MaineLobsterDirect.com - Sweetheart Surf & Turf Dinner for Two Giveaway! ARV $130! Ends 02/08

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This giveaway is now CLOSED. Thanks so much to our wonderful sponsor MaineLobsterDirect.com! We look forward to working with you again! The winner has been notified and upon confirmation, follower name will be posted both here and on our homepage. Remember: There are great giveaways active on the upper right hand side of the page!

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'Today's Butterfly' Valentine's Day Buying Guide Countdown sponsored by:

They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, but I say the way to anyone's heart is through their stomach! Mine included! And as a life long seafood lover many the special occasion has been celebrated with 'fruta de mare', so I thought why should Valentine's Day be different, what better way to celebrate love day than with a special surf and turf and dinner for two?

It's February and our annual countdown to 'L♥ve Day' is here! We started you off with 'wine', and so I figured the next logical step is the 'dine' part!

And better still, having that meal show up directly to your door. No Reservations to deal with, and what better surroundings than the comforts of home?  (And cheaper than going out on the town!)

You can be a frugal foodie, and still eat FAB!



Nor-East Feast



What I Tried: Nor-East Feast

Want a complete Lobster Dinner? A Lobster Dinner with your choice of Appetizer, choice of Chowder, Lobsters and Shellfish and choice of Dessert - all from Maine?

The Nor-East Feast Dinner includes: live Maine Lobsters, fresh Maine Steamer Clams, Shrimp or Mussels, Clam Chowder or Lobster Bisque, fresh Vegetable, and choice of your favorite Cheesecake from the dessert cart, Butter, Lemon, metal shell cracker(s), seafood forks and lobster bibs are also included. All is packed with care in a heavy duty reusable enameled Lobster pot. Price includes FedEx Delivery!

This was the first time I tried my hand at making live lobsters, and I will admit to being a bit nervous about it at first, but it all worked out fine! When the delivery arrived I put the cooler in the fridge while I did my prep work. I knew in advance I was going to boil not bake them, so I made a 'boil' of my own, part water, some old bay, fresh herbs (including Dill and Thyme), crushed garlic and white wine. After my boil, well, came to a boil, I removed the pot that had the lobsters inside it, removed the mussels and clams and transferred the boiling water from the pot into the enameled pot with the lobsters, no fuss no muss, no actual 'touching them'. :)

A little before the Lobsters were done, I added the mussels and clams to the pot. I will warn you the mussels and clams made an audible sound when they hit the water, the lobsters did not make a sound. (And Yes they were alive. Make sure whenever ordering LIVE Lobster, that they are very much alive when they arrive! If they arrive dead do not eat them!)

I reversed the order and had the Lobster Bisque later in the day and greatly enjoyed it. With this cold weather it really hit the spot. So you ask, What about me? Well I'm very glad you asked!

Sweetheart Surf & Turf Dinner

Sweetheart Surf & Turf Dinner

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Easy to prepare, the Sweetheart Surf and Turf comes with Two 6-7 oz. Maine Lobster Tails, Two six ounce Filet Mignons and your choice of Maine Lobster Direct's award winning New England Clam Chowder or Lobster Bisque, and Jewell Island special Heart-Shaped White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake. Spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying this romantic meal for two!

My Take

Pros:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - It's a taste of Maine right at your doorstep!  - Seafood lovers know that it doesn't get much better than seafood from Maine. And if you can't get to Maine yourself, this is like having Maine come to your door! It just doesn't get better than this. It was seafood dinner nirvana!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Taste, Presentation and Nothing Left To Chance - With a burst of the sea in each bite, and excellent packaging/presentation, what you will also appreciate about Maine Lobster Direct is that they literally include everything you could possibly need! I'm a Lobster Lover and have my own cracker for the shell, but the ones included in my package were WAY better than the set I own!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - And a cherry on top! - in the form of a moist and delicious Cheesecake Dessert!

Cons:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - I have to admit I am much more used to eating seafood out than preparing it myself. It does take getting used to making Live Lobsters. And hearing the sort of 'hissing' sound when the clams and mussels hit the pot did make me jump at first, but the results? So Totally Worth it!!! So I will leave it to you to decide whether or not this is a pro or con! :-)

If you are totally squeamish about making live Lobsters, then I would advise you to stick to the surf and turf that includes the tails instead of the Live Lobsters. But if I can do it, You can too! :) (And live are of course incredibly tender! Not to mention you really don't want to miss out on the claw meat!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - WIN IT! - Ascending Butterfly and our friends at MaineLobsterDirect.com want you to win a Sweetheart Surf & Turf Dinner for two! Don't you just ♥ MaineLobsterDirect.com? I know I do!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - How to Win:  Here are the Easy 1,2,3 Steps to Winning!

(1) You must be a PUBLIC follower of Ascending Butterfly to be eligible for this and all giveaways. Indicate in your entry that you follow (if your 'comment name/user id' differs from your profile id, please let me know what name you follow under) and

(2) MANDATORY entry- Visit our friends at MaineLobsterDirect.com and LINK us to another item that they sell that catches your eye! REMEMBER: You CANNOT post a link to the The Nor-East Feast Dinner or the Sweetheart Surf & Turf Dinner for Two or the entry will be automatically disqualified.

(3) You must also leave your email address somewhere in your comment. (You can format it this way for security, example: ascendingbutterfly AT mail host DOT com). (If your email is clearly visible in your profile, you can just say so, that's OK!) Please follow the easy 1, 2, 3 steps to winning! This giveaway is open to USA residents who are 18 years of age or older. No PO Boxes. We are  no longer sending courtesy reminders when entries do not qualify, make sure you are following publicly and your entry comment complies with giveaway win it instructions or it will be deleted.

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Please follow directions or you will be disqualified! All comments are moderated, they may not appear on the site right away (comments like "I want this" or "I want to win" will not be entered). You have from Tuesday, February 01, 2011 until Tuesday, February 08, 2011 at 03:00 PM (EST) to comment and be entered for a chance to win. You will have 48 hours to confirm if we do not hear from you we will be forced to move on to an alternate. (We only notify winners DIRECTLY via email, so if your profile or your comment does not have an email your entry will not be processed)

EXTRA CREDIT:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Blog about this giveaway, linking to this giveaway post. Leave the URL in a comment. (If your blog post contains more than just a pic and link you'll get 5 extra credit entries!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Grab our Button and put it on your Blog. Leave the URL where we can see it in a comment (if you already have our button, just let us know, you will still get extra credit!)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow @Tracy_Iglesias on Twitter and give me your twitter ID in a comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Tweet this:

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Maine #Lobster Direct  Sweetheart Surf & Turf Dinner for Two #Giveaway! ARV $130! Ends 02/08 Enter Here  http://tinyurl.com/4z9d8os

(Leave a comment with the tweet’s url so you can get a valid entry (click on the time your tweet was sent to get the direct URL and then copy and paste it here). You can Tweet TWICE per DAY. If you Tweet more than that, that entry will be disqualified.)

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Digg about this giveaway and leave your digg username in your comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Fave this blog on Technorati and leave your Technorati user name in your comment

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Ascending Butterfly on Facebook HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Like Maine Lobster Direct on Facebook and don't forget to tell them that Ascending Butterfly sent you  HERE (Since they are not on twitter yet, I would really appreciate you showing them some extra facebook love!) - Remember to leave the link to your facebook post as your comment - see instructions above for how to get a link on twitter, it applies to facebook too!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Follow Ascending Butterfly on Networked Blogs HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Join Ascending Butterfly's NEW Community/Real Time Chat, Group HERE

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Vote for Ascending Butterfly on: Fuel My Blog

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Have you entered another giveaway on Ascending Butterfly? Let me know which one and you’ll get more extra credit!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Have you commented on a non-giveaway entry? Let me know which one here and you’ll get more extra credit!

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ - Press the button below and join, you get an extra entry for this giveaway and a shot at more great prizes, lets win together! (one time extra credit, will be verified before entry can be accepted)

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FTC Disclosure Info for this Giveaway: This is not a paid insertion. This is a non-compensated post and all opinions regarding the product and the sponsor are my own experiences. I was provided product to facilitate the review and giveaway. Sponsor is fulfilling directly to prize winner(s), this in no way influenced my opinion of the products. Once a winner is selected and their information has been forwarded to the sponsor, the responsibility of prize fulfillment, rests with the sponsor.

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