So last week my friend Lea Ann and me participated in a local, annual Copper Pot chef competition. It’s a fun event that mimics an Iron Chef format. This year’s secret ingredient was “peppers”. Every team gets a table, an electric outlet and a camp stove to make their dish! Yes friends, I said camp stove! So with that in mind, we had to make something that was easy to prepare and delicious at the same time.
After being the People’s Choice winner over the past two years, I was on a mission to figure out something to make that would Wow the judges. I thought lobster. Fettuccine with peppers and a lobster cream sauce. Delicious and easy to make on camp stove. Then I thought, lobster in Colorado is stupid expensive and when you have to feed 75+ people, it would be way more than we wanted to spend. So we went to Costco to see if we could find a deal and we came across one of my new favorite foods. Langostino. These little gems were perfect for our dish. Sweet, tiny and pre-cooked and inexpensive. I also thought pretty darn creative. I’m not too sure that people have even tasted Langostino. Anyway, our creation turned out amazing. I ended up cooking four batches and some folks even came back for seconds and even thirds! Needless to say, we won the People’s Choice award for the third year in a row, but still lost the overall competition. We are not too sure why the judges haven’t gotten it over the past three years, but again they were wrong! I’m really not a sore looser, but when you loose to Asian pork and peppers, that included frozen veges and so much salt that it tasted like the kind of Chinese food that you get from a can, I become a little bitter. So that being said, I’ll take people’s choice any day. People like my food and that makes me happy!
After the competition, I still had some left over Langostino and my first asparagus of the season, so I made Fettuccine with Lobster and Asparagus Cream Sauce. Same concept except with asparagus! If you would like to make with peppers, add three chopped up red, yellow and orange peppers instead! If you want to make with lobster, go for it! I would add one 2 pound lobster cooked and chopped up instead! Anyway you make it, it will be good!
Either way, easy to make Fettuccine with Lobster and Asparagus Cream Sauce. Heck you can even make it on your next camping trip. Your camping buddies won’t know what hit them. A gourmet camper! Be a gourmet camper… LOL!
- 2 tbs butter
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1/2 cup onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound asparagus chopped into small pieces
- 1 tbs fresh marjoram minced
- 1/2 tbs fresh tarragon minced
- 1/4 tsp chili flake
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 3 cups chopped and cooked lobster (I used langostino)
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 3/4 cup half and half
- 1 pound of pasta cooked to package directions
- chopped fresh parsley for garnish
- extra Parmesan cheese for garnish
- Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside.
- In a large saute pan, melt butter and olive oil.
- Add onions and garlic and cook for about 3 minutes on medium heat.
- Add asparagus, wine, salt and pepper, marjoram, tarragon and chili flake and cook until asparagus is “al dente”.
- Add Parmesan cheese, lobster, half and half and stir to incorporate.
- Add cooked pasta and coat well with sauce.
- Serve with parsley and extra parmesan cheese.
- Enjoy!
For this recipe: Fettuccine with Lobster and Asparagus Cream Sauce is the parmesan fresh grated or Kraft grated out of the green can?
Out of the green can to the sauce- use the freshly grated for serving if you wish! 🙂
Some people have a palate and some people becomes judges. That’s that! I would have loved this dish and Congratulations for people’s choice.
Thanks Ansh! It was fun and People’s choice is the best award!
People’s choice is good! Too bad you can crack whatever it is the judges want, though. Anyway, this looks terrific — first prize from me!
Thanks John!
Thanks for the link back and I’m still miffed over our judges vote. I doubt it will ever come clear, but I agree with Larry. People’s choice is a true compliment. I loved the lines of folks at out table. Didn’t see that at the others. Great post Heather and that dish was excellent. Proud to be a part of the team and I loved your speech.
It was a team effort and worth it in the end!
If this is camping food then maybe I will change my mind about camping and give it a try! It sounds like a fun competition that you participated in, congrats on the award! I think it is always nicer to know that the crowd liked your food even if the judges had something else in mind. Well done!
I wish you Holly! Im such a “car camper” !
You had me with the title of the dish – I like the color offered by the asparagus. Sorry to hear you didn’t win but hopefully you had a good time and I would be more flattered by the peoples choice award anyway.
Thanks Larry! It was a fun night! I suggested next year that they get students from the culinary school to judge! Hope you are doing well and surviving the wacky southern weather!