Live Lobsters

Live lobsters are definitely a luxury here in the Midwest. When I was a kid, lobster was a once a year meal when a friend of grandpa's visited and had lobsters shipped in for all of us. For Ariel, growing up in New England, they were a far more common sight, and not even particularly expensive. We haven't been able to get back to Boston in a while, so it's been quite a while since we've been able to get them. For our anniversary, Ariel's parents generously had a pair of huge, two-pound lobsters sent to us. What a treat they were!

Preparing lobsters is incredibly simple. Just drop into boiling, salted water until done. I made some clarified butter to serve with the lobsters. To do this, I melted butter in a saucepan over low heat and skimmed off the milk solids. I then poured it off into a dish, leaving the cloudy water behind. This didn't take too long, and was much better than just melted butter, which solidifies much faster as it cools. We also had some corn on the cob from the farmer's market.

Fun for the whole family

While I wouldn't do it often, ordering lobster is definitely something I would think about for a special occasion. During the pandemic, going out has become an impossibility, so having a treat like this at home can work wonders for keeping morale up. It's hard to believe it's been nearly five months since I wrote "cooking and blogging are pleasures still available to us in these strange times" back in April. This is still very much true, and writing here has been a great creative outlet these last few months. As the semester picks up, I am leaning more on old standbys for dinner, but more recipes are still to come!