Lobster Thermidor 4.08 Die, Jerk

“This food is incredible.” “Yeah. It's my first lobster thermidor.” “Your recipe?” “No.” “Hey, can you thermidor other foods? You know, fish thermidor, uh, Spam thermidor, enchiladas thermidor?” “I don't think so. Cora, since we're five instead of four, Richard and I will ration if we have to.”

Ingredients

• 2 lobster tails (if real lobster is out of your budget, you can use imitation lobster. You just won’t have a lobster shell for presentation and that’s okay!).

• 1 tsp olive oil

• 1 tsp lemon juice

• Salt and pepper

• 3 tbsp butter

• 3 tbsp all-purpose flour

• 1 shallot, finely chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

• 1 cup white mushroom, thinly sliced

• ½ cup dry white wine

• ⅓ cup chicken broth

• ½ cup heavy cream

• ½ tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

• ½ tsp salt

• ¼ tsp pepper

• ¼ cup aged white cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Using kitchen scissors, cut the shell of the belly of the lobster tails all the way down to the fins.

3. Place the lobster tails onto a baking sheet. Drizzle them with olive oil, lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper.

4. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. The shells should be bright red and the meat is fully cooked. Set aside to cool.

5. While the lobster is cooking, make the thermidor sauce. Melt the butter over medium heat.

6. Once the butter is fully melted, add in the flour and stir to form a roux.

7. Add the shallot and garlic. Saute for about 5 minutes or until translucent.

8. Add the mushrooms. Saute for an additional 5 minutes or until the mushrooms become soft and they have released their own juices.

9. Deglaze the pan by adding the wine slowly and stir to combine.

10. Add the chicken broth and allow to simmer for 2 more minutes.

11. Stir in the heavy cream, rosemary, salt, and pepper. And simmer for another minute.

12. While the sauce is simmering, use kitchen scissors to remove the shell of the belly of the lobster tails. Carefully pull out the lobster meat and roughly chop into small chunks. You should be left with hollowed-out lobster tails.

13. Add the lobster meat to the thermidor sauce and stir to combine. Allow to simmer for a final 2 minutes.

14. Turn your broiler on.

15. Carefully scoop the termidor mixture into the hollowed-out lobster tails, making sure to fully stuff them.

16. Add some grated aged white cheddar cheese on top then place back on the baking sheet.

17. Broil for 2 minutes to allow the cheese to become melted and bubbly.

18. Serve with your sides of choice. I enjoyed mine with a caesar salad!

Once your lobster is cooked, remove the top part of the shell.

I thought it was so fitting that this episode and this dish fell on Christmas Eve. For as long as I can remember, my family has had seafood on Christmas Eve. I have no idea why or how that tradition started, but I think I’m going to have to start making lobster thermidor for my family as part of the seafood feast. Earlier this week, I asked my Instagram followers to share their unique holiday traditions. I really love hearing what people do to make this time of year special. What unique holiday traditions do you have?

My thermidor sauce. I think you could thermidor other things like Lorelai asks!

I always want to make my recipes accessible regardless of equipment or your budget. For my dish for the second episode of season one, I made lobster puffs and I said to use authentic or imitation lobster meat, whichever works best for your budget, and I still stand by that. Real lobster meat can be expensive and the imitation stuff tastes good, so I fully support using it!

Lobster Thermidor!

As we wind down the end of 2021, I’m left with an odd feeling (maybe ennui?). This year felt like it flew by so quickly, yet nothing (and everything) happened. While 2020 seemed to drag on forever, 2021 was over in a blink of an eye. My sister and I had plans to travel to France this past week, but we decided to cancel our trip because of the CDC warnings. We really miss traveling, but prioritizing the safety of others is so important to us. It’s hard to remain hopeful that we’ll ever get to travel again, but we’re trying. I’m always so hopeful at the start of a new year, but I think this year might be the first time that I’m not…at all.

But, I have this project to look forward to, and I’m so grateful for that! Cooking my way through Gilmore Girls and connecting with all of you has given me so much joy over this year, so thank you for supporting me on this journey!

Happy Holidays and Happy Cooking from the Hollow!

Enjoy your lobster thermidor!

If you missed what I made last episode, catch up here!