Yesterday afternoon, about 45 minutes after he left for the Strip, SP called me.Me: "What's wrong, did he pinch you?"
SP: "No, but he's a lively one."
Me: "Well where is he? Why are you calling?"
SP: "He's on ice in a bag on his way to the car."
About a half an hour later, SP returned home.
SP: "Honey, I'm home!"
Me: "Where's Lloyd?"
SP: "You named our lobster?!"
Lloyd really wasn't much to look at. His claws were banded shut. He was on ice. In a bag. Pretty lethargic at that point. After a quick glance, Lloyd went into the freezer. SP assured me that he did the research and it was OK to put our live lobster in the freezer to kill him before we cooked him. I think we both were a little squeamish about dunking a wiggling lobster into a pot of boiling water. Somehow, freezing him first seemed... umm... nicer? For us, anyway.
Last week I saw a tweet and an ad in the newspaper for live whole lobsters $5.98/lb at Wholey's in the Strip. I mentioned it to SP, and we thought that seemed like a good price. Especially after he priced GEMD live lobsters at $14.99/lb. So Sunday afternoon, he took a drive to the Strip in search of dinner.
That's Lloyd, after cooking. Turns out Lloyd was not a boy. Lloyd-ette was tasty. Steamed in some water and lemon juice for 10-12 minutes. SP got to... dissect our lobster.
We shared the 1.25 lb lobster. We didn't get 2 because we were a bit apprehensive about cooking live lobster at home. This was our first time cooking a live lobster. We didn't want to under or over cook it. So we just got one. Now that we know how simple it is, we'll have to keep an eye out for more lobster deals!
We also grilled some fresh bay scallops from GEMD. SP put them on skewers, brushed them with olive oil, sprinkled on some lemon-pepper seasoning and grilled them.
He's really good at grilling scallops. These were, once again, perfectly grilled. Just cooked through, still juicy, not dried out and hard. So good!
Along with the lobster and scallops, we made a salad. Lettuce, carrots, tomato, cucumber, red pepper, green olives, almonds, basil microgreens, and some mozzarella.I made a dressing called Summer Vinaigrette. The recipe was in The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review here.
I omitted the garlic and used only half a shallot. It still has a strong shallot flavor! I made it in the food processor so the basil, parsley, and chives really got pureed with the mustard, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, and olive oil.This was such a tasty meal, and light, which was great since we both feel like we've been eating a bit much lately!
Summer Vinaigrette
•1 medium-size shallot, finely chopped
•1 medium-size garlic clove, minced
•1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
•1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
•1 teaspoon finely chopped basil
•1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
•1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
•3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
•3/4 cup olive oil
•Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Combine the shallot, garlic, parsley, chives, basil, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and red-wine vinegar in a medium-size bowl and whisk until well blended. (Or, place in a food processor and process until well blended.)
Slowly pour in the olive oil, whisking continuously (or processing) until blended. Add the salt and pepper, and taste for seasoning.
Makes 1 cup.
Advance preparation: This could be prepared and kept for as long as one week in the refrigerator. Whisk before using.
Actually the lobster was very much alive but sluggish coming out of the freezer - I dispatched her with the "chef's knife through the head" method before plunging her into the water.
ReplyDeleteYou were mercifully not around for that step...