HOW TO COOK (AND CATCH) A LOBSTER

A few months back my dear friend Laurel sent me this photo:



What you might notice after the awesome family portrait in the background and Andrew's perfectly cleft chin, is that gigantic prehistoric creature hanging from his grasp. That's a spiny lobster from the Santa Monica Bay that Andrew caught that morning, and there was a freezer full of its buddies in the kitchen. After the shock of seeing an eight pound (!) lobster wore off, I immediately started plotting. Those lobsters, at least some of them, would be mine, I muttered to myself while fantasizing about melted butter, lemon wedges, and sand in my toes. Yes, my spiny pretties, all mine.

Some emails were exchanged and a few weeks later there I was at 5:30 am, joining Andrew and his friends Shota and Jon for their last dive of the season. Granted, I didn't go down with them (no scuba license for me yet) but I got a shore-side view of how to catch a lobster. Later on I brought Andrew back to my kitchen to grill up his catch and top it with some Ancho Chili Lime butter. So simple, and absolutely delicious! We had so much fun filming and it was such a beautiful day I made two videos, a short and sweet version with just some music (Gershwin, anyone?) and instructions, and for those interested in the nitty-gritty of lobster diving, my interview with Andrew. Enjoy!

Short and Sweet



The Interview



Grilled Lobster with Ancho Chili Lime Butter












1, 1-1 1/2lb lobster tail, raw
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon lime zest
1/2 teaspoon ancho chili

Par-boil the tail in salted boiling water for 5 minutes. Halve it, splitting it down the center of the tail. Brush the tail halves with olive oil, and pop on the grill face side down for about 4 minutes. Flip them on their shells for another minute or two, until the lobster is fully cooked. Meanwhile, combine the ancho chili, butter, and half the zest and melt. Pour it over the lobster tail halves and finish with a sprinkle of the remaining zest. Enjoy!

LINGUINE WITH CLAMS

This is an exquisitely simple recipe and a very classic one too. Lemon + garlic + chili + white wine + parsley + shell fish = awesome. Add bacon and pasta, and well, I mean, do I really need to go into it? Your kitchen will smell amazing, and this little bowl of delicious can make a great starter or main course to a meal. Feel free to take out the clams and add shrimp, scallops, or mussels, whatever makes you happy!











For 2-4

Ingredients:
1 lb littleneck clams, scrubbed and rinsed
A few tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
3 slices on bacon, chopped
1/2 teaspoon chili flake
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 cup white wine
2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
8 oz linguine, cooked al dente

You want to purge the clams first, which just means you're making them spit out whatever sand they have left in them. Put the clams in a large bowl, cover them with cold water, and add a few tablespoons of flour. Let them sit for 30 minutes, and then change the water once or twice more. Rinse them off, drain them, and set them back in the fridge.

In a large pan over medium heat, add the bacon and cook until almost crisp. Add the garlic and chili, and lightly toast them. Add the lemon zest and clams, followed by the lemon juice and white wine. Cover the pan, and cook until clams open. Discard any unopened clams. Add the linguine to the pan and mix it in with the clams. Drizzle with olive oil, add parsley, and season with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

ROASTED ROMANESCO WITH SALSA VERDE

I can't really say enough about my love of romanesco (an Italian cousin of cauliflower). It's bright hue, it's bizarre tessellation of spirals within spirals within spirals, it's burnt caramel by way of a potato chip flavor when roasted, all are good reasons to enjoy this obscure veg. Topped with some roasted salsa verde and parmiggiano, romanesco makes a lovely snack, side, or whatever you need it to be. Enjoy!

















2 large romanesco heads (or cauliflower, if romanesco is tough to find).
5 tomatillos
1 poblano chili
4 garlic cloves
Hot Sauce
A handful of cilantro
1/4 cup grated parm
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Pre heat oven to 425 F. Clean the romanesco and slice into halves. Break off the florets, slicing the big ones in half. Coat with olive oil (2 tablespoons-1/4 cup, depending on how much romanesco you have) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pop in the oven for about 15 minutes, shake the pieces around, flipping them, and roast for another 10. You should think, "Oh crap I burnt it," when you pull them out. But try it, the more caramelized and crispy the better. Meanwhile, peel and broil the tomatillos for about 5-10 minutes, or until charred and juicy. Char the poblano over an open flame, then scrape off the skin and deseed it. Chop it roughly and pop it, the tomatillos, the garlic, cilantro, and hot sauce in a food processor. Pulse it and taste for season. Drizzle it over the romanesco and top off with grated parm. Enjoy!