Lobsters

While we were in Boston, we ate lobsters at every opportunity. Lobster rolls, lobster bisque, lobster salad and, the best of all, boiled lobsters with a dipping sauce made with champagne.

Every time I eat lobster, my first lobster memories come up. My Dad was a Naval aviator, and to keep up his flying hours when he was assigned to duty in the Pentagon (he always hated that), he would check out an airplane and fly to some remote destination to stay in practice.

One memorable time, he flew from Anacostia Field in Washington, DC to Maine and came home with a basket full of lobsters nestled in seaweed. In those days, the largest claws were pegged at the hinge to keep them from pinching but the smaller claws often were unpegged so the lobsters came out of the basket wildly flapping their tails and snapping their claws in an impressive threat display. Sadly, it didn't work for them - they were popped green into boiling water and emerged bright red and delicious just a few minutes later.

This trip, we ate equally lively lobsters with My Beloved's brother and his wife in their home on Cape Cod. In their dreamy kitchen, they boiled an enormous pot of water and served the lobsters simply with nutcrackers and picks at each place, along with a bowl of champagne dipping sauce.

The sauce is lovely - it is lighter than drawn butter but still rich enough to complement the sweet lobster meat. I recommend you try it next time you are lucky enough to find lobsters on your plate. I'm going to try it with Dungeness crab as soon as our local season opens.

Champagne Dipping Sauce

1 bottle of dry champagne (use an inexpensive but drinkable brand)

Leafy tops of 3 ribs of celery

3 shallots, minced

3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened

Salt and pepper

Bring champagne, celery tops and shallots to a boil in a medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until reduced to 1 cup, about 20 minutes. Removed and discard celery. Reduce heat to low and slowly whisk in the butter one tablespoon at a time. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm. Serves at least 4 and perhaps 6-8.

Something To Celebrate

Last week, I was whining about the discomforts of growing older; this week, I'm reminded of the joys.

My Beloved's daughter, who three years ago presented us with the so-charming granddaughter that I often rave about, called us over the weekend to say she is increasing again. The new baby is due in the fall. All is well in the various high-tech checkups that are so common today - nice to know all those ancient, mysterious processes are progressing as ordained. The parents have elected not to know the sex of the coming child - they want to be surprised.

The Mom-to-Be can't have alcohol now, but we certainly can! We arranged via text message and cell phone (aren't we just so techie these days?) an impromptu celebration with the baby's aunt, My Beloved's other daughter, and her main squeeze. We unwrapped our beautiful vintage flutes, cut up some baguette, opened a nice wedge of cheese, piled up some of the clementines that are so delicious this time of year, and toasted the new baby in fine style.

You can't see the cheese behind the bottle but it was really special, Batch 25 from Cowgirl Creamery it said on the wrapper. When I visited their site, it seemed most like the description of the Wagon Wheel cheese. It was semi-firm, aged and mild/mellow and went quite well with our favorite champagne.

We clinked and caught up on each others' doings while we drained the bottle and polished off the nibbles. It was a lovely interlude and, by the end, I was feeling pretty darn good about life in general.

Napoleon Bonaparte is quoted as saying, "I drink Champagne when I win, to celebrate…and I drink Champagne when I lose, to console myself." I should have had a glass of bubbly last week, too.

Champagne Celebration

We skipped our New Year's eve celebration in favor of keeping Cora company in case the fireworks startled her. We need not have worried. We all watched the ball come down in Times Square and slept peacefully through the rest of the night.

So, when My Beloved read about $20.09 (get it?) lobster dinners at the Hotel Mac, it seemed a fine time to have our celebration just a few days late.

We started with a split of French champagne to accompany our lobster dinners and, because it was a Friday, they were having a half-price special, bringing the price of a $38 split to a reasonable $19 or so. This is nice champagne, too, round and soft with zillions of tiny bubbles to tickle ones fancy.

The Hotel Mac seems to specialize in the kind of nostalgic dishes that I remember from the '50s and early '60s. It's a great place for steaks, chops and "surf and turf" style eating, except the vegetables are always perfectly cooked, something I don't recall from my salad days.

My Beloved notes that his escargot on mushroom caps were among the best he had ever tasted; I'm a little squeamish about snails but I can attest to the excellence of the ocean of butter they were cooked in, strongly laced with minced garlic and fresh chopped herbs. Dipping their nicely sour French bread into the butter was more than enough appetizer for me.

Our lobster tails were broiled and served on top of the shells, accompanied by green beans with shallots and mashed potatoes that had been lightly fried so they were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Drawn butter - that's what it's really all about, right? - with a big squeeze of fresh lemon juice and you have a New Year's feast fit for a king.

This special continues this weekend both Saturday and Sunday (although the champagne won't be half price), so if you're in the area, on a budget and looking for a sumptuous dinner, I can recommend the Hotel Mac.