Easy Lobster Fettuccine

I mentioned our local grocery chain, Big Y, in an earlier post. They are known for their BOGO (Buy One Get One) specials, but last week had a Buy One Get TWO special on Orion brand frozen, cooked lobster meat. Normally if I want to do something with lobster, I’ll buy them live and then pick the lobster myself. However, Chris and I are planning our annual Mardi Gras party and this is taking up a lot of our time and cash, so easy was the key for last night’s meal. And as far as price goes, sure, they usually sell this product for $19.99. But I was getting three for that price. You can do the math, but it was worth it for me on this particular night. I pondered what to do with the lobster, and finally decided on making Lobster Fettuccine. I set ½ pound of fettuccine to boil in salted water and then began the sauce. In a large skillet I melted 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter. While it was melting, I minced a large shallot. I sauteed the shallot until the pieces were translucent. Then I split one vanilla bean and scraped the seeds into the skillet. I added the lobster and cooked the sauce enough to heat it through. By that time, the fettuccine was done. I added a couple of tablespoons of the pasta water to the sauce just to thicken it up a bit. After draining and serving out two dishes pasta, I topped them each with half the sauce and sprinkled it with a tiny bit of Hawaiian red salt. It wasn’t a difficult meal – it was done in the length of time needed to boil fettuccine – but it added an unexpected elegance to a weekday meal.