Lobster Salad

I tried my hand at lobster salad today. I acquired a small amount of lobster that was going to be otherwise gasp! thrown away. It was already cut into rounds and since I frankly get a little bored with whole grilled lobster, making a tasty salad seemed like a good bet. Actually it was my good friend Stefan that requested and suggested it. Since he does whatever he can to avoid the kitchen, he was able to talk me through it as I conceptualized what he had in mind. When he first said lobster salad, images of conch salad came to mind, which more closely resembles ceviche. This mayonnaise based version is much less labor intensive with a lot less lime squeezing involved.

Down here in the islands, lobster is referred to as crawfish. I get the impression the word is derived from crawlfish since they crawl around in the rocky reefs, instead of those southern shrimp that come to mind when using the term, but one can never be sure. They aren't the giant lobsters with big ole pinchers either. The Caribbean spiny lobster are a bit smaller than their Maine cousins and even though they are sans claws, you’d better watch out for their antennae. I gave myself a good gash on my finger when I was taking a bag of lobster out of the freezer at Christmastime and I still have a scar.

This being the first time I made lobster salad, in a place where traditional dishes are held with the upmost respect and temperamental palettes are discerning, I was very proud to receive compliments from Stefan. He actually said it was just how his mother made it. Mine had a good spice kick to it, but feel free to dull it down a bit if you’re not too into spice. I use Crazy Frank’s hot sauce, which is my absolute favorite for cooking and it is HOT, but would be impossible to find anywhere outside the islands since it’s locally made and comes label-less in either a preserves jar or a baby food jar.

I grilled and chopped the rounds of lobster but you can also try shredding the lobster and serve with crackers as an appetizer or on a toasted roll as a sandwich.

Lobster Salad

½ lb lobster

¼ cup yellow, orange and red bell peppers, chopped

¼ cup celery, chopped

¼ cup red onion, chopped

1/8 cup mayonnaise

½ lime

1 tsp Crazy Frank’s hot sauce, or other hot sauce

Salt and Pepper

If lobster is uncooked, remove lobster from its shell and cut into medium sized chunks. Place pieces on the grill and cook until lobster is firm and just cooked. About 2 minutes per side over high heat.

Remove any tough skin and chop into bite sized pieces. Mix together lobster and next 6 ingredients in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with cilantro.

Pork Tenderloin with Tomatoes, Onions and Capers

I have been feeling a lack of inspiration lately...drawn to cook the same meals in the same fashion, day in and day out. My palette is bored.

I came across an amazing cookbook the other day which I immediately downloaded to my Kindle. I was a little nervous about downloading a cookbook to my Kindle, especially since I have the tendency to drip, slop, spatter and fling all sorts of interesting food particles onto my recipe pages. My most favorite recipes are barely legible due to the amount of spots dotting the print. But the Kindle seemed to work alright. I mean, it got the job done. We won't dwell on the fact that I love color picture cookbooks - the enticing manner in which the photography beckons you to cook that particular dish - and since I was too cheap to buy the color Kindle Fire, I am missing out on all the beautiful pictures. Oh well, c'est la vie.

So anyways, this new cookbook I found is a Mexican cookbook using basic ingredients and simple techniques, aptly named Simply Mexican. I had taken out a pork tenderloin for dinner yesterday but wasn’t quite sure what to do with it, until I stumbled across a recipe that gave me a bit of inspiration. The recipe in the book is for Mahi Mahi and calls for a few more ingredients which I didn’t have handy…cilantro was one of them. I also added the Chipotle powder and garlic and I decided to cook the tomatoes. The original recipe called for tossing the tomatoes in oil and serving the mixture cold over the fish.

This recipe isn't quite a Mexican dish, I suppose I altered it too much. It ended up being more Mediterranean in style and I must say, it turned out pretty darn good with the heat from the Chipotle, the rich depth of the garlic and the tangy salinity of the capers. But the best part is that this technique to cook pork tenderloin. No matter what sauce you choose, you will always have tender, moist, flavorful, cut-with-a-butter-knife pork.

Pork Tenderloin with Tomatoes, Onions and Capers

1 Pork tenderloin

1 cup flour

2 tsp Chipotle chili powder

Salt and Pepper

¼ cup olive oil

1 small onion, sliced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 large tomatoes, chopped

1 tbsp capers

1 tsp caper juice

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

½ cup chicken broth

Pat pork tenderloin dry and slice into ½ inch medallions. Mix together flour, chili powder, salt and pepper. Dredge pork medallions in flour and pat to remove excess flour and put on a plate.

Heat olive oil in a large fry pan over medium high heat. Add pork to pan and brown meat, about 2 minutes per side. Remove from pan.

Lower heat to medium and add onion to the pan. Cook until just tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Add tomatoes, capers, caper juice, vinegar and chicken broth. Return pork to the pan and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes or until pork is just cooked.