My Summer Vacation, and the Lobster Roll Chronicles

On August 18th, Dr. C., our son Ryan, and I headed for the East Coast to celebrate our granddaughter Poppy's birthday and Ryan's birthday.  Dr. C. is newly retired, and so we are on an extended vacation.
Celebrating Ryan's birthday, we went to see

which was a great show.  We loved it.
Next up was celebrating our twin grandchildren's birthday at the beginning of September.  Sonny and Tilly were born a month prematurely (almost in an Uber car) but you would never know it, they are hale, hearty and happy.  This is a photo of them with their big sister Poppy blowing out candles

Poppy did the decorating on their cake.  We had the pleasure of babysitting the twins for 5 days while Poppy and her parents traveled to England.  We now know why you have children when you are young!
After the babysitting, and little projects around the house, we took off to meet up with friends in New Hampshire and family in Maine.  That's when my lobster roll addiction kicked in.  I love Maine lobster, and a lobster roll is a perfect amalgamation of lobster, crunchy grilled roll, and just the slightest bit of mayonnaise.

This lobster roll had a lobster salad flavored with tarragon; now it was delicious, it wasn't the quintessential lobster roll that you imagine, but the setting in Portsmouth, NH, and the food were terrific. This was eaten and enjoyed at Martingale Wharf.

We were so surprised by Portsmouth, it's a great town!

Next up was a little shopping at the Kittery Outlet malls, and then lunch the next day. 

This was true lobster salad, with mayonnaise and celery in the mix

I opted for the fried clam roll; yes, there is a roll under there

The next day it was off to Harpswell, Maine, another day another lobster roll; this time preceded by chowder

This one wins the prize so far; a bit of mayonnaise, LOTS of lobster, a perfectly grilled roll, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside

My brother opted for the 2 lobster special--all this for $20---amazing

Of course, hand cut onion rings are the perfect accompaniment

Tomorrow we'll leave Maine and head back to Connecticut for another week.  We leave for Italy on September 18th for 6 weeks---someone has to do it!  Hopefully Dr. C's cell phone will stop ringing, and he'll be able to really be retired.  I'll be blogging for real once we are there, and I hope you'll follow along.

Super Bowl Food Coma

 

Food this weekend rates right up there with the Iron Chef and Top Chef contests. Whose wings will be the best?  What are they cooking next door?  What about dessert?  Super Bowl weekend, kitchens are sizzling with cooks trying out new recipes, and bringing back those tried and true recipes that have worked for years.  No matter who you want to win, it's really all about the food this weekend.  

Having gone to high school and college in Boston, my allegiance goes to the Patriots, since my adopted home town San Diego Chargers are not in the big game.  For that reason we are having lobster rolls, along with Berkshire St. Louis ribs brushed with Big Bob Gibson's BBQ sauce and potato salad.  They will have to roll me to the couch and leave me there until the end of the game!

Two lobster tails will make about 3 cups of salad.

Super Lobster Rolls
Serves 4
Two cooked lobster tails (or about 1 pound lobster meat)
2 ribs celery, minced
1/2 cup mayonnaise (or more to taste)
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
few drops Tabasco
4 hot dog rolls
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Chop the lobster meat coarsely.  

Add the celery, mayonnaise, lemon zest and Tabasco, stirring to blend.
Brush the inside of the hot dog rolls with some of the butter, and grill over medium high heat until golden brown. 

Fill the rolls with the lobster mixture and serve.

 
Cook's Note:  In New England they make a hot dog roll with the sides shaved off--this makes grilling them easier, and there isn't so much bread.  You have to order them from a purveyor on the East Coast to make an authentic lobster roll.  We made do!      

Berkshire St. Louis Ribs

Serves 8 

Two racks St. Louis, or Spare Ribs 

1/2 cup all-purpose BBQ rub (use your favorite--there are a lot of them out there, or you can make your own---I'm fond of Big Bob Gibson's BBQ rub and BBQ sauce) 

1 1/2 cups apple juice, beer, or chicken broth

2 cups BBQ sauce (your choice here)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  

Rub the ribs with the BBQ rub, and place in a roasting pan.  Pour in the juice, beer or broth, cover tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil and roast for 2 hours.  At the end of the cooking time, remove the ribs to a platter, and pour the juices into a fat separator.  

Preheat the grill or broiler and brown the ribs for 3 to 5 minutes on each side.  Brush with some of the BBQ sauce when the ribs come off the grill, let the ribs rest for 5 minutes, cut into portions and serve and serve more BBQ sauce on the side.  

Cook's Note:  Berkshire are an heirloom breed of pig, and the meat is sweet, succulent and amazing.  You will never go back to ordinary pork in the grocery store once you've tasted these!   

Whatever you are eating this weekend, I hope it's been a good one for you and yours, and that your team wins! For the potato salad recipe click here.