Mother's Day Menu

All week long I have wanted to write about and share my mother's day menu with you.

Now Mother's day id supposed to be a nice day but somehow it turns out very stressful for me. Trying to please everyone and still enjoy the day with my own children.

So, Saturday we went to my in laws and stayed over. I got to go to my Flea Market which made me very happy and then we headed back home to my dad and step-mother's house. I had offered to make dinner at my house but my dad felt it was easier to cook at his house (he does have an amazing kitchen).

My step-mom saw an ad for Lobsters and decided she wanted to have Lobster Fra Diavlo. With MOI doing the cooking (you know since I said to have it at my house).

When I arrived at their house everything was there. Only now the meal turned into a Lobster, shrimp, clam and squid (calamari) Fra Diavlo over fresh pasta.

My dad made the sauce. He basically took a jar of sauce (not sure which one but not a Ragu or something maybe Bertolli or Rao's). He added ingredients to make it a Fra sauce (YUMMY).

We steamed the Lobsters, let them cool and then my dad cut them into 1 inch pieces, shell and all. Put them aside in a bowl. While the lobsters were cooling. I cooked the shrimp. They were cleaned and deveined and butterflied. I sauteed some garlic in EVOO added the shrimp until almost pink and then added the fra sauce to the shrimp for final cooking. I then steamed the clams while my brother slice the squid. Put the shrimp aside. Add the Lobster to the saute pan (LARGE) and warm it with the Fra sauce. During this time boil water. The fresh pasta cooks in 2 minutes.

When the pasta is done put in large serving bowl/platter, add the lobster, shrimp, clams and calamari with remaining sauce.

Serve immediately, have fresh grated cheese available.

It was amazing. The sauce and fresh pasta work so nicely together, the sauce coats it so well.

Ingredients included:

2 jars of sauce

5 one and a half pound lobsters

2 pounds of large shrimp

1 pound of clams

3 large squid

1/2 pound of minced clams

1 pound of fresh linguine (can use regular)

Garlic

Red pepper flakes

salt

pepper

EVOO

hot sauce (for that extra kick)

Mint

I also served my famous Mojitos

Simple syrup

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

Mojitos

a little simple syrup

8-10 mint leaves

lime

seltzer

rum

ice

Muddle (smash) the mint leaves in a cup, add lime(slice or two), muddle some more, add ice, simple syrup, seltzer and rum. Mix (I mix by shaker or pouring from one glass to the other for maximum mixage - is that a word?).

Serve or drink - either way it is DELISH!

Enjoy!