Crave Wednesday: Picnic Perfect Lobster Rolls

My local supermarket is currently hosting their lobsterfest.  They put up a big tent that takes up a good quarter of the parking lot.  Over the weekend when I was checking out I asked the cashier about it.

"Do you get a lot of people who come for the lobsters?"
"Oh yeah.  We usually sell out."
 "Really?  They're $9.99/lb.  Which isn't any cheaper than they usually are."
"Well, we do get them in from Maine.  And we cook and clean them for you."
"Which you do anytime of year, right?"
"Right."

We got to talking about lobsters in general.  I'm a bit of a spoiled brat when it comes to lobster.  While most people think of it as a fancy meal for special occasions, our family used it as an everyday kind of meal.  Thatdad would bring it home any time it was cheap and we'd have lobster races across the kitchen floor. 

Which means while most people enjoy their lobster on its own, served beside drawn butter and perhaps a baked potato, I have no problem chopping it up and using it like its less lauded shellfish brethren.

Like chopping it up and tossing it with mayonnaise for a sandwich.  Which is not a unique or novel idea.  Lobster rolls are very in right now here on the west coast.  They took their sweet time getting here, but now there are lobster roll trucks, lobster roll restaurants, lobster rolls are everywhere!

What's funny is, lobster rolls are probably the easiest thing ever to make.  The same basic concept as egg salad- lobster, mayo, and some add-ins.  Anyone can do it.  So pick up a lobster.  Cook it or have it cooked for you, and have your own lobsterfest!

 Picnic-Perfect Lobster Rolls (From Cooking Light)

1/3 cup chopped celery

2 Tbsp chopped green onions

1 Tbsp chopped tarragon

3 Tbsp canola mayo

1/2 tsp grated lemon rind

1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

3/4 lb lobster meat

4 New-England style hot dog buns, toasted

1. Combine the celery, onions, tarragon, mayo, lemon rind and juice, dijon mustard, cayenne and lobster in a large bowl.  Cover and chill for an hour.
2.  Divide lobster mixture among buns.

Phoenix: The Phood

Before we headed to Phoenix I beseeched my Phoenix foodies for some awesome restaurant recs. And they were more than happy to oblige me. So a special thanks to Kelsey and Karen because MAN did we eat well when we were there.

Our first meal was at Morning Glory at “The Farm.” It was very different than what I was expecting. I think my Californian is beginning to show. I should qualify that statement, different doesn’t mean bad. I just was expecting a sit down crowded café like most of the breakfast places we go to. This was like a picnic. A delightful picnic underneath leafy trees beside a huge garden. Technically I guess that garden is the farm but it was such a peaceful experience. The tables have cloth checkered tablecloths and most of the vegetation on the menu comes right from beside where you’re sitting. It’s a concept I love. Truly farm to table. The farm itself is expansive and idyllic and we spent quite a bit of time just wandering around. Thatboy said that if we lived in Phoenix, we’d be having breakfast here every weekend.

Saturday night, we hit up Pizzeria Bianco. Kelsey had said that it was supposed to be one of the best pizza places in the country. Apparently she wasn’t the only one who had heard that. The doors open at 5, and the line forms at 3:30.

The gentleman in line behind us was a self-proclaimed pizza aficionado. He traveled the world searching for the perfect pizza. For their anniversary that year, he and his wife had traveled from Oregon to Phoenix, JUST to eat at this restaurant. Friday night they had waited in line 3 hours to have dinner there, and it was so good, they were back again Saturday. That’s a lot of buildup for a pizza!

And these pizzas were good. Maybe not the best pizza I’ve ever had in my life (although pizza isn’t one of those foods I tend to qualify in such an aspect) but certainly delicious. And Thatmom and Thatboy declared that the antipasta plate we started out with was the best antipasta they had ever eaten bar none.

The crust was woodfired, thin, and actually had flavor, unlike most crusts which serve just to transport the toppings to your mouth. Although most of the pizzas we tried were sauceless, they were not stingy with the cheese, which is always a good sign.

Sunday after the race we ate a late lunch/brunch/does-anyone-want-to-eat-today-meal. Toxicesq suggested Barrio Café which was also on the list recommended by Kelsey. You can’t get better than two recommendations! (I know, 3 recs would have been better, but two is twice as good as one. And one is the loneliest number you can ever do.)

I had read the description of Barrio Café which held that it was not your typical Mexican restaurant because it was Southern, and therefore(?) not spicy. Truthfully, the preparation was fairly typical Mexican fare with the exception of pomegranate seeds in the “guacamole” (in quotes because I’m fairly certain that cutting up an avocado into chunks isn’t really guacamole. I believe it’s still referred to as “avocado.” But what do I know, I’ve never been to Southern Mexico.)

Fairly typical Mexican fare does not mean that Barrio Café was no good. On the contrary, what they do, they do well. And Thatmom and I thoroughly enjoyed our huevos rancheros (I think Thatmom may have drank her sauce directly from the ramekin).

And I didn’t hear a word of protest from Thatboy and Toxicesq as they partook in their tacos cochinita pibil.

After looking at all the recommendations for restaurants, my top pick was NOCA. Especially their “Simple Sunday Supper.” Sunday nights they feature a themed prix fixe menu. This Sunday it was a dinner with Denis Soriano. I’m not sure who Denis Soriano is. From the name I would assume he was Spanish or Pilipino, and yet the food was decidedly French. Cheddar gougeres as our amuse bouche were quickly followed by croque monsieurs and frisse salad.

Our intermezzo was a demitasse filled with warm creamy (dreamy) parsnip soup, which could go into the category of best thing I’ve eaten.

For dinner we all had the beef bourguignon served over duck fat fingerling potatoes.

While we waited for our dessert of profiteroles and hazelnut gelato, pink vanilla cotton candy was brought to the table.

And after we were all done, we were sent home with a chocolately chocolate cookie. It was truly a delectable dinner. Although several of the items were rich, the portion size was perfect so none of us felt that we had a lead bomb in our stomachs as we crawled into bed.

I couldn't hope to replicate the food we had in Phoenix, although I am definitely going to attempt my own parsnip soup this weekend to enter in Valli's "best thing I ever ate (recently)." Instead, I found another lobster recipe to share with you. It's a leftover in many senses of the word. Leftover lobster, leftover recipe, but for those of us who don't like fish sticks, this makes a fantastic alternative. And if you've got a little bitty picky eater, or a big picky husband, it's a great way to warm their pallet to fancy expensive food. So they'll be more willing to buy you lobster and jewelery. Because I'm pretty sure the two go hand in hand.

Lobster Croquettes
1 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup milk, heated
1 cup chopped cooked lobster meat
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dry mustard
pinch of cayenne pepper
3/4 Tbsp lemon juice
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles, but don't let it brown.
2. Add the hot milk, continuing to stir as the sauce thickens. Bring to a boil.
3. Add salt and pepper and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes and remove from heat.
4. Add the lobster, salt, mustard, cayenne pepper, lemon juice. Refrigerate an hour.
5. Make small cone-like shapes out of the mixture and roll in breadcrumbs.
6. Heat 1 inch oil in pan. Fry croquettes until they are golden.

Ready to Race

This is a very important post for a number of reasons.

Import for you because it's the last in my series of Valentine's lobster meals.

Important for me, because as you read this, I am on my way to my half marathon. Probably still in the sky in fact. And I am VERY excited about it. My first half I was beyond nervous by this point. Doubting myself, doubting my training.

But now, I know I can do it. And I know my training will pay off. Part of me thinks I'm not as fast as I was last time. My runs have been a bit sluggish lately. On the other hand, I think I might be A LOT faster. Mainly because of this:

This is the training route I run almost every day:

There's a mountain behind me (well a wilderness area) which leave me one direction to go. And it's all downhill from there. har har har (See what I did THERE?) Which means it is ALL UPHILL going home. For about the last mile. But if you think that's bad, that's got nothing on my runs when I stay with Thatmom:

Thatmom lives at the top of a hill. It seems like there should be a moat with crocodiles surrounding it, but nope. Just a hill. Although to call this a hill would be like calling the Sahara a "dry patch." The thing is monsterously steep. And no matter which direction I go, I always have to run back up that thing when I am most tiredest.

Which is why I am REALLY looking forward to this race. With a course that looks like this:
Do you SEE the flatness? It's going to be a fantastic run.

And for my last "lobsters for Valentine's Day" I've stepped THAT up a notch too. I had to. Because I couldn't very well post about my pumped up half and then give you some boring old lobster dish. This one is perfect for a romantic candle-light dinner. It even comes in its very own bowl. A bowl that you will lovingly and painstakingly create in a kitchen of your very own. And when your loved one turns to you and says "Oh darling, this is simply too too much!" You can just dust your hands off and murmur- oh this old thing? I just threw it together.

Creamed Lobster (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)
2.5 Tbsp butter
2.5 Tbsp flour
1 cup light cream
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 cup cooked lobster meat
patty shells
1/2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan.
2. Stir in the flour and cook over low heat until smooth and blended.
3. Slowly add the cream, stirring constantly, and the nutmeg, cayenne pepper, and lemon juice.
4. Cook, stirring, until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Add the lobster meat and heat through. Spoon into patty shells and sprinkle with parsley.

Patty Shells
1. Roll puff pastry into a rectangle 1/4 inch thick. You can use frozen, but next week I'll give you instructions on how to make your own.
2. Cut into circles 3 inches in diameter.
3. Remove the centers from half of the circles with a 2 inch round cutter.
4. Sprinkle a cookie sheet with water and shake off the excess. Place a cut out ring on top of each round and press gently to seal evenly. Prick the bottom of each unbaked shell with a fork.
5. Bake 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack. Remove the uncooked pastry from the center.

Wine and Song

I don't think I've ever shown you guys these. THESE are our favorite wine glasses. TSIL got them for us a couple years back. I actually tend to use our stemmed glasses more, but any time Thatboy opens a bottle of wine, somehow we end up with these on our table. I think he loves them most because he gets to write fun things on them. Things like "Cat" and "Dog" or "Cake" and "Ice Cream." It's one of his quirks.

I'm also going to continue on with our lobster trend. This time with timbales. Now, when I hear timbales I think of tambourines and gypsies. Maybe something a little like this:



But really, timbales are cuban drums. More like this:

Which is why you'll probably all be surprised when I show you that the lobster timbales have NOTHING to do with music. They look more like this:

Weird, right? Who came up with this name? Somehow, someone along the way must have decided that timbales = "anything baked in a ramekin." Either that, or thought of timbales is music to your ears. (See what I did there?) In fact, Shakespeare did say that "if music be the food of love, play on." So there is obviously a connection between music and food. Maybe because they are both a way to win someone's heart. And if music is the food of love, what better way to celebrate the day of love than with a musical feast!

This is very much like a lobster custard with the addition of cream and egg. Because the egg whites are whipped, this is much lighter and fluffier than you would expect. Light enough where I though I would add to it by serving it with something fried. This is actually a great leftover meal. Because it calls for cooked lobster, you can throw an extra one in to boil. Then take your leftover grits and fry them up. It's a completely new meal, but will take hardly anytime to throw together. And that my friends, is music to MY ears.

Lobster Timbales (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)
1/2 Tbsp butter
1/2 Tbsp flour
4 Tbsp milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup cooked lobster meat
5 Tbsp heavy cream, beaten stiff
1 egg white, beaten stiff

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter 2 1 cup custard cups. Fill a shallow pan with hot water and place in oven. Melt the butter in a saucepan.
2. Stir in the flour, blend until smooth, and slowly stir in the milk and salt.
3. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the sauce is smooth and thickened. Beat a spoonful of sauce into the yolk and return the yolk/sauce mixture to the saucepan.
4. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in lobster.
5. Pour the lobster mixture into a bowl and fold in whipped cream and egg white. Spoon mixture into the custard cups and place in the pan of hot water in the oven. Bake 35 minutes.

Fried Grits
1 cup cooked grits
3 Tbsp butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
1. Spread grits in loaf pan, refrigerate overnight.
2. Cut grits into 1/2 inch slices. Melt the butter in a large skillet.
3. Dip slices into the egg and then into the crumbs, coating both sides completely.
4. Place in the skillet for 3 minutes on each side or until hot and golden brown.

The boons of the Holidays

As I've mentioned before, I'm not fantastic at spending money on myself. The one exception is when I get gift cards, because they can't go in to my bank account and be used to pay for gas, groceries, or my car. So Thatboy has caught on and has spread the word to his family to give me gift cards for the holidays.

I've spent the past few weeks using my lunch breaks to go shopping and I've accumulated quite the stash.

First I hit up BCBG.

You may recognize this skirt from my pictures from Harvard's party. In fact, I got it specifically to wear to Harvard's party since most non-work days I look in my closet with that "what am I going to wear" dread. And especially what am I going to wear to a cocktail party? I love the zipper in the front, and Thatboy pointed out it can also be worn in the back for a more conservative look.

Then I hit up my go-to, Banana Republic:

A new party dress! Because I always need nice dresses for weddings and parties. Although I'm getting to the age where I don't have a wedding every week. In fact, 2010 was the first year we didn't attend a wedding since 2003.



I also got a new pair of wool black pants. Because I can always use work pants. I wear a suit to work every day, so black pants are a given staple in my wardrobe. And wool, because on most days my office barely gets above a balmy 50 degrees. The airvent above my desk is especially helpful at keeping my ice from melting.

And along that same vein, I also hit up Macys for another pair of non-black work pants.

I know they're black in this picture, but the ones I picked up were grey. And I LOVE them. I love the way they fit, I love the way they feel, and I love the way they look.


Maybe it is important to treat yourself every now and again. Like with a creamy, lobster dish loaded with cream, butter, and Parmesan. It's another Valentine's Day treat!




And this one calls for cooked lobster, so you can cook it anyway you like - including my favorite boiling method.



Lobster Thermidor (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)
2 1/2 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup sliced mushrooms
3/4 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp dry sherry
1 cup cooked lobster
salt
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan Cheese

1. Preheat oven to 450. Butter a shallow baking dish. Melt 1 1/2 Tbsp butter in a saucepan. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft. Then remove mushrooms from heat and set aside.
2. Melt the remaining Tbsp of butter, stir in the flour, and cook until smooth and blended.
3. Slowly stir in the cream and cook over low heat, stirring until the sauce is smooth and thickened.
4. Add the sherry and cook another minute. Remove from the heat and add the lobster and salt. Spoon into the baking dish, sprinkle with cheese, and bake 10 minutes.

Things White People Like: The Thatgirl Edition

1. Cupcakes.

But not just any cupcakes. They have to be cute. Either in fun shapes or covered in glitter. Thatboy especially likes those covered in glitter.

2. Farmer's Markets. I love that we have Farmer's Markets year round. And I definitely take advantage of it.

This weekend I dragged Thatboy with me. And got him some coffee from Joes on the Nose as an incentive. Which completely worked. I didn't hear any complaints. Buying him further treats didn't hurt either.


3. Fancy dress up parties. This weekend was my friend Harvard's birthday party.

His birthday was actually in November. But Harvard has been bicoastal for work lately, so he had to postpone his birthday till this weekend. He wanted it to be very grown up, so he hosted a cocktail party. Complete with a couple of bartenders! It was fun to put on our fancy clothes.

It was even more fun to play catchup with some old friends. Because man are we all getting old.

Harvard is the first in our group to turn the big 3-0, and it's all downhill for the rest of us.


4. Fancy Schmancy Lobster Dishes.
I've been blogging about lobster dishes in preparation for Valentine's Day since we all know that lobsters are the true symbol of love. This one is super fancy schmancy because it has a French name. And the French pretty much invented love. Or so I hear.

This is another recipe that calls for killing a live lobster. And I'm not an idiot. I wasn't going to play that game twice. Instead I stuck the lobster in the freezer for a couple of days and it was D-E-A-D when I cut it into 8 pieces. The sweetness of the lobster is balanced by the cayenne - and by the way, did you know the chemical that makes cayenne spicy is also an aphrodisiac? It's true. I wouldn't lie to you. I paired this silky smooth lobster with something equally silky smooth. And I'm not talking about my just waxed legs. Just some nice easy grits. I told you I was a southern girl at heart.

Lobster a l'Americaine (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)
1 large lobster
2 Tbsp oil
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 bay leaf
1/2 tsp thyme
2 Tbsp chopped shallots
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup dry white
1. Kill and split a live lobster. Or if you're me, don't. Freeze the lobster for several days until you're sure he won't be moving ever. Then cut him in to 8 pieces and remove the liver and coral (but save them).
2. Heat oil and butter in large skillet. Add the lobster, bay leaf, thyme, and shallots. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Mix the cayenne pepper, tomato paste, and wine in a small bowl. Add to the lobster and stir with the juices in the skillet.
4. Cover and simmer another 10-15 minutes. Take out the lobster and remove the meat.
5. Strain the liquid and return it to the pan with the liver and coral. Blend.
6. Add the lobster meat and heat through.

Hominy Grits
1/2 cup grits
1/2 tsp salt
1. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil and slowly stir in grits and salt. Cook 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.