a gluten-free pasta.  It's so easy to whip together, too, but the result is a fabulous gourmet meal! Delicious!  It's wonderful served with toasted GF sourdough bread topped with garlic butter with a side salad for a restaurant-worthy meal.  We made this delicious dish when my mom and brother were visiting and it was a hit with everyone. Enjoy!!!

We made this dish with bacon-wrapped scallops for a delicious PEI feast!

Lobster Mac N' Cheese
Serves 4-6

Boil a large pot of water and cook 1 box Gluten-Free Pasta in salted water.  Rinse with cold water, and mix with cheesy lobster sauce.

While water is boiling/pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce:

In a large frying pan or medium saucepan over medium heat, cook until tender:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 vidalia (sweet) onion, chopped finely

Add, stirring constantly for 1 minute:
1/8 - 1/4 cup Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix (less flour makes a runnier sauce, more makes a thicker one)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 - 1/2 tsp ground pepper

Add in slowly, stirring constantly
2 cups milk (2% lactose-free works great)

Once mixture has thickened and is nice and smooth (about 5-7 minutes), add:
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/8 cup Parmesan cheese

Add:
1/3 lb cooked lobster meat, chopped 
sprinkle of paprika (optional)

Just so you can see the lovely lobster meat... 

Mix sauce with cooked, drained pasta and serve. Enjoy!

This summer, we've got a plethora of wonderful, organic veggies coming our way from our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program with Heartbeet Organics here on Prince Edward Island.  It only seemed proper to put the beautiful purple kale, spinach and green onions/scallions from this week to use in a tasty summer dish! While homemade pesto is wonderful, the basil plants they gave me aren't quite big enough to make pesto yet, so I find it's easier to use the ready-made kind in order to whip together delicious meals, or BBQ side-dishes like this one.  (Don't worry mom, we'll make some nut-free pesto this summer for you when you visit!)   We like this salad plain, but since I live in PEI, land of lobster, it seemed appropriate to put some fresh cooked lobster meat on top of this salad. You can serve it with shrimp as well.  Sprinkled with a few dashes of tabasco sauce, and it was fabulous! Enjoy!

We had it the next day topped with lobster & a few dashes of tabasco sauce. Delicious!

A yummy pesto salad made with increased amount of of pesto/mayo, as suggested below and using celery instead of peas.  Delicious served immediately while warm, or you can chill before serving. 

Pesto Pasta Salad (w/ Lobster or Shrimp)

Serves 6-8

Cook ~700 g gluten-free fusilli pasta in salted water, as directed on package (I used 2 packages of 340g Catelli GF Fusilli Pasta).  I recommend tasting a noodle to make sure it's to your desired taste.  I find gluten-free pasta often needs extra cook time.  Drain, rinsing with cold water.

Mix pasta with:
3 Tbsp lemon-infused olive oil (OR 1 Tbsp lemon juice & 3 Tbsp olive oil)
2-3 Tbsp green pesto

While pasta is cooking you can prep the following:

In a small bowl, mix together: (* This amount makes a lighter sauce on the pasta, double, triple or quadruple this if you want a creamier salad)
3-4 Tbsp green pesto
1 Tbsp lemon juice
4 Tbsp mayonnaise
3/4 tsp fresh ground salt
3/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

Have ready to mix into the pasta:
1 - 1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed OR 1 - 1 1/2 cups diced celery
1 cup fresh spinach, stems removed & chopped
1 cup fresh purple kale, stems removed & chopped
1 - 2 Tbsp finely diced scallions/green onions

Gently toss pasta together with veggies & sauce.  Add additional salt/pepper, as desired.  You can serve this plain OR top with one of the following:

Fresh cooked lobster meat, chopped coarsely
OR
Fresh shrimp (shell-off), brushed with lemon-infused olive oil and BBQ'd until pink

Sprinkle with a few dashes of tabasco sauce, to serve.  Enjoy!

Ready to serve!  This is great b/c since you've already run the GF noodles under cold water, you don't need to wait for your dish to chill before serving. 

Pesto Pasta Salad (with Lobster or Shrimp) by Successfully Gluten Free!