Lobster Caviar Tower Recipes

Steps:

• For the veloute: In a stockpot, combine cognac, onions, carrots, celery, lobster carcasses, leeks and fennel. Add 1 gallon water and bring to a simmer. Add the cream and simmer until thickened. Press through a fine-mesh sieve. Chill until ready to serve.
• For the lobster salad: Combine the lobster meat, creme fraiche, chives, parsley, tarragon, and lemon zest and juice in a bowl and chill.
• Serve the veloute in soup bowls, topped with some of the lobster salad and garnished with a teaspoon of caviar.

Steps:

• Place your lobster in a pot of rapid boiling water (heavily salted) for 10-15 minutes or until tail has a nice pink/reddish color and has curled. Drain, run under cold water and set in refrigerator to cool.
• Place sliced bread on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until well toasted. Wrap garlic in aluminum foil with olive oil and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the garlic cloves are soft. Set aside to cool.
• In a bowl, combine mayonnaise, roasted garlic cloves and chives. Mix well.
• Remove your lobster tail from the refrigerator. With pairing scissors cut the front and back of the tail lengthwise and remove meat. Set aside.
• Remove the crust from the toast and cut into points (triangles). Dab your herbed and garlic mayonnaise on the toast in the center. Slice your lobster so you have a nice hearty piece on top of the mayonnaise. Place a piece of arugula on top of the lobster and finish with a dab of caviar.

Steps:

• To make the caviar mousse, mix the mustard and the whipped cream gently together until smooth. Add the finely chopped shallots, and season with salt and pepper. Gently fold in the caviar without breaking the eggs. Set aside.
• To prepare the sauce, combine the creme fraiche with the mustard until it thins out a little. Season with salt and pepper.
• To serve the dish, simply place a cookie ring on the plate. Fill the ring with the caviar mixture, and remove the ring. Place half of a lobster tail on the caviar mixture, and a lobster claw in front of it. Drizzle some mustard sauce around the food. Decorate with some algae, toast, and a sprinkle with black mustard seeds.

Steps:

• Court bouillon: In a large pot bring water to a boil, and simmer all ingredients, except the vinegar for 10 minutes, then add the vinegar and let simmer for another 5 minutes. Yield: 3 quarts
• Cooking and cleaning the lobster: Bring the court bouillon to boil, and cook the lobsters (9 minutes for 1 1/2 pounds). Remove with a skimmer, and drain. When cold, put the lobster on its back, cut the tail in its center, pry open and remove the tail in 1 piece. Remove the vein. Slice 30 medallions and set aside. Break each claw under the joint and remove the flesh without breaking it. Flesh from the claws should remain whole.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit
• Cooking the Beets and the French String Beans: Wrap the beets (skin on) in aluminum foil so that the juice will not run-out. Cook them for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Let them cool down, remove the skin and cut 30 slices of 1/8-inch (5 slices per portion). With a round die cut 1 3/4 inches in diameter cut a nice round circle from each slice. (Keep the parings to make a salad with potatoes, touch of garlic and olive oil).
• Place on the fire a pot of water to boil with a pinch of Hawaiian salt. Clean the string beans and place them in the boiling water and cook them quickly (if they cook too slowly they will turn yellow). They should be cooked in 3 to 4 minutes depending on quality and size. When you bite them they should be soft. Once cooked place them quickly in iced water so they keep their color. Drain and cut them into sections 1 1/2-inchs long, 6 pieces per portion. Set aside.
• Caviar Vinaigrette: Mix the olive oil with balsamic vinegar. Add the 3/4-ounce caviar and the chervil. Mix but do not add salt (there is enough salt in the caviar). Add a touch of pepper.
• On the top of the plate, place a bouquet of salad. At the bottom forming half a circle, place 5 petals of red beets. On the inside place 5 medallions of lobster on top of the petals. A lobster claw goes on top of the bouquet of lettuce, topped with a quenelle of caviar and a sprig of chervil. On the left a bunch of string beans and on the right a tomato rose. Coat the lobster medallions with caviar vinaigrette.

Steps:

• Blanch the cabbage leaves in rapidly boiling salted water. When the cabbage is soft, immediately shock in an ice bath. When cool, set aside on a towel to dry.
• Poach the lobsters for eight minutes. Remove the lobster meat from the tails and claws and cut in small pieces, about the size of half a shrimp. Saute quickly in 1 tablespoon butter and Cognac. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne.
• Shell and devein shrimp. Cut in half and saute in 1 tablespoon butter with shallot until shrimp is pink. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne.
• Remove the tough center from the cabbage leaves. When this is done, place 2 pieces of shrimp and 3 pieces of lobster on each cabbage leaf and fold into a package. Transfer to a nonmetallic baking dish and place 1 tablespoon of butter on each cabbage leaf. Season lightly with salt, pepper and cayenne. Refrigerate, if desired. To serve, return to room temperature. Cover and bake in a 350-degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
• To serve: Place three stuffed cabbages in the center of each of four warmed plates. Pour beurre blanc sauce around, but not over the cabbages. Garnish the cabbages with caviar. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• In a large pot, bring the white wine to a boil over high heat. Add the lobster, cover, reduce heat and steam for 10 minutes. Remove the lobster and set aside. Reserve the broth.
• When the lobster is cool, remove the meat from the claws and tail and set aside. Use a sharp knife to split the body and to break the shell into 2- to 3-inch chunks. Place the shells in the reserved lobster broth over low heat, and simmer for 1 hour. Strain and set aside.
• Melt 1 teaspoon of the butter in a clean saucepan. Add the shallots, and saute until softened, about 30 seconds. Add the lobster broth and the sparkling wine, and bring to a slow simmer. Add the scallops, and simmer just until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, place in a bowl and cover with foil to keep warm.
• Place 2 cups of the poaching liquid in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until reduced to 1 cup, about 15 minutes. Add the saffron, and simmer until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 10 minutes. Cut the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons butter into small pieces. Remove the sauce from the heat, and gradually whisk in the butter. Carefully stir in the caviar to avoid breaking the eggs.
• Cut the lobster meat into bite-size chunks. Steam the spinach just until wilted, and divide among 4 plates. Divide the scallops among the plates, sprinkle with lobster chunks and spoon the sauce over the scallops and lobster. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Use a 3-inch round cookie cutter to cut out one circle of brioche from each slice. Flatten the rounds, and fit them into the cups of a miniature muffin tin. Bake until the bread is lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Let cool slightly, and remove from the tin.
• Steam the lobsters until they turn bright red, about 10 minutes. When cool enough to handle, remove the tail and claw meat, and cut it into 1/2-inch chunks. Set aside. Melt the butter in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot, and cook until softened, about 30 seconds. Add the mushrooms, and cook until they soften, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Place half a teaspoon of the mushrooms into the bottom of each brioche cup. Top with 2 pieces of lobster, and garnish with 1/4 teaspoon of caviar. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• First make the muffins. Mix together the flour, yeast and 3/4 tsp salt in a food mixer with the dough hook, or in a large bowl if making by hand. Add the milk and egg, and mix to a dough. Leave the mixture in the machine with the motor running and knead the mix for 5-6 mins until it becomes elastic and smooth, or for 10-15 mins by hand. Place the dough in a bowl, cover with cling film and place in a warm spot to prove.
• When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down with your hand and turn out. Dust your work surface and a baking tray with the polenta or semolina. Roll out the dough until 2.5cm thick and cut out muffins using a 9cm straight-edged cutter - you should have about 4 muffins. Transfer them to the tray, cover with cling film and leave to prove for 20-25 mins or until doubled in size.
• Put a piece of baking parchment in a non-stick frying pan and put the pan on a low heat. Gently transfer the muffins to the pan and cook them in batches for 5-6 mins each side until they are toasted and brown. Remove from the pan and leave to cool on a wire rack. When cool, these freeze very well in freezer bags - then simply toast them from frozen. Keep 2 out for your lobster.
• To make the hollandaise, put the wine, vinegar, shallot, tarragon and peppercorns in a small pan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 8-10 mins or until the mix is reduced to one-third of its original volume. Remove from the heat and leave to cool. Meanwhile, fill a pan one-third with water, bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Strain the infused vinegar mixture into a mixing bowl, add the egg yolk and a large splash of water. Place the bowl over the top of the pan of simmering water (but not touching the water) and whisk. The sauce will lighten in colour and fluff up - this is called a sabayon. Do not overcook or it will look like scrambled eggs. When it is fluffy but firm, add the splash of double cream, then slowly pour in the melted butter - not too quickly - imagine you are making mayonnaise, drizzling in a small amount at a time. When all the butter has been incorporated, season with salt, cayenne and lemon juice. Pass the hollandaise through a fine sieve into a bowl. Cover with cling film and keep warm until needed.
• Prepare the lobster. Twist the claws and pull the tail off the lobster, then bash the claws with a rolling pin to crack the shell and reveal the meat. Remove the shell from the tail, then cut the tail in half lengthways and remove the intestine. You should now have half a tail and a claw per person. Remove the meat from the shell. To reheat the meat, melt the butter with 2 tbsp water in a medium saucepan. Add the lobster meat and warm over a gentle heat.
• To poach the eggs, bring a small pan of water to the boil and add a splash of white wine vinegar. Spin the water around with a slotted spoon and crack in the eggs - they must be very fresh. Turn off the heat and leave them to poach for 2-3 mins until set but still soft.
• Meanwhile, melt the knob of butter in a pan. Add the spinach and stir until it starts to wilt. Season and grate over a little nutmeg. Remove from the heat and drain the spinach on kitchen paper. To serve, halve 1 muffin and lightly toast to warm through. Put half a muffin on each plate and top with the spinach, then add the portioned warm lobster. Place a poached egg on top, then spoon over the hollandaise and a dollop of caviar.