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Lobster Thermidor

2 (1 1/2-pound) live Maine lobsters
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 ounces lump crabmeat, picked over
4 ounces Dungeness crabmeat, picked over
1 shallot, sliced
3 cloves garlic, sliced
2 ounces brandy
6 ounces heavy cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 ounce grated Parmesan
1 sprig fresh tarragon leaves, chopped
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 ounce Japanese panko bread crumbs
Preheat broiler.
With a sharp knife on a solid surface, put the knife through the head of the lobsters to kill them instantly and then flip them over and split lengthwise down the middle, keeping the back of the shell intact. Remove the roe and tomalley and discard. Pull the claws off and remove the tail meat from the shell and set aside.
Place the bodies on a baking sheet and broil the bodies until bright red, about 3 to 5 minutes, and set aside.
In a pot of boiling salted water, cook the lobster claws for 5 minutes and cool to room temperature until ready to serve.
In a large skillet over medium heat add the olive oil and lobster tail meat; cook until meat turns white, about 2 minutes. Add crabmeat and stir to combine. Add the shallots and garlic and cook for 1minute while shaking the pan to prevent burning. Remove the pan from the heat and add the brandy (the alcohol will ignite, so be careful) and return the pan to medium heat. Add the heavy cream and Dijon mustard and cook until reduced by half. Add the Parmesan and fold it in to melt. Add the chopped tarragon and season with salt and pepper. Stuff the mixture in the lobster shells and sprinkle the top with the bread crumbs. Broil until browned, about 4 to 5 minutes. Reheat the claws for just a1minute and serve together.

Maryland Crab Cakes

Oh, the joy of living close to the sea!

We can get tubs of crab meat here in the groceries. If you can't, I don't know what to say, except you can use that fake crab legs stuff. *shudder* We generally use backfin meat from she crabs. It's already prepared, but inevitably there will be bits of cartelege in it, so as you make these, beware and remove those.


1 pound Maryland crab meat (artificial crab meat may be used as substitute)
1 cup (or less) unseasoned or lightly seasoned bread crumbs
1 large egg or 2 small ones
1/4 cup mayonnaise, approximately
1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dry mustard (I sometimes omit this)
butter for frying

Mix bread crumbs, egg, mayonnaise, and seasonings (beat the egg first). Add crab meat and mix gently but thoroughly. Don't bruise the crab meat! If it's too dry, add a little more mayonnaise. Shape into 6 cakes (round and flattish but not like pancakes) and fry over medium heat in just enough butter to prevent sticking about 5 minutes on each side. These are delicate, so watch over them... you want them golden brown on each side, but not dark. Should make 6 crab cakes. Don't cheat and use anything but butter. The sweet butter compliments the sweet crab meat.

Serve with tartar sauce or lemon or offer both on the table. Some people like that shrimp dip (you know, the red stuff, cocktail sauce).

Crab is a sweet meat, so if after trying this recipe and finding it is not sweet enough, omit the Worcestershire sauce and/or mustard. My sister in law uses neither, and very little mayonaise, and her crab cakes are the best... she uses very little bread crumbs as well... so the cakes are just about pure crab.

If you live where you can get live crabs and you can stand to cook them (they scream... it's just the shell, not their wee mouths) and pick the meat out, more power to you. It should take you about, oh, a few hours to remove all the meat needed for this recipe. rolleyes

~SEAFOOD LASAGNA~ 2 6oz cans shrimp, 2 6oz cans minced clams, 1 pkg of fish(anykind) 1 pkg. lobster meat,(can use imitation), 1 6oz can of crabmeat, 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, 1 can of cream of celery soup, 1 can mushroom pieces, Lasagna noodles, 3/4 c. parmesan cheese, 1 lb.ricotta cheese, 1 t.each of garlic powder,onion powder, salt n pepper, mozzerella cheese-grated, and 2 eggs beaten., drained spinach.
Drain shrimp only. Mix all seafood, both soups,mushrooms garlic powder, onion powder, salt n pepper ina bowl and set aside. mix parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese and eggs in another bowl. Cook noodles as directed adding 1 T. olive oil. In baking [pan, first with a thin layer of seafood mixture, then noodles, then cheese mixture then a layer of spinach, seafood mixture, mozzerella cheese. Repeat till pan is full. Bake in 350 oven for 30-45 min. domokun