Day 9: A Valentine’s Special Pt. 2
Ahh, the final finisher. This meal feels amazing as a 2-part shindig. It’s the French counterpart to the original. Leaner, swifter, and of course- smoking. The lobster, that is. This meal is sure to make your house smell as if you are in a New England lobster shack, but also a delicate pastry shop simultaneously. A 2 for 1 if you please.
The Breakdown:
Deep in my heart, I really wanted to temper chocolate. I spent the weekend before watching tutorials and was throughly determined to bust (or rather spread) it out. Then a little thing called slack happened. All I have to say is- iykyk.
My original plan was to create the same chocolate heart, but fill the inside with strawberries & cream cream puffs + eclairs. I prepped as much as time permitted the night before (namely- roasted strawberry & balsamic pastry cream). Day of, I had just finished painstakingly hand whipping choux dough when the pinging started. By time I got through it, my boyfriend was on his way home- and the first batch of choux sat sad and droopy in the oven. Needless to say, it was time to pivot. I doubled back down on the choux, and decided they would suit rather beautifully topped in chocolate (aka no time to temper). Minus the choco heart, they still filled my heart with joy. They might have even made it in my list of top 10 favorite desserts, ever.
Next up: lobster tails. Like the time-conscious human I am (joking!), I braised the green-beans the night before until incredibly sad and wilty but ever so tender (don’t fret….they’re amazing this way). Lobster tails are so easy, yet look so fancy. The ultimate date-night dinner that is sure to impress ALL. All you have to do is butterfly them, add a butter/lemon/garlic sauce…and broil away.
Final Thoughts:
If I am being fully transparent, I messed up. I was supposed to whip the entire meal out in one day…. and make it better than the original debut. As we all learn, life gets busy. On day 1, I felt like a complete failure for not banging out the picture-worthy 5-course tasting meal I had hoped for. I felt so guilty. Like I missed the mark and completely ruined the gift. However, I think it made even more sense to have been simplified and spread out over 2 days. I wanted so badly to demonstrate the progress in not only my craft, but in my relationship. What I learned is that things aren’t so linear. Perfection isn’t the epitome of happiness, and pivoting is okay. Despite all, it turned out to be a pretty damn good meal.
With love,
Lil 💗
