There is a trick in removing the claw meat in one piece from a boiled lobster. an important trick when whole pieces of claw meat are used for garnishing. Here's how to do it. Cut off the claw at the first joint and break off the small pincer, Lay the big part down-on a board and hit it with the cutting side of a large knife about I inch from the joint. Turn it over and do the same on the other side. Pick up the claw in your left hand and pull off the end with your right. It will separate, and the claw meat will come out in one piece. The remainder of the claw meat below the joint can then be removed easily.
Boiled Lobster
Plunge live lobsters into boiling salted water or into boiling court-bouillon (see below) and boil for 20 to 25 minutes if it is to be served immediately. For serving cold, cook only for 15 minutes and leave in the water to cool. Split the lobsters, remove the sac behind the head and the dark vein along the back, and crack the claws. Serve with melted butter and garnish with parsley and lemon wedges.
Court-Bouillon for Shellfish
For each 2 quarts water, use 2 tablespoons salt, 1 onion, sliced, I carrot. sliced, 1 cup vinegar, 10 peppercorns, 2 bay leaves, and a bouquet garni,made by tying together 2 sprigs of parsley, 1 stalk of celery, 1 clove of garlic, and a little thyme.
The trick in making a savory sauce for creamed lobster or lobster Newberg is to use the small claws and the shells to flavor the sauce.
Lobster Newberg
Remove the small claws from 2 or 3 lobsters. Boil the lobsters in salted water for 20 minutes. Discard the sac behind the head and the dark vein along the back. Remove the meat from the tail. body, and large claws, cut it in pieces, and put in a saucepan with a little butter. Cover the pan and keep it just warm.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a pun, add 1 teaspoon chopped shallot or onion, and cook until soft, Cut up the claws, break the shells taken from the cooked lobsters, and put in the pan. Add 1 ½ cups medium cream and cook for 15 to 20 minutes. Strain Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan, add 1 teaspoon flour, and cook until it starts to turn golden. Add the strained lobster-flavored cream and cook, stirring, until well blended and thickened a little. Season with ½ teaspoon salt. Combine 1 or 2 egg yolks with ¼ cup heavy cretin and a little of the hot sauce 3nd stir into the sauce. Add a generous ½ cup dry sherry to the lobster and reheat. Combine the lobster meat with the sauce and heat the entire mixture over a low flame, being careful not to let it boil. Add ¼ cup more sherry if desired.
Use chives more frequently and you add to your repertoire another sophisticated flavor, a trick that good chefs never overlook. Although some of the typical French seasonings like tarragon and chervil are sometimes difficult to find in food markets, chives are something that will grow in any garden and even on an apartment window sill. They have a unique onion flavor—definitely recognizable yet quite mild—which thus enhances delicately flavored mixtures. And the bright green color of their fine awl-shaped leaves is also an asset as a garnish. Chives are equally good alone or mixed with parsley, chervil, or tarragon or with all three to make the fines berbes used so frequently in French cooking.
Chives are usually chopped finely and added to cold sauces or to salads. But adding them to hot dishes is a trick not to be missed. And here are two suggestions. In making meunière butter for fish, add a little chopped chives to the butter and see what a nice flavor it gives the fish. Or if you like cooked oysters, try buîtres Portia next month, adding chives to the sauce.
Oysters Portia
Cook together a handful of spinach leaves with 1 teaspoon chopped tarragon, drain thoroughly, and press through a sieve to make a purée. Add 2 tablespoons of this and 1 teaspoon mixed chopped chervil and chives to I cup Mornay sauce and fold in 2 tablespoons whipped cream. Remove oysters from their shells, allowing 4 to 6 for each person, dry the deep shells, and return the oysters to them. Cook the oysters in a moderate oven for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the oven, cover each with a bit of the sauce, and place under the broiler flame to brown.
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