Hey there, and welcome back! Oh, do I have a treat for you this week! I got the inspiration for this week’s recipe from the Food Network magazine and made a few adjustments. This week I bring you a Lobster BLT that is the perfect summer sandwich paired with a cold pea and corn salad that is sure to please your tastebuds. So, pour a drink and pull up a chair because you will not want to miss out on this!
I will start by saying this week’s dish has a lot of components, but don’t be discouraged. You could probably make the pea salad the day before to make things a little easier. For this meal you will need:
1-2 pounds of bacon
4-6 lobster tails (I used frozen ones/Sams Club brand found at Walmart)
2 avocadoes
1 lemon
Green leafy lettuce
1-2 large tomatoes
1 cup mayo
¼ cup ketchup
1 garlic clove minced
2 small steam bags of peas
1 small bag of steamed corn
1 cup ranch dressing
½ small onion
Thick sliced bakery bread
Salt and pepper
I started by thawing out the lobster tails. Then steam the peas and corn. While those are steaming in the microwave go ahead and put on a pot of water to boil. Like I mentioned before you can prepare the pea salad the night before if you want. Dice the onion and combine with the steamed peas and corn, ¼ cup mayo and ranch dressing. You can top or fold in some crumbled bacon once you have it cooked, but other than that the pea salad is done!
Cook your bacon. I fried mine on the stovetop but you can prepare in the oven and it works just was well — just be sure you drain on a paper towel to pull away extra grease. Once the water is boiling place the lobster tails in the water and set a timer for 4 minutes. When the lobster is done, drain and rinse with cold water to help pull the shells away from the meat. As your bacon continues to cook, crack open the lobster tails and pull out the meat and set on a plate to the side. You are almost done!
Now let’s make the aioli! In a small bowl combine the ¾ cup mayo that is left, the ketchup, the minced garlic and the juice of half the lemon. Taste and see if you need a little salt. Then set aside. Next, slice the avocado and squeeze the other half of the lemon juice over top, sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss together and set aside. Lastly, slice your tomatoes and get ready to assemble these tasty BLT’s!
You can toast your bread if you want — that is totally your preference. To build the sandwich, lay a large piece of lettuce down on one piece of bread and then top with tomato, bacon, avocado slices, lobster and then drizzle aioli on top and close with the second piece of bread. That’s it friends! Slice and enjoy and serve with the pea salad.
When I talked to Annie at the Village Wine Shop about a possible wine pairing for this meal, here is what she had to say, “This sounds like a sandwich we could eat all week long! To pair with any lobster dish, especially with bacon and garlic, a fine chardonnay will hold the boat for such powerful flavors! Most chardonnays tout flavors of butter and oak, vanilla and/or citrus and pale fruit. Both will satisfy the creamy, salty, and pungent, quite well. A nice bubbly can also work well.
The idea is to enhance the flavor of the dish with the wine’s tastes. To add a butter note to lobster that has none, is perfection. Here, I’d go all out and pour the Rombauer Chardonnay! Have a horse in the Preakness? Drink Rombauer. The CEO of NASA coming to dinner? Drink Rombauer! Having a lobster BLT with garlic aioli with a pea salad?!! DRINK ROMBAUER! Gordon Ramsey likes to sharpen his team with smart/sassy quips. Here’s one….”You put so much butter in it, it tastes like a Rombauer! So, with all this hype and a price that commands accolades, Rombauer Chardonnay is a bold, smooth, soft, buttery, creamy, french bread, pear skin icon!”
So, there you have it. You could change this up with turkey bacon, regular mayo instead of aioli or whatever other fun changes you can think up. This is a great meal to enjoy on a summer evening and everything can be prepared ahead of time and you can assemble it when you are ready. I hope you try this and see that with a little time you can have a really tasty dish to enjoy with your family, and as always, I am sending love from my kitchen to yours.
