One more lobster dinner

My daughter, always ready to dig in.

For someone who loves lobster as much as I do, it’s hard to believe I would do the unthinkable-

When I was in my twenties , before my passion took hold, I had no idea of how to shop or buy food ingredients. I had no cooking experience either. However, one evening, I  decided to serve lobster for dinner. I went to a Gristede’s market in New York City and bought two lobsters. What I didn’t know would be revealed after we sat down and cracked open the first claw, expecting to pull out the yummy sweet morsels of meat. What a surprise when we found no meat, only an empty shell. I made the expensive discovery that I had bought already cooked lobsters, red lobsters rather than uncooked black lobsters still swimming in water. I also discovered that when you boil already cooked lobsters, for about an hour, the meat evaporates!

Now many years later, I look forward to cooking (properly) a feast of lobsters as often as I can.  And, actually-- you can eat lobsters year round. Unlike in the Caribbean, Maine Lobstering is a year round activity. While more are caught during the Summer due to tourism demands, you can enjoy fresh Maine lobster any time, whether the end of Spring (as seen in my Journal pages below) or, at the start of fall- my Favorite time!

View from The Topside Inn, Booth Bay Harbor, Maine

 Lobster in Maine

My memories of eating lobster in September were at the end of each summer in Maine.

Maine is where the kids went to camp and, while visiting them my husband and I would search for the quintessential New England coastal Inn. The book, "Back Roads and Country Inns" was where I found The Black Point Inn on Prouts Neck, in Scarborough, Maine. There it stood on the top of a cliff surrounded by the bay on one side and the sound on the other. Turn of the century architecture, a white clapboard building with porches and Adirondack rocking chairs waiting for you to sit and contemplate life, nature, the water and the moment.

From the porch, you would see a dog and it's owner take their daily romp on the sandy beach, with the foam tide washing over their feet. Walking along the cliffs, collecting shells and stones. Bicycling through the pine tree woods to Winslow Homer's studio.  We would watch lobstermen go off in their boats and retrieve their traps filled with cold water, sweet Maine lobsters that we would eat so happily. Going to The Black Point Inn for my husbands birthday in September became a family tradition. Eating lobster in Maine in September would even become part of my daughter's wedding (the photo above shows the inn - in the lobsterman's village- where many of us stayed  during the unforgettable occasion). 

The lobster dinner below has a French twist, because of what I serve with the lobster. I love to add a spin, a surprise, while keeping the food pure in it's roots. You should try it, instead of the same old, have fun and then next time go back to the same old. 

A Lobster Dinner Journal Page from 1998

I begin with cocktails and a Pissaladiere, a dish from the south of France. A thin pizza-like crust is covered with caramelized onions, then topped with anchovies, black nicose olives, and sprigs of fresh thyme and marjoram. It's like a pizza, or savory tart. 

                                                
 
Recipe for Pissaladiere, adapted from Saveur Magazine

serves 6

Saveur magazine is a wonderful authority on classic cuisines from all over the world. I just love reading it.

For the dough:
1/4 ounce active dry yeast
extra virgin olive oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
cornmeal
water

For the topping:
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2- 3 lbs. yellow onions, peeled and sliced very thinly
salt and freshly ground black pepper
bouquet garni of 2 sprigs each thyme and marjoram and 1 sprig rosemary, tied with kitchen twine-

Herbs from my herb garden tied into a bouquet garni

NOTE: bouquet garni, a French term for a bundle of herbs tied together with string and then removed later. Herbs vary depending on the recipe.

1/3 to 1/2 cup black nicose olives pitted
18 anchovy fillets, drained

To make the dough:
Dissolve yeast in 1 cup of warm water in a small bowl, let stand for 5 minutes, then add 1/4 cup oil.
Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl, add yeast mixture, and stir with a wooden spoon, adding a bit more water if necessary, until ingredients are well mixed. Turn out dough on a lightly floured work surface, dust hands with flour, and knead for several minutes until the dough has a smooth, firm, elastic character. Form dough into a ball, then place in a lightly oiled medium bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Allow dough to rise in a warm spot for about 1 hour. Alternately, the dough can be prepared in a bowl of a food processor.

Prepare topping:
Heat oil in a large pan over medium-low heat. Add onions and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add bouquet garni and cover pan to let onion sweat and slowly simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and continue cooking until the moisture has evaporated and the onions cook down to a very tender marmalade-like consistency, 30-40 minutes. Discard bouquet garni and remove from heat and set aside.

Place a pizza stone in oven and preheat to 450 degrees. Roll dough out onto a floured surface into a thin, flat rectangle. Transfer dough to a baker's peel or inverted baking sheet dusted with cornmeal. Cover dough with a damp cloth and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Remove cloth from dough and spread onion mixture on top. Arrange anchovy fillets over onions, add olives and season lightly with pepper. Add a few sprigs of fresh thyme over all and slide onto hot pizza stone. Bake until crust has browned, 15-20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, cut into squares.

 Serve the lobster with steamed fresh summer vegetables and a fabulous garlic mayonnaise called aioli (also served with bouillabaisse) which I will tell you about in a later post. You can also dip the lobster meat into the aioli sauce.

live lobster before cooking

cooked lobsters

How To Cook A Lobster

It’s really very simple to cook a lobster. All you need is a very large pot , a lid and the lobsters  ( black live lobsters).

Bring water to a boil in the  pot. Holding the lobster at its back, put it into the water head first and cover the pot. Continue cooking the rest of the lobsters in this manner.  Lower the heat to a medium simmer and cook for 15 minutes.

Remove the lobsters from the pot and set onto a chopping board preferably near a sink.

Pierce the lobster claws to allow the water to drain (this will avoid a messy wet plate).

Serve the lobster (hot and right away OR cold--- after you have refrigerated the cooked lobster for a few hours).

Dig in. I like to start with the legs, then the claws and lastly the tail. Yummy

Have melted butter ready in individual dipping vessels (or, as noted, use the aioli as the dipping sauce). Also, be sure to  provide  lobster picks, crackers and plenty of napkins.

And, always-  a bowl for the empty shells!

Aioli Sauce

I follow The Silver Palate cookbook recipe for Aioli sauce...

It uses the food processor which really makes life simple and is foolproof as long as you pour the oils in at the right speed. You can always do it again if it goes wrong, I have. Just make sure you have enough eggs and garlic and oils on hand.

8 to 10 garlic cloves, peeled

2 egg yokes, room temperature

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste ( recipe calls for white pepper, but I don’t bother).

Juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon prepared Dijon-style mustard

1 ½ cups oil ( half peanut oil, half olive oil), at room temperature.

Puree garlic in a food processor. Whisk the egg yolks in a small bowl until light and smooth, and add to the garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste, lemon juice and mustard, and process to a smooth paste.

With the machine running, pour the oil very slowly into the mixture in a steady stream, blending constantly. Continue blending until you obtain a thick, shiny, firm sauce. ( it really should look like this) Transfer to a storage container, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

In my next blog on Sunday, October 2nd, I will welcome Fall with a dinner bringing the outdoors to the table, which was featured in Greenwich Magazine.

Photograph of me and my daughter taken by Chichi Ubina www.chichiubina.com for Greenwich Magazine

                                                                                       


Hope you'll join me and be inspired. As always, please post comments, food memories or ask questions.

xxoo Sheila