"Let me think about it," sez she.
And, about a half hour later she said, "Did you really mean it about the lobster?"
Oh yea!
And so I got busy planning.
First up: buy the lobster and make the butter.
I got us two large and two small lobster tails. This was just right for us.
DRAWN BUTTER:
To make the drawn butter I used a whole stick of butter.
I melted the butter in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, then set it aside to cool slightly. I skimmed the foam off the top and discarded it. The butter solidified overnight. Drain off any liquid that collects at the bottom (but I didn't have any).
The next day I simply made two cups with finely chopped chives, parsley, basil, tarragon and lemon zest, then melted the drawn butter and poured it in. The taste is amazing!
I found this really excellent recipe for lobster on a fennel salad, but it had stuff in it like mayonnaise (she is not hot on that) and I wanted to do the lobster a little differently.
So I used this recipe as the start to make my salad base.
SALAD:
2 lemons
1 large fennel bulb
fresh tarragon (chopped)
arugula
1 medium shallot
fresh cilantro
salt and pepper
Zest the lemons and set zest aside.
I used a mandolin and sliced the shallot and fennel. I soaked the slices, and the arugula in cold water with the juice of 1/2 lemon.
Drain after a half hour.
Then I arranged the cilantro and arugula on plates, added the shallot and fennel. I chopped up the tarragon and added it (and next time I will add more - this turns out to be the *secret* ingredient!)
Sprinkle salt and pepper, arrange a few lemon slices to look nice.
LOBSTER:
I like to steam lobster instead of boiling or cooking it on the BBQ.
So I poured about one inch of water in the bottom of a large pot and brought it to a boil. I added salt and placed a steamer insert inside the pot so that it is just above the water level.
I put the lobster tails on the rack and covered the pot, and steamed them for about ten minutes (until they were red and the meat was translucent-white).
I pulled the meat from the shells and placed it on the waiting salad. We each had a cup of the butter.
Some hot bread and we were ready!
The whole setting looked great.
And the final surprise...
We were surprised by the pairings.
The best was a Spanish Albariño, Pazo Barrantes. It adds to the lobster. Nose good, with a strong mineral taste. Really earthy, brought out the tarragon. It drank excellent before the lobster (butter-dipped) and salad, and it drank good afterwards too.
Think about this: it was "earthy" and minerally with sea food. Very nice.
Second best was the Chardonnay La Crema. We were surprised because we really don't like Chardonnay as a rule. It was a really nice smooth complement. It had the best nose, of flowers. It stands with the lobster (as opposed to bringing out flavors). It drank better before the lobster and salad. kind of a lemony hint. After the bite it turns a little harsh.
Gail liked the Oregon Pinot Gris from King Estate, but I was not as much of a fan. It was very good with lobster and salad; drank better after the bite.
The surprise: one of our go-to wines, the Dry Creek Chenin Blanc was the worst. It was bitter and tasteless with no nose.