When thinking about my second blog post, I decided that I didn’t want to set a precedent that I would be traveling every month to some exotic location so that I could fill my blog with interesting cuisines and recipes. This is not financially sustainable (although it would be ideal…). I also didn’t want people to think that I was trying to disassociate myself from my own country, which happens to offer up some pretty fantastic culinary options. Hence, I decided to blog about perhaps my second favorite food (after good steak), which just happens to be very American: LOBSTER. Turf, then surf.
In the spirit of the recent celebration of our American independence, did you know that the U.S. is the number two lobster producer in the world? You may think that number two is not good enough. Well, you know what Canada? You are the number one producer of AMERICAN lobster. The species is named after US (I don’t care if you claim that it is referring to North America…the name is definitely connected with the United States of AMERICA). Therefore, I believe that lobster is pretty much up there with bald eagles and American pie. Canada also has bald eagles—but who thinks of them as Canadian? I sure don’t.
Now, like most of you, when I think of lobster, I think of Maine, or at least of New England, in general. What else do you associate with New England? Maybe specifically in the state of Vermont? DAIRY. What is my favorite dairy product? CHEESE. Now, in keeping with the patriotism of this blog entry, what is the most American cheese? Blue cheese. The lobster will be red, the bread from the lobster roll will be white, and the cheese that will be used to create a salad dressing that will go on top of a delightful selection of butter lettuce will be BLUE (work with me here). And everything will be delicious. By the way - butter lettuce is also called BOSTON lettuce. I am on a ROLL!
Okay, so lobster may be intimidating for some of you cooks out there--but most seafood sections of grocery stores sell small lobster tails for much cheaper than you would expect, and they are super easy to cook. For this recipe, I bought two 4 ounce tails for $5.99 each. Not too bad. But I will concede that trying to make a big lobster roll full of lobster meat can become expensive. So I am cheating a bit with this one—I am supplementing some nice juicy lobster tail with some imitation crab meat that requires absolutely no preparation. If you feel like shelling out the big bucks and buying more lobster, be my guest. I envy you.
Required Ingredients (Food for Two—Double it for Four):
- Two 4 oz. lobster tails (uncooked)
- 1 medium package of imitation crab meat (preferably in “clusters”—should be available in the seafood section of a grocery store)
- 2 white sub rolls
- 3 tbs. and 1 1/2 tbs. mayonnaise (separated)
- 2 1/2 cups of butter lettuce (I buy the 6.5 oz. bag of Fresh Express Sweet Butter in the produce section—a head of butter lettuce works, as well)
- 6 slices of bacon
- 1/4 cup dried cherries (dried cranberries are a good substitute)
- 1 tbs. white wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
- Chips (I recommend Terra veggie chips, available at most grocery stores)
- Salt and Pepper
First thing’s first – cook your lobster tails. Boil water (and add a pinch of salt), then add the tails. Cook 5-7 minutes for a 4-6 oz. tail.While you are cooking the lobster, make your salad dressing.
Whisk together 1 1/2 tbs. mayonnaise and 1 tbs. of white wine vinegar. Slowly add the vegetable oil while whisking, then add the blue cheese and mix it all together. And keep it chunky--it's much better that way. Set aside for the time being.
When the lobster is done, pull it out and let it cool--you don't want to burn your hands when you pull out the meat from the shell.
While the lobster is cooling, make the bacon--the easy, microwaveable way. Grab two paper towels--put one down on a plate, put the six slices of raw bacon on top, then cover with the other paper towel. Microwave for about3-4 minutes. I like my bacon crispier on a salad, but it's ultimately up to you.
Go ahead and start to prepare your salads. Pull out enough butter lettuce from the bag to go on the sandwiches (about a handful or two). Then divide the rest up into two plates/bowls. Go ahead and divide up the cherries into each plate/bowl. Do the same with the bacon—add three slices to each plate, but crumble it up/tear it apart before you add. (You can also wait to add some of the cherries and bacon until you have added the dressing.)
By now, the lobster should have cooled down a bit. Take some kitchen shears (aka scissors) and cut down the middle of the hard shell starting at the top and working your way down toward the end of the tail. Now your hands are going to get a bit dirty. Just work your way down the shell towards the tail with your hands, ripping towards the sides and trying to pull out the meat as you go along. Your last pull should pull out the whole tail’s worth of meat from the very end of the tail.
Chop up the lobster into bite size pieces and add to a medium/large mixing bowl. Now pull out your imitation crab meat package and throw those into the bowl. Add the remaining 3 tbs. of mayo and some salt and pepper. Mix well.
Heat up your oven broiler, slice up your sub rolls, and let them toast for a couple of minutes (I always like my bread toasted).
While broiling, top your salads with dressing. Then grab the buns out of the oven and put 'em on a couple of plates. Add the lettuce you set aside earlier to the rolls, then add your lobster/crab mixture. Pour out some chips on the side and grab your salad--you are ready to EAT...and to be an AMERICAN.
Credits: My Blue Cheese Butter Lettuce Salad recipe is adapted from a Bon Appétit recipe that I found online. The photos are of our cooking process.
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