This super-simple recipe makes a great romantic dinner for two to celebrate the holidays, a special occasion, or really anytime you want to impress your sweetheart with your cooking.

It's so easy, anyone can make it and seem like a gourmet chef! The big trick is to thicken pre-made lobster bisque to be your sauce.

My fiance LOVES lobster ravioli with lobster cream sauce. When we get it at a restaurant, it costs $20 or so a person, so it's too expensive to eat regularly. But with this recipe you can serve two for well under that. I thought of it one day when I was buying lobster bisque at trader joes and realized 'wait a minute: lobster cream sauce is basically just thick lobster bisque. aha!'.

I usually use trader joes lobster raviolis with trader joes lobster bisque (total: under $10 to serve two). However, I don't have one near my new house and didn't have time to go there for this instructable, so I used what they had at whole foods (more expensive: about $14 plus the optional meat).

The main 'fake it' element of this recipe is turning premade lobster bisque into lobster cream sauce. You also save time with store bought lobster ravioli and optional ready-made shellfish

Step 1: Gather Ingredients

There are not many ingredients to this recipe, but it is very important that you choose them wisely. Use a good quality brand; if you don't like the bisque as a soup, you won't like it as a sauce either.

Ingredients:
1 package of lobster raviolis (10-12 ounces)
1 jar of lobster bisque (10-12 ounces)
1 teaspoon corn starch
1 teaspoon water
Optional: 1/2 lb pre-cooked lobster, crab, or shrimp*

Note: This recipe is most tasty and impressive with lobster. However, to save money you can use either crab meat, or (even cheaper) shrimp. You can also leave out the extra meat. If you choose to add the meat, using pre-cooked prepicked shellfish will save you time. You can buy pre-cooked lobster/crab in tubs in the refrigerator of the seafood section. Shrimp is usually sold in bags or by the pound.

Step 2: Boil Water

Fill a large pot about half full with water.

Add a little bit of fresh ground salt - it will flavor the water and also raise the boiling point slightly.

Let the water preheat while you prepare your sauce.

Step 3: Prepare Your Sauce Ingredients

Mix one teaspoon of cornstarch with one teaspoon of water. This mixture will act as a thickener. Bisque should already be pretty thick; if you are using a particularly thin one, use a little more cornstarch/water mixture.

If you are using lobster or crab meat, it should be fully prepared already. However, for this example I picked shrimp because it was on sale. It was already deveined, but needed the tails removed. I also cut it because even though it looks nicer whole it is easier to cut.

Step 4: Make the Sauce

Place the bisque in a pot on med-high heat. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil, stirring frequently

Once the bisque is boiling, reduce the heat to medium. If you are adding extra seafood, now is the time to do it.

It will continue to boil and thicken. Stir it regularly so nothing sticks to the sides/bottom, and so a film does not form on the top.

Step 5: Cook the Ravioli

When the water has reached a rolling boil, add the raviolis. Cook them for 6-8 minutes.

When the ravioli is tender and all floating, drain them. Save the pot to mix with the sauce so you don't have to dirty extra dishes.

Step 6: Mix the Ravioli With the Sauce

Place your large pot off of the heat. Put the ravioli back in the pot, and pour the sauce over it. Gently toss to coat.

Step 7: Serve and Enjoy

Plate your ravioli. Top with fresh ground pepper. Enjoy!

To complete your romantic holiday dinner, serve it by candlelight with a fresh salad and wine.