They say a picture is worth a thousand words. But there are certain words with the ability to paint a mighty robust picture themselves. “Lobster” is one of them. Just speaking it conjures up images of special occasions, beautifully dressed dinner guests, and elegant, sophisticated tables. None of that need be the case, of course, to enjoy lobster, but your guests will be thinking it anyway, making your dinner party memorable before anyone even sits down. Executive Chef Jim Nuetzi proposes stuffing lobster with scallops, shrimp and a little Parmesan, along with adding some fresh herbs to lighten up the flavor. This is a wonderful dish for a celebration. And your guests will be impressed just seeing it come to the table.
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Serves one as an entrée or two as a mixed grill
Ingredients
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1 lb Lobster (prepared) 1 each
Clarified Butter 2 oz
Bay Scallops 6 each
Bay Shrimp 6 each
Kosher Salt 1/2 tsp
Heavy Cream 1/4 Cup
Parmesan, Grated 2 Tbsp
Freshly Chopped Tarragon 2 tsp
Freshly Chopped Parsley 2 tsp
Panko Bread Crumbs 1/4 Cup
Butter 2 Tbsp
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Preparation
Using a large sauté pan, warm the clarified butter over medium heat.
Add the scallops and shrimp and cook for 2 minutes.
Season with the salt and add the heavy cream.
Simmer for 2 minutes and add the cheese.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Fold in the lobster claws, knuckles, fresh herbs and refrigerate until ready to use (up to one day in advance) or proceed to step 7.
Place the stuffing into the lobster (this will fill the cavity and cover the tail).
When ready to serve, preheat the oven to 400° F.
Melt the butter in the microwave (30 seconds for most microwaves).
Combine the melted butter with the bread crumbs and top the stuffing with the bread crumbs.
Bake the lobster until the bread crumbs are golden brown (7-10 minutes).
Mike Isabella received his formal chef training at The Restaurant School in New York, taking classes and cooking at some of New York City’s greatest restaurants. After New York, Chef Isabella made his way to Philadelphia where he worked at Alma de Cuba and then several Stephen Starr restaurants. Most recently, Chef Isabella was the executive chef of Jose Andres’ Zaytinya restaurant in Washington, DC.. Chef Isabella recently appeared on Season Six of Top Chef and was the runner-up finalist on Top
Chef All-Stars.
Ingredients:
24 1lb Lobsters
Salt
Corn Nuts, crushed
Chive, sliced very thin
Preparation:
1. Poach the lobster in water for 3 minutes.
2. Pull out and ice down.
3. Take lobster out of shells and cut into portions (½ oz rounds).
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BOURBON POACHING LIQUID
Ingredients:
2 cups Knob Creek Bourbon
2 cups Water
½ cup Shallots, sliced
¼ oz Thyme Sprigs
4 lbs Butter
Preparation:
1. Mix together Knob Creek bourbon, water, shallots and thyme and reduce to 1 cup over
heat.
2. Strain liquid and put back on the heat and mount the sauce with butter.
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CORN SAUCE
Ingredients:
1 Case Yellow Corn
1 quart Mascarpone
¼ cup Grade B Dark Maple Syrup
Preparation:
1. Juice the corn kernels with a vegetable juicer.
2. Place juice in a pot and bring to boil.
3. Make sure to have a whisk and rubber spatula handy, then whisk the sauce until it starts
to thicken. Switch to a rubber spatula and stir until it comes to a boil.
4. Remove from heat and cool to room temp.
5. Whisk in the mascarpone and maple syrup and chill.
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TO SERVE
1. Slice the lobster into ¼ inch medallions.
2. Spoon corn sauce into spoon and top with medallion.
1 pound Lump crab meat; if unavailable, substitute any fresh crabmeat
1/4 cup sour cream
About 1/2 cup all purpose flour, plus additional for coating
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Remoulade sauce
2 cups mayo
1 tbls Dijon
1 tbls whole grain mustard
3 tbls gherkins, fine chopped
1 tbls sriracha
2 tbls sherry vinegar
1 tsp Spanish paprika
3 tbls minced shallot
Preparation
For sauce: Whisk ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
For crab cakes: Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the bread crumbs, salt and pepper and stir with a large spoon until the butter is fully incorporated. Remove from the heat and let cool.
Place the crabmeat in a large bowl and pick through it removing any bits of shell. Add the lemon juice to the crabmeat and toss. Mix in the sour cream, 1/2 cup flour, and the bread crumbs. Form the crab mixture into 6 hamburger size patties each about 1/2 inch thick. (If the mixture seems too wet, add a little more flour.) Coat each crab cake with flour.
Warm the vegetable oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat until hot. Add the crab cakes and cook until very brown, about 2 minutes on each side.
Place one crab cake onto each of the warm plates. Garnish on with remoulade.
By Executive Chef Jim Nuetzi
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