Lobster Roll ala Sisters One, Two, Three #FoodiesRead

One of my favorite things about vacation is that there is lots of reading time.  I was able to get 3 books in during our Alaskan Cruise.  This, that I am sharing with you today, was read while enroute to the ship.

This novel was offered either free or very inexpensively through my Kindle account and has been on my to read list for a while.  

The story follows the dysfunctional Tangle family to a vacation on Martha's Vineyard during which a terrible tragedy occurs.  As with so many dysfunctional families, the children learn to ignore the elephant in the room.  They quickly learn that secrets are theirs to keep, tears are to be shed privately with the shades drawn and questions are to be evaded, if possible, and answered with a positive spin if they cannot be evaded.

We all know that the sins of the parents rain down upon the children who, in turn, become parents and rain down sins upon theirs.  This story is no different and tells of the struggle of the adult children trying to cope with their memories and private demons.  Family is learning to love each other despite our shortcomings and forgive each other for all wrongs, real and imagined.

I enjoyed my journey with the Tangle family and I think you will as well.  This was not a foodie read at all but it did have a lot of food in it.  Granted, most of it was inedible as the mother was not much of a cook and food, when it was served, was often burnt, raw or microwaved from frozen dinners.

However, there were glimpses of good food..... cookies provided by the neighbor who often tossed lifelines to the eldest daughter in the family.  Ice cream outings with Dad and Lobster Rolls to celebrate their first night on "the island".

I have never been to the Northeast States.  It has been on my bucket list for quite a while and when I do go, I will definitely visit Martha's Vineyard.  Until then, I live vicariously through others who have gone, through books, through blogs.

When I do finally get there, you can be sure that I will be hitting all the local places and eating all the local foods, including Lobster Rolls.

Then, I will know how my version stacks up to the authentic Lobster Rolls that you find on every street corner in the area.

I imagine that when you have the best seafood available you would want it to shine.  So when I make a Lobster Roll, I don't add a lot of ingredients.  I buy the best lobster I can find and afford.  I mix it with a small amount of mayonnaise, fresh tarragon, sea salt and freshly cracked pepper.  I cut open a good, fresh roll and butter both sides before toasting.  In this case, I toasted the roll on the grill .  A bit of lettuce and it is ready to be served.

I have joined Foodies Read 2017 and am challenging myself to read 12-16 books this year, posting a recipe inspired from each. There are a lot of great bloggers who have joined this challenge as well. You can see what they are reading and cooking over at Based on a True Story.  join in the fun

Lobster Roll

2 small lobster tails 

kosher salt for water

2 t. mayonnaise

1 t. fresh tarragon leaves, chopped

sea salt 

freshly ground pepper

1 leaf red lettuce

1 hot dog or hoagie roll

2 t. butter

Fill a stock pot with 1" of water and add a generous pinch of kosher salt.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Add the lobster tails, cover and steam until bright red and cooked through.  Remove the tails from the steamer pot and plunge into ice water.

Slice the roll in half and butter both insides.  Toast in the oven or on a grill until light brown and crisp.  Set aside.

Remove the chilled tails and cut along both sides of the bottom of the tail removing the thin membrane.  Loosen the meat from the top shell and remove to a cutting board.  Coarsely chop the lobster into bite sized pieces and place in a small bowl. Combine the mayonnaise, tarragon, sea salt and freshly cracked pepper.  Add to the bowl and gently fold in the lobster.

Line the bottom roll with a lettuce leaf, top with the lobster mixture and cover with the top roll.  Print Recipe