Lobster Rolls

Elizabeth didn't get to accompany me and my parents to Massachusetts last month, which meant she missed out on eating lobster for multiple meals in a row. And she loves lobster as much as I do. So one night a little while ago I decided to surprise her.

I went to Fish Tales in Cobble Hill. I'd seen the place a while back on Throwdown! with Bobby Flay; Bobby had defeated the shop at making Manhattan fish chowder. It was a cute little shop. Their prices weren't cheap, but, what can you do? And at least all of their products looked to be very high quality.

I got a container of their cole slaw, hoping it would be a good complement to the lobster rolls. The first bite tasted strongly of black licorice; I was not surprised to see fennel and anise in the ingredients. Once I got past that initial blast, I liked the fresh slaw.

I defrosted the lobster, first under some running water and then in the fridge for a few hours. (Ideally I would let it sit in the fridge overnight, but, because this was a surprise for that night's dinner, I did not have that option.) I melted a half-cup of butter in a pan then tossed the lobster meat around in it for two minutes or so, just enough to warm it up.

I spooned the lobster into split-top rolls (which I had heated in the oven for no more than 90 seconds, just to get them lightly toasted), heated some potato chips in the oven for a few minutes, and added the slaw to the plate.

It was delicious. Very good lobster meat, melting on the tongue with no accompaniments but warm butter. I had thought it was on the pricey side when I bought it, but there was enough lobster for each of us to have two rolls for dinner - all four of them full of meat - and for me to have one for lunch (okay, yeah, breakfast) the next day. So it really wasn't too bad.

And, at any rate, Elizabeth loved her surprise.