Recipes: Lobster, Lobster, Lobster!

It was quite a few years ago and I was getting lunch at a Freeport, Maine, restaurant when a woman asked for lobster. It was to be her first lobster adventure. The waiter patiently told her just how to get at the delicious meat. She asked for a knife. He smiled and said a knife wasn’t necessary. She sat patiently with a tight smile waiting for her lobster. When the steamy red monster was placed on her table, she again asked the waiter for advice. He went through the whole routine again. adjusted her bib and was about to walk off when she said, “I still want a knife.”

Here are a few lobster treats and a knife is NOT necessary!

Lobster Newburg

1 cup of cream

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp of flour

Salt and pepper to taste

Yolk of 2 eggs

1 large lobster, cooked and cut in pieces

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Glass of sherry

Make a cream of the cream, flour and egg yolks: season with salt and pepper.

Put lobster meat in a double boiler and when hot, add the creamed mixture, allowing it to come to a boil. Add juice of lemon and the sherry.

Lobster Casserole

1 to 1 1/2 pound of clear lobster meat

4 Tbsp. of butter

3 to 4 Tbsp. flour

3/4 tsp. dry mustard

5 slices of bread

1pt. medium cream

Salt and pepper to taste

Paprika

3 to 4 teaspoons of sherry

Cut lobster meat into bite-size and heat in a small amount of butter until slightly warm. Make a sauce of the butter, flour, dry mustard, paprika and about half of the cream. Combine with lobster meat. Break bread, without crust, into small pieces and mix with sauce and lobster meat. Add more cream to get a medium thickness to mixture. Add sherry. Put mixture in casserole dish.

Topping: crush cracker crumbs very fine. Warm in a pan with butter until lightly browned. Spread over casserole and bake at 325deg. for 20 minutes or until brown and bubbling. Serves 8 to 10.

Lobster Caesar Salad

Dressing

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2 tsp. minced garlic

1 1/2 tsp minced anchovy fillets

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. worcestershire sauce

Puree all ingredients in blender. It may be made a day ahead. Chill.

Salad

2 1 1/2 to 2-pound whole live lobsters

2 large hearts of romaine, cut lengthwise in half

2 cups of coarsely grated peeled celery root or parsnips

1/4 cup of coarsely grated Parmesan cheese

Garlic-Lemon Croutons

Cook lobsters in large pot of boiling salted water until just cooked through, about 12 minutes. Using tongs, transfer lobsters to large bowl and cool. Remove meat from tails and claws; reserve 1/4 cup lobster juice from bowl. Cut meat in half lengthwise. Whisk reserve juices into dressing; season with salt and pepper.

Arrange half of 1 romaine heart on each of 4 plates. Toss celery root with enough dressing to coat; mound on lettuce. Top with lobster meat; drizzle with dressing. Garnish each salad with grated Parmesan cheese and 4 croutons. Makes about 4 servings.