Summer on the Cape isn’t complete without lobsters. Lobsters often. We’ve had a few lobster rolls this summer, but haven’t yet cooked them at home since living on the Cape. Until this weekend. We love lobsters served any way, but one of our favorite ways to eat them (and Adrian’s specialty): lobster rolls. Normally he lightly tosses with salted butter and serves the juicy bits of lobster on a grilled roll with lemon slices on the side. When we learned this month’s Recipe ReDux theme, we knew we had to make a extra-ordinary lobster roll with a special sauce, spiked with cognac and with rich flavors reminiscent of lobster bisque.
Here’s this month’s Recipe ReDux theme:
A Spirited ReDux
From plain Jane vanilla extract to fancy-pants elderflower liqueur, we like to keep a little liquor in the kitchen. Show us how you like to cook, bake or mix-it-up with spirits, extracts and other alcohols. A splash of vodka makes summer sauces shine – and liqueurs brighten desserts: What’s your healthy recipe with spirit?
Our recipe with spirit: Lobster Sliders with a “creamy” tomato, tarragon and cognac sauce served on buttered rustic whole-wheat rolls. The sauce is so good, you’ll want to eat it by the spoonful. I did just that. And there’s actually no cream in the sauce, we used 2% milk to lighten things up a bit.
We grilled the lobster vs steaming it. Gives it a light smoky flavor. As long as you don’t overcook it, it’ll stay juicy and tender.
After grilling, let cool, crack open and tear or cut into bite-sized pieces.
Assemble your sliders. Serve with extra sauce on the side for dipping.
Juicy bits of tender lobster served on a whole-wheat rustic buttered roll, drizzled with a creamy tarragon, tomato and cognac sauce.
Lobster Sliders
Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 2
- 1 tsp salted butter + extra for buttering the rolls
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 shallots, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp cognac (we used Hennessey)
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- ¾ cup 2% milk
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp tarragon, roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 1 ¼ lb lobsters, cooked and chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 2 lettuce leaves, halved
- 4 small rustic whole grain rolls
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
Directions:
Prepare lobsters as desired, set aside to cool. Heat butter and olive oil in a sauté over medium heat. Saute shallots 5 minutes until soft and fragrant, add the cognac, tomato paste and garlic and reduce the heat to low. Heat about 5 more minutes on low (alcohol will burn off) then add milk, tarragon and salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat. Toast and butter the rolls. Add a lettuce leave to each roll plus ¼ of the lobster meat. Add a tablespoon of sauce to each slider. Serve with grilled corn and coleslaw.
Don’t miss these other Spirited recipes by Recipe ReDuxers:
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Using a mandolin (or vegetable peeler), thinly slice the zucchini. Sliver the mint, slice the scallions and cut the snap peas into thirds. Like so:
Then you’ll lightly wilt the zucchini over low heat in a saute pan and then combine off heat with the cold ingredients.
Here’s the simple recipe for these zucchini ribbons.
Berry & Rose Shortcakes. Floral and fruity – the flavors and scents of summer that we patiently wait all year for.
This twist on traditional shortcake combines raspberries and strawberries with a hint of rose water. Have you tried rosewater in recipes? It’s gives a sweet floral note to desserts. Use sparingly – a little goes a long way. One teaspoon combined with the berries and 1/2 teaspoon with the shortcakes is plenty.
Berry and Rose Shortcake
Aren’t little potatoes just the cutest? We love the different varieties – blue/purple, red and yellow. And normally when I think of potatoes, I think cold weather, comfort food. But these little potatoes are perfect for summer – whether in potato salads or, in this case, on the grill. Of course, we adore roasted potatoes, but this weekend was too warm to be turning on the oven.
We used just four ingredients: potatoes, lime, chili powder and extra virgin olive oil.
