New Years Eve

My family and I have a New Years Eve tradition. My parents never seem to make it remotely close to midnight, but they always seem to have some tasty food for dinner and champagne to drink. This year, I was in charge of the cooking. We had planned on crab, but the store was out by the time we got there. So instead, lobster! I also made some mini shrimp tacos, that were amazing, and I'll be making them again coming up soon. The 3 of us shared 2 lobster tails, and a mess of these tacos, plus a bunch of other appetizers and peach bellinis!

Mini Shrimp Tacos
Here's the recipe adapted from The Food in My Beard

Ingredients: (Sorry for lack of measurements, the original recipe doesn't have them. It's not too hard to eyeball it.)
Shredded cabbage
Mango
Onion
Garlic
Cilantro
Lime Juice
Tortillas
Mayonaise
Sriracha

Directions:
1. A cookie cutter works, but so does a 12-oz can. I brushed these rounds with vegetable oil.

2. Stick a toothpick through the ends of the tortilla round, to keep it into a loose bowl shape. Consult photos above. Cook them at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. Then pull out the toothpick, they will keep their shape after being cooked.3. The slaw was shredded cabbage, mango, onion, garlic, cilantro, and lime juice. The shrimp were lightly coated in mayo and a little Sriracha. Yum!

Lobster Tails with Clarified Butter
Here's the recipe adapted from Giada de Laurentiis
(Honestly, I could have done without the lemon in the butter, it would have been a little more savory without it. It's up to you, but it does produce a strong lemon flavor with every bite if you're ok with that)

Ingredients:
4 (each ½ to ¾-pound) Lobster Tails, thawed if frozen
¼ cup Clarified Lemon Butter, plus 1 cup, recipe follows
Clarified Lemon Butter:
3 sticks Salted Butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
3 Lemons, zested

Directions:
1. Light the coals in a fire pit 1 hour before cooking or preheat a gas or charcoal grill.

2. Using kitchen shears or a sharp knife, cut through the top shell lengthwise. Cut a slit through the meat lengthwise taking care not to cut through the bottom shell. Gently pull the shells apart. Thread a skewer, starting at the underside base of the tail, along the inside of the bottom shell. Brush the meat with ¼ cup of the clarified butter. Wrap the lobster tails in heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the lobster meat is opaque.

Butter:
1. Place the remaining clarified butter in a butter warmer or dipping bowl. Remove the meat from the lobster shells and dip in the Clarified Butter.In a small, heavy bottomed saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat. Pour the mixture into a 2-cup glass measuring jug. Let the melted butter stand for 5 minutes. Using a spoon, remove the foam from the top of the butter. Place the lemon zest in small bowl. Pour the clarified butter over the lemon zest and discard the milk solids left in the bottom of the jug.