Yesterday my fishmonger posted promotions on his just in seafood on Facebook; Red Label bouchot mussels and live or cooked Brittany lobsters. I was the first in line this morning. Really. Of course I took the cooked lobsters because the lobster slaughtering man is not here 🙂
Over coffee at the Litteraire with M. Parret, I outlined the the plan for today’s lunch; lobster cocktail as entree and Mediterranean mussels as the main dish. Of course M. brought up cheese and rhapsodized over a superior Camembert he would be serving 🙂
As promised by the “Monger”, the mussels were truly superior; a little larger than usual, plump and ocean fragrant. He gave me a bottle of wine to make the broth. M. Parret was gobsmacked (I read this in some British book) when I told him.
I’m getting more for when my husband comes on Saturday! Ab-so-lutely fabulous!
Of course Le Parret was right about the Camembert.
For the moule recipe, go here: http://cookinginsens.com/2012/01/18/moules-mediterranee/. Use almost any kind of wine, except maybe Gallo Thunderbird, for the broth. I usually use leftover wine that I didn’t particularly like. A “vin de table” level Muscadet or Bourgogne Aligote is fine. The wine I was given was more than drinkable.
Lobster Cocktail with Charentais Cantelope (Inspired by http://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/lobster-with-melon-and-cucumber-cocktail)
Meat from 2 medium sized lobsters, cut into reasonably small pieces
1/2 small Charentais cantelope, seeds removed and diced
1/2 winter cucumber, seeds removed and diced
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp creme fraiche
1 tsp Wasabi cream
3 drops of Sriracha hot sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
Frisee lettuce, torn
Put the lobster, cantelope and cucumber in a mixing bowl. Mix the mayonnaise, creme fraiche, wasabi cream, Sriracha sauce and lemon juice together, then gently stir into the lobster mixture.
Layer the lettuce on the bottom of 6 fruit/dessert glasses and top with the lobster.
Outstanding! I think you’d better stay in Sens 😉
Thank you Mad. No such luck 🙁
Stamp your feet 😉
I’ll just hurt myself. Jade is in boarding school in France on the frontier with Germany. It would be too much of a hardship for her to travel to Sens for the weekend. I have to wait for another year before this ends. Sometimes life is hard. Stamp, stamp 😀
That all looks and sounds so delicious!
Thank you Manhattan.
Another lovely meal. I really like the lobster with melon and the nice little touch of heat from the wasabi and sriracha sauce while Baby Lady’s favorite meal is mussels. I very much like your approach to food and your photos are always “picture perfect.” 🙂
Thank you Richard. We love seafood and fresh, fresh is the only way to eat it.
Every bit of it – the most exquisite lunch. I can do the seafood, but I have serious Camembert envy! Thanks, Tracey
Thank you Tracey.
Your Lobster salad sounds so delicious with the little added zing of the wasabi.
Thank you Bam. The original recipe called for horseradish but I thought, why not?
What a lovely lobster salad! I adore Charentais melons. One year we tried to grow them, and babied them like crazy (even making like hammocks for them!), but they were rather blah. Disappointing.
Thank you Michelle. Can you grow cantelopes?
I’ve never had great luck with any melons, truthfully. But the cantaloupes are good around here most years.
I just went to food heaven. Dish looks amazing!
http://www.allinasoiree.com/
Thank you Allina.
What an absolutely delicious lunch from beginning to end. Your lobster cocktail sounds wonderful with the melon.
Thank you Karen. The melon and cucumber with the lobster was perfect!
Based on how you’ve described M. Parret I bet he was gobsmacked! 🙂 Lovely dish with the lobster. It’s been way too long since I’ve had any but I’ll be in Maine shortly and it’s on my list!
Thank you Virginia. I’ve always wanted to visit Maine for it’s famous lobster.
It can be amazing. I love lobster with just melted butter. Just give me a bowl of it and I’m a happy camper!
Too good. I love mussels. I like to do mine spicy with white wine and chorizo. I have a recipe for it on my page. What a great way to serve lobster too. Light and sweet. Such vibrant pictures.
Thank you Amanda.
Looks so fantastic, Rosemary! It will be very sad to leave Sens again.
Too late and I’m sad, in a positive kind of way 😀
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