While everyone celebrate their Valentine’s by dining out, I usually dine in. To my surprise, my husband is taking me out to eat to a well-known seafood restaurant this year. Naturally, I am thrilled to get dressed up and sample other peoples' creations.
As I reminisce on past Valentine's Day dinner at home, I realize how simple it is to put a romantic dinner together. As long as you have chocolate, something red, some heart-shaped items, and many lit candles, anything goes. The celebratory foods of my house are either beef tenderloin or some kind of seafood. Since I grew up by the sea, seafood has always been my preference when I want something special. Lobster was my order of the day.
In the same family as crab and shrimp, this crustacean can grow up to 10 pounds, but we normally see them between one and three pounds. The bigger they are, the more meat they will have. You should buy lobsters alive and kicking or already cooked. The frozen variety has preservatives, so it will leave an undesirable aftertaste. I learned my lesson in an unpleasant way!
Use the lobster within the day of purchase. The easiest way to cook lobsters is to boil or grill them. Per pound, cook the lobster for about 10 minutes. Serve the cooked lobster with just melted butter or with your favorite dipping sauce.
If you plan to use lobster meat in stir-fried, sautéed, or baked dishes, you need to parboil the lobster for about three minutes then cool and remove the meat. At this point, you can refrigerate the lobster for up to a day.
Lobsters might be expensive, but they’re well worth it. You can use just about every part of the lobster. With the cooked shells, you can make lobster butter. Even the cooking liquid can be saved for making seafood stock. Above all, the grayish-green tomalley has such an exquisite flavor when added to sauces.
