Pappardelle with lobster sauce

Ahhh, the New Year is here. I'll tell you what -2009 couldn't go away fast enough. I had such great expectations and hopes for it and it turned out to be a pretty crappy year for many reasons that I'm not going to dwell on. The whole decade, really, was quite a disappointment. Yes, there were some good times, but there were some really bad ones too. So one -me- can only hope this year and this decade are going to be better. And one -me- can also do something about it, instead of sitting one's -my- ass and just wait for things to happen and happen in a perfect way.

There is no perfection in life, love or friendship. There will always be flaws, tiny ones maybe, but flaws nonetheless. That's why I love cooking. Of course I love it because I find eating to be one of the greatest pleasures in life, but the real reason why I love getting behind the stove is that it gives me control over a tiny -but important- part of my life. Because when it comes to cooking, to food in general, there is such a thing as a perfect dish or a perfect meal. It doesn't happen very often, but it has a greater chance to happen then, say, finding the perfectly paid perfect job or a perfect person to perfectly spend the rest of your perfect life with. Perfect dishes are possible and I take great comfort in knowing that I can make them every once in a while. If had been good at math, I'd probably find comfort in knowing that the mathematical laws that rule the universe are perfect and unchangable. But I'm far better at cooking, so I find soothe and comfort in knowing that if you mix great ingredients and you pay attention to what you are doing you can make a perfect lobster sauce, just like the one pictured above.

And yes, I have just said that it myself. It was perfect. I wish you could have all been there to try it. Happy 2010, everyone. Let's make this year the best year of our lives (so far).

PAPPARDELLE WITH LOBSTER SAUCE

4 tablespoons of butter
4 tablespoons of olive oil
Cognac or brandy
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup of diced onions
4 lobster tails, with shells
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
Salt and pepper

Heat a frying pan over medium heat, add olive oil and butter and let them melt. Add onions and garlic and sautee for a couple of minutes. Add the lobester in their shells into the pan until they turn bright red. Add a couple ounces of cognac, and ignite (be careful because the flames will be high for a few seconds). Allow the cognac to burn off , remove the shells and carefully extract the meat from the shells. Return meat to pan, add the tomato sauce, season, bring to a boil, and allow to simmer for 20 minutes at reduced heat. Add the cream. In the mean time cook pasta. When pasta is done strain, add to the pan and mix well with sauce before serving.