Boy, has it been a long week! Not bad, just L-O-N-G! I've been out several nights in a row, spending my work days reading 'non-technical' guides that feel like retaking physics, and eating a lot of junk food (and drinking a beer or two). So nothing sounded better for a Friday night than a nice home cooked meal and a nice night in alone. I think it's really important for us single gals to make sure we cook ourselves some real food now and then. It's too easy to work our little tails off cooking to impress a guy, then as soon as we're single we fall back into living off of Wheat Thins and Laughing Cow cheese. This time around the block of single-gal life, I'm making a conscious effort to cook myself some fancy meals now and then.
I'm also on a budget though, so things get a little tricky there. Fortunately,
my new favorite place on earth had live lobsters for $9.99/lbs. This is a big deal, people! Do you know how much it costs to just get a lobster tail at a restaurant? A lot more than that! I'd never cooked a lobster before, but I did some research online and it's surprisingly easy. I chose to steam it, because steaming retains more flavor than boiling.
The first thing that you have to overcome is that you're going to have to cook it live. In boiling water. Try not to bond, or give him a name. I did discover mine was a boy lobster. At least I think it was. I'm no expert on
lobster anatomy. This is going to sound a little sadistic, but ask your fish monger for a squirmy one. That means it's really fresh. If he doesn't seem that mad to come home with you in a bag of ice, he's had time to calm down in the tank too long. Mine was a feisty little dude.
He especially didn't like when I rinsed him off in cold water. This is important, just to get him cleaned off before cooking.
The first thing you want to do is get a couple of inches of salted water heating up in a nice big pot. Choose a pot with a tight fitting lid to catch the steam. If you have a steam rack, throw that in the bottom as well. Once you've got your water boiling pretty hard, throw him in head first.
My new friend weighted 1.5 lbs. so he was sentenced to 10 minutes in the steamer. Make sure you keep the lid on tight. You're actually supposed to clip the rubber bands here too, but I forgot because I was so preoccupied with wondering how long it took him to die. I have to admit I was not expecting to feel guilty about this. I recommend remedying the situation with an adult beverage. For example, Abita's new summer blend made with
Louisiana Satsumas.
I felt much better. I even poured it into a pint glass. Remember, this is a fancy single gal meal. It's all about treating ourselves like you would a new boyfriend that you still think is cool and perfect. Before he starts leaving dirty socks on your floor and playing video games all weekend.
Now here comes the gluttonous part of the evening....
You're going to want at least half a stick of this stuff. You won't use it all, I promise. I bet you eat only one tiny harmless tablespoon. Just melt it all, so it will look nice and pretty at the end in a little dipping bowl. Set this on low and forget about it while it melts and your dinner cooks.
While your new friend dinner is steaming, grab a colander or large bowl and put some ice in the bottom. When the lobster is done, you're going to want to get the little fellow in the ice as soon as possible. It stops the cooking, kind of like when you rinse pasta with cold water so it stays al dente. No one likes an over cooked rubbery lobster.
See how pretty and red he is now? Pour more ice over the top of him and let him sit a few minutes before plating him. The lobster will be a bright red now, and the meat inside should be opaque, but not rubbery. If it's still clear he's undercooked, rubbery means he took too long of a hot bath.
I used this resting time to make a green salad that I ended up ignoring because Lobster > Salad. Now here's the part that I know a lot of you are going to slightly turn up your noses at. I served my lobster whole. On a plate. By itself. It was sort of looking at me. But it was just so delicious!
You're going to need a few tools to get to the meat. A nutcracker will do if you don't have one made just for Lobsters. And you need a cute little cocktail fork.
I'll admit that if you haven't done this before, it can be a little tricky. Check out this easy
guide on how to eat a lobster. Here's what the tail meat should look like after you've taken it out.
Um, hello beautiful! Then just spritz it with a little lemon, and dip it in a tiny bit of the melted butter. And Oh.My.God. There's a reason this stuff is a delicacy.
The cool thing about eating this in the privacy of your own home, is that no one is around to judge you as you pick every last bit of meat out of the legs. Or the way you save just a little bit of your favorite part for the last bite. (Mine is the claw, not the tail like most people prefer.) After digging out as much meat as possible, I ended up with this:
Let's clarify that was a new beer. And that I ate only one bite of salad. And that it IS important to have an entire roll of paper towels on hand.
Now here's some important advice from my new friend the fish monger. Don't throw away those shells! Pull the guts out of the tummy part and toss them, but keep the rest in a freezer bag. Because there is going to be some seafood stock in your future. Bisque, anyone?
This is by far the fanciest meal I've ever made myself. And one of the best tasting too. I even ate it at the real table (i.e. not the coffee table) with no TV, computer, phone or book in sight. But even though it was fancy, it wasn't that hard to make at all. And besides the butter part, it's very healthy. A full cup of lobster meat has under 150 calories! As my Dad always says "I think it's the best I've ever made!"
What's the fanciest meal you've ever made? Do you have any single-gal gourmet recipes you keep coming back to?
