Lobster Thermidor (Very Much Streamlined)
Because Tuesday is Lobster Thermidor Day, of course. What do you have on Tuesdays, meatloaf?
I was spared from having to commit lobster murder by the frozen seafood section of the Superstore, where good-sized lobster tails can be had for $8.99. I like to think I took that shortcut because at 5pm I found myself chatting to a friend beside the lobster tank, it was rush hour on icy roads and Mike had to go out at 6:30.
I think in reality it had more to do with my not being too keen on the killing and dismembering part; of, as Julia put it, knowing they’re done when “the long head-feelers can be pulled from the sockets fairly easily”. Less appealing were her directions to “discard sand sacks in the heads, and the intestinal tubes. Rub lobster coral and green matter through a fine sieve into the mixing bowl, and blend into it the mustard, egg yolks, cream, and pepper.”
Nah.
Julia, I adore you. I really do. You make food approachable to the masses on TV, but some of these recipes are altogether more involved than they need to be. (Case in point: strain your boeuf bourguignon to simmer and reduce the sauce, wash out the dish it was braised in, then return the beef and sauce to the dish.) Cooking your way through MtheAofFC seems far huger a prospect once you’ve read through a few of the recipes.
Besides the frozen tails vs. live lobsters cheat, I weedwhacked the recipe quite a bit. Guys, I got home from the grocery store at 5:30 and had lobster Thermidor on the table by the 6 o’clock news. Not to blow my own horn, but I’d be a pretty hot commodity if I were a 50′s housewife.
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December 08 2009 | seafood | 17 Comments »
