Text 16281, 129 rader
Skriven 2008-11-10 10:38:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:124/311)
     Kommentar till en text av JIM WELLER
Ärende: large lobs 196
======================
 ML> but are the really big ones earning
 ML> their keep in that department?
 JW> Yes. Fecundity of females increases exponentially with size.

I've been doing some reading lately on various subjects,
trying to avoid work ... the fact that my brother has
broadband (how can he afford this?) helps, or doesn't
help, or something. It indicates that a big female can
yield many times the number of eggs that a barely legal
one does (a factor of maybe ten, according to the source
on Google Books), but I've seen nothing to say that these
eggs are equally hatchworthy. Also, there is talk of a
comeback in population, as lobster predators have been
fished out. I've eaten lobster roe both raw and cooked,
sometimes by the tablespoonful, and I wonder about all
this stuff: should I feel retrospectively guilty or not?
I incidentally encountered lobsters.org/press/mondie.html,
by the way, about a lobster named Hercules who died trying
to escape. A Lobster Conservancy scientist claimed that
"this 14-lb male was in his reproductive prime." I wanted
to read at the bottom of the article that Hercules was
buried in a Mornay sauce, but no such admission was given.

Interesting info, btw, at lobsters.org - some speaking more
or less to the question at hand, all (very sensibly)
supporting minimum size limits but none completely
convincing me that there should be an upper size limit.
The main question I have is whether lobster DNA degrades
with age the way human seems to ... but of course it would
be hard to tell if a lobster had Down syndrome.

==

 JW> Title: Vegetable Vermicelli with Tomato Butter Sauce
 ML> Missed the most important ingredient:
 ML> 1/2 lb bulk pork sausage, broken up
 JW> I am in total accord; remember I'm the guy that recommended adding
 JW> bacon to ratatouille.

Of course you are - you were one of the prime inspirations
for my comment that we seem to be a bunch of palate twins
separated at birth. Bacon makes so many things better ...

ROB'S MAC AND CHEESE WITH LOBSTER
cat: shellfish, main, fancy
servings: 4
Bechamel Sauce
4 c milk
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
4 Tb unsalted butter
4 Tb all-purpose flour
1 pn freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
Macaroni and Cheese
1 lb live lobster
2 ts vegetable oil
8 oz Irish or double-smoked bacon, finely diced
4 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
1/4 c grated Emmental
1/4 c crumbled blue cheese
1/4 c grated sharp white cheddar cheese
1/2 c freshly grated pecorino Romano
12 oz dried succhietto pasta, cooked al dente

Bechamel Sauce
Combine milk and garlic in a saucepan on medium heat. Bring to
a boil and remove from heat. Cover and leave to infuse 10 min.
Strain through a fine-mesh strainer and discard solids. Make a
roux by melting butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan on medium
heat. Whisk in flour and cook for 1 min or until light brown.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Add strained hot milk, whisking constantly. Return the saucepan
to medium heat and bring the mixture back to a boil, whisking
constantly until sauce thickens. Add nutmeg, then season to
taste with salt and pepper. Allow to simmer 3 more min. Remove
from heat.

Macaroni and Cheese
Boil large pot of salted water, add lobster. Cook 3 min at
rolling boil. Remove lobster from water, cool. Remove meat,
dice the tail and claw meat.

Preheat oven to 375F. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan on
medium heat. Saute bacon and shallots for 5 min or until bacon
is just cooked and shallots are translucent.

Reheat bechamel sauce on medium-low heat and whisk in Emmental,
blue cheese, cheddar and half of the pecorino Romano. Add half
of the bacon-shallot mixture and fold in lobster meat.

Divide cooked pasta into four individual 3-cup casserole dishes
and pour sauce over (enough to cover pasta by 1/2").

Sprinkle the tops with the remaining pecorino and the remaining
bacon-shallot mixture. Bake 10-15 min, or until hot and bubbling.

Place under broiler 3-5 min, or until top is light golden
brown. Place each casserole dish on a napkin-lined plate.

Beppi's wine matches: For this orgy on a plate you'll want to
keep it simple. Still, look for a wine with some weight and
acidity. Two possibilities: Errazuriz Chardonnay from Chile
(about $12) or Barefoot Pinot Grigio from California ($10).
Red choices include Chilean carmenere or a montepulciano
d'Abruzzo from Italy. Don't discount a bitter ale, either,
assuming you have the stomach room.

M's notes: blue cheese is a no-no. Pecorino is a no-no.

Rob Feenie is the food concept architect for Cactus Restaurants
Toronto Globe and Mail 3/19/08

 ML> experiment: have a snack of Sauvignon Blanc with unsalted
 ML> roast cashews. What does this flavor combination remind you of?
 JW> Having neither on hand at the moment, I'll have to ask.....

So many tropical fruits have a somewhat rotten smell, even
when fresh. Durian is the top one, but I've encountered papayas
that smell just like stinky-foot cheese, as well as others
whose names I don't know in the Asian food stalls. If you've
had cashew fruit nectar you get a hint of this. Anyhow, the
snack I describe allows the rather excretory wine to meld with
this characteristic in the nuts, with a quite durianly result.


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