Lobster Corn Chowder Christmas Special Recipes

Steps:

• If using thawed frozen lobster tails, cook in pot of boiling water until almost cooked through, about 6 minutes. Drain. Cool. Using kitchen shears, cut lobster shells open. Remove lobster meat; cut into bite-size pieces. Discard shells.
• Purée 4 cups corn with 1 1/4 cups broth in processor until almost smooth.
• Sauté bacon in large pot over medium heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towels. Pour off and discard all but 3 tablespoons drippings from pot. Add onions to pot; sauté until light golden, about 5 minutes. Add remaining 4 cups corn; sauté 3 minutes. Add carrots, celery, and cayenne; sauté until vegetables soften slightly, about 5 minutes. Add clam juice and 1 3/4 cups broth; simmer 10 minutes. Stir in corn puré and whipping cream; simmer 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (Lobster, bacon, and soup can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and chill lobster and bacon separately. Cool soup slightly; chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Bring bacon to room temperature and bring soup to simmer before continuing.) Remove soup from heat; stir in sour cream.
• Melt butter in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add lobster meat and sauté just until heated through, about 2 minutes. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish each serving with lobster pieces, bacon, and chives and serve.

Steps:

• Bring water to a boil in a 12-quart stockpot. Add lobsters, cover, and cook 13 to 15 minutes. Set a colander in a large bowl. Working over colander, snip the tip of each lobster claw to release juices into bowl. Separate lobster meat from shells, and cut into bite-size pieces. Reserve meat and shells separately. Strain cooking liquid through a fine sieve lined with cheesecloth into bowl with lobster juices.
• Using the same stockpot, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add chopped leek, corncobs, and reserved lobster shells. Cook, stirring, for 4 minutes. Add reserved lobster liquid, and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Strain through a cheesecloth-lined sieve. Discard solids.
• Puree 1 cup lobster broth with 1 cup corn kernels. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter in a large pot over low heat. Add sliced leek, and cook for 2 minutes. Sprinkle in flour, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in pureed corn mixture, and cook, stirring often, until broth thickens, about 2 minutes. Add remaining lobster broth, raise heat, and simmer. Add zucchini, summer squash, and remaining 2 cups corn, and cook until squashes are tender, about 2 minutes.
• Stir in reserved lobster meat, and heat until warmed through, about 1 minute. Season with salt, and garnish with basil. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Prepare an ice-water bath. Bring 8 cups water to a boil in a large pot. Reduce heat to medium-low. Plunge lobster into water headfirst, and simmer, covered, for 9 minutes. (Do not let water boil.) Transfer lobster to ice-water bath using tongs; reserve cooking liquid. Let stand for 10 minutes to cool.
• Crack lobster claws, knuckles, and tail, and remove meat; reserve shells and body. Coarsely chop meat. (You should have about 1 cup.) Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Return shells and body to pot with cooking liquid. (For added flavor, chop body with a cleaver before returning to pot.) Add reserved cobs. Simmer, covered, over medium heat for 35 minutes. Strain stock through a fine sieve into a bowl; discard solids.
• Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook corn kernels, onion, garlic, and 3/4 teaspoon salt, covered, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 20 minutes. Add 5 cups lobster stock, and cook for 15 minutes. Let cool slightly.
• Strain soup through sieve. Set aside 1 1/2 cups corn mixture. Working in batches, puree remaining corn mixture and strained liquid in a blender until smooth. (For safety, remove cap from hole in lid, and cover with a dish towel to prevent spattering.) Strain soup through sieve, and return to pot with reserved corn and lobster meat. Cook over medium heat until warmed through. Stir in chives, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and some pepper. Serve with lemon wedges.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• For the lobster: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Remove the lobster tails from the shells and put into the boiling water. Poach for 2 minutes. Remove the lobster and set aside to cool.
• Once cooled, chop the lobster and mix with the lime juice, cayenne, seafood seasoning, and mascarpone. Taste and add salt, if needed.
• For the chowder: On a sheet pan, toss the corn kernels with a few tablespoons oil, season with salt, and roast until the corn is lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes.
• In a deep pan, heat 1 tablespoon oil over low heat and add the bacon. Cook until the bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon to a paper towel and pour most of the bacon fat out of the pan.
• Return the bacon to the pan, add the onion and celery, and cook over medium heat until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the red and green pepper, garlic, and roasted corn, and cook 5 more minutes.
• Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the chicken stock and stir to scrape up any brown bits from bottom of the pan. Stir in the diced potatoes and raise the heat a little to bring the mixture to a simmer.
• Simmer the chowder until the potatoes are cooked, about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally to avoid burning the bottom of the chowder.
• Taste the potatoes. When the potatoes are fork tender, turn the heat down to low and slowly stir in the cream. Keep warm on low heat.
• To plate: Ladle the chowder into bowls and top each with a mound of lobster. Garnish with sliced scallions.

Steps:

• Pour 1 inch of water into a pot large enough to contain all the lobsters. Bring the water to a full boil. Remove the bands from the lobsters' claws and place them on their backs over the boiling water. Cover the pot tightly, and steam over high heat about 3 minutes. Quickly remove the lobsters from the pot and chill them rapidly by plunging them into a basin filled with ice and water. Set a wire strainer over a mixing bowl. Twist the tails off the lobsters over the strainer to catch their juices. Shell the lobster tails and claws over the strainer. Cut the tails into 4 quarters, leave the claw and knuckle meats whole, and reserve the lobster meat in a refrigerator.
• Peel the potatoes, split each into 4 wedges, and slice the wedges into 1/2-inch slices. In a large non-reacting soup pot, cook the diced bacon over moderate heat until golden and nearly crisp. Pour off all but about a generous tablespoon of the fat. Add the diced leeks, stir, and cook about 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, stir, cover the pot, and continue cooking over moderate heat, stirring frequently to prevent browning, until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes depending upon the potato variety and the thickness of the slices. (Chef's Note: I like to mash some of the potatoes with a fork to give the chowder a luxurious but rustic texture, but good mealy potatoes, such as russets, will release some of their substance into the broth, and this step may be unnecessary.) Add the strained lobster juices and enough water, lobster or fish stock, to just cover the vegetables. Simmer 4 or 5 minutes. Keep the chowder base hot as you prepare the lobster meat and cream enrichment.
• Heat the butter in a wide skillet. Add the lobster meat, season with black pepper, and saute over moderate heat 3 or 4 minutes until the meat is firm, opaque, and pink. Pour in the heavy cream, and rapidly bring it to a simmer. Pour the lobster and cream mixture into the chowder base, and stir gently to combine. Taste for seasonings, and adjust with sea salt (preferably from Maine), plenty of fresh-milled black pepper, and a pinch of chipotle or cayenne pepper. Off heat, cover the pot and allow the chowder to ripen for 15 or 20 minutes before serving. Ladle into warmed soup plates, and sprinkle snipped chives over each serving. Accompany with plenty of warmed common crackers.

Steps:

• In a very large pot, render the bacon over medium heat. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, red peppers, and saute until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the corn kernels, garlic, shallots, salt, pepper, Essence, and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour turns the color of peanut butter, about 4 minutes. Add the sherry and cook for 2 minutes. Add the lobster stock and cayenne, and stir well to incorporate. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Add the potatoes, stir well, and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the cream, lobster and assorted herbs, and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and ladle into bowls. Garnish with reserved bacon and serve.
• In a large stockpot, heat the oil. Add the shells and stir. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the celery, tomatoes, onion, carrot and thyme. Cut the fennel bulb in half and add to the pot. Cut the garlic head in half horizontally and add to the pot. Add enough water to cover the ingredients by about 2 inches. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the liquid has reduced by half, about 4 hours.

Steps:

• Remove the lobster meat from the shells, and cut into 1-inch pieces. Set aside. Put the shells and bodies in a large saucepan.
• Gradually stir some of the cream into the cornstarch until the cornstarch is smoothly dissolved. Add the dissolved cornstarch and remaining cream to the saucepan with the shells. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer 6 to 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add corn, potatoes and onions, and cook, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes. Strain hot cream mixture into saucepan with corn; continue to simmer 5 minutes or so, until potatoes are tender.
• Add the lobster meat, and season to taste with cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. Simmer for another minute; serve.

Steps:

• Bring a generous amount of water to the boil, enough to cover the lobsters completely when they are added. Add salt. When the water is boiling vigorously add lobsters. When the water returns to the boil cook lobsters exactly 4 minutes. Drain. When they are cool enough to handle break off and reserve the claws and tails of each lobster.
• Carefully crack the meaty portions of the lobster, the claws, tail and so on. Remove the meat but reserve shells. Cut tails in half lengthwise and remove and discard the intestinal tract. Rinse and drain the tail portions. Set aside. Put all the shells in a kettle. Add 12 cups of water and bring to the simmer.
• Meanwhile, cut and scrape the kernels from the corn. There should be about 4 cups of kernels. Set aside.
• Cut the cobs crosswise into quarters and add them to the kettle. Do not add the kernels. Add the peppercorns, whole onion, bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Cut off the rind of the bacon and add the rind. Cook 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the liquid in the kettle, when strained, measures about 8 cups. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, cut the bacon into fine dice. There should be about 1 cup.
• Put bacon in a clean kettle and cook, stirring often, until it is rendered of fat, browned and crisp. Add the butter and coarsely chopped onions. Cook, stirring, until the onions are wilted and tender without browning.
• Meanwhile, cut each unpeeled potato into 8 pieces of approximately the same size. Add the potato, the chopped thyme, the reserved lobster liquid and the corn kernels and bring to the boil. Cook about 20 minutes or until the potato is tender but not mushy.
• Add the shelled lobster pieces and the cream. Add salt and pepper. Remove the bay leaves and serve.

Steps:

• Place potatoes and onion into a large saucepan and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and return to the saucepan.
• While the potatoes are simmering, melt half of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the cubed lobster, and cook until the edges begin to turn golden, about 5 minutes. Once the potatoes have been drained and returned to the saucepan, stir in the remaining butter, lobster, cream, milk, and sugar. Return to the heat, and cook until hot, stirring occasionally. Once hot, season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Steps:

• Cook lobster. Remove meat and coarsely chop. Reserve shells. Place lobster shells in large pot. Add half and half. Bring to boil and simmer 4 minutes, set a side. Melt butter in soup kettle. Add potatoes, onion and corn and saute about 5 minutes. Strain lobster cream into the soup kettle and simmer slowly until potatoes are soft about 8 minutes. Stir in lobster meat and seasonings. Simmer just until hot.