As we’re finally able to soak up the sunshine and embrace the good weather of the long awaited summer season, one of the best ways to celebrate the warmth is to enjoy a delicious meal enjoyed among loved ones. This meal captures the very essence of summer, with bright, fresh flavours that go best with a summer breeze!

Let’s start with the star of the show: lobster! Fresh lobster is a tell-tale sign of the season. Here’s our recipe for how to prepare lobster in your quickpot…

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup cold water

2 tsp salt

2 live lobsters, 1 to 1 1/4 pound each

Preparation:

1. Put the steamer rack in the inner pot and add the water and salt.
   
2. Prepare the live lobsters for cooking, first by inserting a knife deeply into the lobster’s head, this will kill the lobster instantly.
   
3. Remove any rubber bands and immediately put the lobsters in your quickpot.

4. Secure lid with the steam pressure release button in the pressure position. Select “pressure or manual”, set 4 minutes to “high with keep warm at off”. Press “start”. 

5. Once you’re done cooking, release the pressure immediately, remove the lid and take out the lobsters.
   
6. Season according to your preference.

As simple as that, you have a gorgeous helping of fresh, steaming lobster. However, our summer feast does not end there! Cooking on the grill, a quintessential summertime ritual, also has its place in our dinner tonight. Here’s our recipe for grilled chicken skewers using our smokeless electric grill!

Ingredients:

2 cups coriander leaves

1.6 kg chicken thigh filets trimmed

2 tbsp Vegetable Oil

Sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste

1/2 cup water

1 tbsp lime juice

Chipotle seasoning

Preparation:

Add the chicken, oil, salt, and pepper and toss to coat, half the coriander and chipotle seasoning,  Refrigerate for 30 minutes to marinate. 

Preheat a char-grill pan or barbecue to medium heat. Skewer 2 chicken thigh fillets horizontally on 3 metal skewers. Repeat with the remaining chicken fillets. Cook the skewers for 5–6 minutes each side or until charred and cooked through. Slice the skewers and serve.
You may also use shrimps with this recipe or if you’d like to sub it out for a vegetarian option – tofu works well!

If you’ve prepared chicken, shrimp or even tofu using the electric grill, our next recipe makes great use of the protein. One of the things we love about summer is bringing more spice and heat to our palate and one of our favourite ways to turn up the heat is by making everyone’s favourite, chicken tacos!

If you have left over chicken or shrimp, instead of skewering them, slice them and add to some crunchy hard-shell corn tortilla tacos. The best way to serve tacos is using our Taquito taco holder, perfect for four tacos (but no one is counting!), with the Hyacinth serving basket, filled with toppings like red onion, avocado, red cabbage slaw, pickled jalapenos, sour cream, etc. This way, everyone can serve themselves and build their own tacos, a fun and interactive way to eat together!
This was our idea for a  festive summer dinner, there’s something for everyone to ensure that everyone gets a taste of summer with every bite. If you make any of these recipes, please share with us on Instagram by tagging @stokesstores and use the hashtag #StokesMoments.

Bon Appétit!