Grilled Lobster with Cilantro Chile Butter
Lobsters have been in abundant supply this summer and the prices are low. In Maine, lobsters are cheaper than deli meat. The medium-sized ones I picked up were at a great sale price of $9.99/kg at T & T supermarket, about $12 each.
I wanted them fresh and alive but I also needed to "prepare" them before grilling them. After some internet research, I put them in a freezer for 45 minutes, which supposedly should put them in a comatose state. Just in time for me to prepare the Panzanella salad and the cilantro chile butter.
After my experience with soft shell crabs and sea urchins, I was ready to tackle live lobsters. Maybe the freezer was not cold enough or that these crustaceans were ice dancers, they were still moving around a bit when I halved them. I apologized to them for my hungry family who was ready for some serious bonding over food.
The lobsters turned out amazing: butter makes everything taste good. One minute on the flesh side to retain the juice, and 7 to 8 more minutes on the shell side. The surprise bonuses were the claws which had no seasoning at all. Once the shell was cracked open completely, the meat was soaked in this sweet and salty juice that was simply to die for. Never found in boiled or baked claws.
http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Grilled-Lobster-with-Cilantro-Chile-Butter
Chipotle Mango Barbecue Chicken with Cilantro Chimichurri
This is a weekend cooking recipe from the Food Network magazine and I understood why after the preparation the night before. Most ingredients were easy to find except for the chipotle chile peppers in adobo sauce. My usual grocery store did not carry it but I managed to find it in the Mexican section at Loblaws, I was impressed.
The preparation took almost an hour with all the cutting, chopping and blending. It was so worth it. The sweet, tangy flavour with a little peppery kick was so complex, even without the chimichurri sauce they were divine.
I know things went well when my twenty-month-old nephew, who has just begun to eat regular food, asked for more of both the lobster and chicken meat . He has a very specific developing palate and he always likes lobsters but not usually chicken. It gave me so much pleasure that he liked the chicken that night. Oh the joy of cooking...
(Apologies for the not so perfect pictures, we were feeling ravenous by that point.)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/chipotle-mango-barbecue-chicken-with-cilantro-chimichurri-recipe/index.html
Lobster 9.5/10
Chicken 9.5/10
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