An Excuse for Lobster

Sometimes I make something for dinner that I have been so looking forward to that I forget to take a photo. Then after everyone has eaten it and I need to write a blog I’m like, “Shit, I wish I took a photo of dinner.”

Tonight we had our friends the Blanks for dinner. It was out pre-July 4th celebration. As we have not traveled or gone to a restaurant in so long I decided I was going to go all out on our dinner tonight.

All out when you have a garden is not exactly the right description. Every meal we eat these days must include at least three things from the garden. I made some pole beans in a shallot dressing with a couple of our first cherry tomatoes. Marinated cucumbers, nothing exciting, just the crunch and the sour of the vinegar to be the foil to homemade potato chips. So far nothing sounds like it is that special, but it all was in service to the star, Homemade lobster rolls.

I have been craving a lobster roll and since our trip to Maine is still six weeks off I broke down and made our own. I bought lobster tails and cooked and picked them myself. Adding a lot of lemon juice, a touch of Mayo and some chives from the garden and a tiny amount of finely chopped celery for a bit of crunch. There were no split top rolls to be found, but I did pan toast Hawaiian hot dog rolls with butter just like in Maine.

It takes a lot of lobster to make a roll, but it was totally worth it. Shay was sad we did not share with her and thus this sad photo of no dog lobster rolls face.

Thanks to the Blanks for coming all the way over for Raliegh and giving me the excuse to make something decadent. When the rest of the meal comes from the garden it seems justifiable to have lobster.

Happy fourth everyone. Fly your flag tomorrow, no matter what party you are. No one party owns the flag and we all can celebrate our Independence. Never forget democracy is not a given and we must work to ensure it flourishes.