Big birthdays deserve a little lobster…

… and homemade lobster stock that transforms into the most unctuous, fra diavolo (read: spicy) cream sauce this side of The Boot (that boot being Italy– not the Stewart Weitzman knee-high stiletto boot of my Fall 2011 dreams).

But why was it a Lobster Birthday? The lean years are Chicken Birthdays, the wild ones are Champagne & Cake and, then, some of the years in between are meant to be forgotten with chips & salsa and too many Coronas.

I don’t think I’m wise and “seasoned” enough (‘scuse the play) to deserve a lobster feast- but Jamie’s mother is. Her big day justified claw meat and silky ribbons of fettuccine bathed in light cream and a *really* good bottle of French Chardonnay. While Jamie put the finishing touches on the coral-colored sauce, she could sit around the big, oblong table in our beach house and feel responsible for a good marriage, wonderful sons and two grandchildren that are the best thing to hit the planet since Barq’s Root Beer. (They’re sweet and quirky and take no prisoners going down- Parker Lee and Baby Bo are originals!)

When someone in your family has a biggie on the horizon, make it a Lobster Birthday. The rockin’ elements of this jalapeno-infused sauce couldn’t be more simple: lobster water (bc that’s all that lobster stock is- shells and water), rounds of fresh jalapeno, chili flakes, milk, cream and handfuls of parmesan. Yep, uncomplicated luxury does exist.
 
Jamie thinks y’all can’t handle the technique; I went to bat and said you could. (Thank me later!) He’ll Tweet his Lobster Fettuccine Fra Diavolo— and post it here– just as soon as he finishes working a triple.

The man’s a hard worker– and a man who really knows how to celebrate family!