When Amy came through town this summer, she brought us New England lobster! It has been in the freezer, waiting for the perfect opportunity to step into the limelight and shine. As we say goodbye to summer and welcome a new school year, this meal seemed the perfect way to honor summer’s end. If you and butter are not on speaking terms, this is not the post for you.
We made lobster rolls, and they were glorious. I tried to calculate the rate at which Ben consumed his, but I couldn’t quite reconcile the numbers I was crunching. (Eventually, Phil did the math. It works out to 25 cents per second. It’s embarrassing. Of course, the lobster was a gift- thank you, Amy – and I’m pretty sure she wanted him to enjoy it.) If Ben didn’t clearly, audibly enjoy it as much as he did, I might feel differently, but he loved every second, so who’s to say that we should only consume our lobstah rolls in a dignified, detached way? Nobody, and I mean NOBODY loves lobster like Ben, and if he wants to gobble it like a Scooby snack, well, that’s his prerogative.
As luck would have it, Phil literally brought home the bacon this week. I’m unclear on the details, but he came home with lots of leftover bacon – enough bacon that Ben called Lisa to thank her for it. Bacon and potatoes are a match made in hog heaven, so we worked them into the plan.
Lobster Rolls and HasselBack-to-School Potatoes
4 lobster tails from Connecticut (if you don’t have a devoted friend from Connecticut, we can not guarantee results) If frozen, thaw in fridge 24+ hours.
1 stick butter
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon paprika
5 small white potatoes from the farmer’s market
Cooked and sliced bacon (or not, if your husband doesn’t bring home leftovers from an annual new faculty breakfast)
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Melt butter in small saucepan. Add lemon juice and paprika to butter.
- Cut potatoes in 1/4 inch slices, but not all the way through. Bottom part of potato should be intact.
- Splay out potatoes as best you can while keeping the bottom intact. Dip into melted butter. Place onto foil-lined baking sheet, cut sides up, and bake for 40 minutes.
- Place bacon squares between potato slices, and return to oven. Roast/bake another 10-15 minutes, and serve.
- Meanwhile, boil 2 inches of salted water in large pot. Place lobster tails in steamer basket or directly in water. Steam/boil 4 minutes, or until shells are red. Rinse briefly under cold water.
- Extract lobster meat from shell, chop roughly, and place in warm butter bath. Spoon into top-split rolls.
If you are dragging your feet on going back to school, let lobster and bacon soften the blow.