You know the moment you grab inside your mailbox and pull out the latest edition of the cooking magazine you subscribe to and stare at the cover drooling. I get a lot of those moments. Yes sure, the photography, light and retouching probably have something to do with it. I'm know the Art Directors spend oodles of hours making the cover shot perfect. But sometimes the food, ingredients, oozing sauce, glossy syrup or the entire composition screams...I AM DELICIOUS. And so then come the words out of your mouth: I AM SO MAKING THIS.
So I've decided to turn my "I AM SO MAKING THIS" moments into an actual series of blog posts. I will be making dishes from covers that are, in my mind, a must to make. And then friends, we shall see if the cover really is as good as it looks.
To start off on my Off The Cover journey, I decided to make Food And Wine's June 2020 cover.
I mean, look at it...how can you not?
I am a happy to report that not only was it very easy to make, it was incredibly delicious. I plan on making this over and over this summer. I even thought to try making sliders instead of a large sandwich.
Tip: the recipe has you marinate the lobster in a mayonnaise sauce, it really covers the meat with a thick white marinade coating. So I decided to wipe as much of it off the lobster and add some to the buns as a sauce instead. I wanted the red color of the lobster to pop. So this recipe is a modified version of what is in Food & Wine.
Ingredients:
1 pound cooked lobster tail meat and if possible the entire claw
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 thick-cut bacon slices, halved crosswise
4 Potato Buns OR Brioche Buns, split
4 butter Boston lettuce leaves
1 tomato, cut into thick slices, seasoned with salt
Optional: thin slices of Serrano pepper (I like a little heat, but you can omit this)
Directions:
In a small bowl mix mayo, lemon juice, chives, tarragon, salt and pepper.
Heat skillet and fry up the bacon until crispy. Remove from pan and place bacon on paper towels so they won't be too greasy. Pour bacon grease into a heat proof container and using a pastry, brush on some bacon grease onto the flat surfaces of all the buns.
Place flat side of each but on hot skillet to crisp up a bit. Remove the buns once the flat sides are golden brown and crispy. Set aside to cool.
Spread some of the sauce on the flat sides of the buns and then start building your BLT.
From the bottom up, place a piece of lettuce or two first, then your seasoned slice or slices of tomato followed by the lobster and then bacon with a little more lettuce. If you are adding Serrano pepper slices, place them on the flat side of the top bun (using the mayo as glue).
Place the top bun on your bacon/lettuce and your are ready to eat!
Super easy. Super delicious. I'm going to try this recipe with shrimp or crab next time. Why not right?
