Ok, big time now folks. Lee Hillson is not only one of the top Chefs in America but, most of all, a really great guy! Talk about funny. He serves it up at T-Cooks in the Royal Palms Resort & Spa in Scottsdale and we had the opportunity to shoot a TV segment with him in September 2010. Now he has provided us this wonderful soup. Try it out check out Heidi and Lee cooking together next week on AZTV7/Cable 13 at 9am (or the next day on our website).
Lobster Stock
Ingredients:
- 4 each 1# Lobster
- 1/2 cup Brandy
- 2 cup Mirepoix (diced celery carrot and onion)
- 4 tbls. Tomato paste
- 2 tbls. Olive oil
- 4 qt. Chicken broth
Remove the heads (Split) and claws off of the lobster. Boil the tails for six minutes. Remove the meat from the shell and reserve. Crush the shells, heads and claws (by hand or in a food processor). Start by sautéing the shells in oil. Add your mirepoix and tomato paste. Cook until the vegetables start to soften. Deglaze with brandy and reduce (Be careful of the flames whenever you deglaze with alcohol). Add the chicken broth; bring to a boil and then simmer for 45 minutes. Strain through a sieve.
Ingredients:
- 4 qt. Lobster stock
- 2 pt. Heavy cream
- 2 cup Fennel
- 1/4 cup Brandy
- 1/4 cup Pernod
- 2 head Fennel
- 2 each Carrot
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 1 each Onion
- 2 sprig Tarragon
- 2 each Star anise and bay leaf
Sauté the chopped onion, garlic, carrot and fennel until soft. Add one star anise, bay leaf and tarragon. Deglaze with the brandy and Pernod. Add the lobster stock and reduce by half. Strain.
In a separate pan bring the one-cup of fennel and cream to boil. Reduce by half. Add this to the reduced lobster stock, puree and season to taste. Strain through a sieve and serve with the lobster meat that has been diced and a little whipped cream.
Serves Six.
About Lee Hillson
Lee Hillson has gained both local and national notoriety with this elegant and rustic interpretation of Mediterranean cuisine as well as his generous donation of both time and talent to countless charitable organizations. Lee began his career at 16 when enrolling in culinary school at Bournemouth and Poole College in England. He joined Hyatt in Austin, Texas then returned to London to be the Chef de Partie at the Roux Patisserie then to Hintlesham Hall in Suffolk, England as the Pastry Chef and later Sous Chef at this European award-winning, fine dining restaurant. In 1998, Lee became Executive Sous Chef at Alva Restaurant, Vanderbilt Hall in Newport, Rhode Island. Within a few short months, he was appointed Executive Chef at what was ranked as one of the country’s top five restaurants by Country Inn Magazine. Lee came to Arizona as Sous Chef at T-Cooks in 2000 and became Executive Chef of T. Cooks at the Royal Palms in August 2005. In 2008, he was invited to battle Chef Cat Cora on Iron Chef America. With Hillson at the helm, T. Cook’s was voted the most popular Phoenix/Scottsdale restaurant by Zagat’s: America’s Top Restaurants in both 2006 and 2007.
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