Fresh Lobster with Potatoes and Corn

Well, that was. . . interesting.

Aaron and I decided on having fresh lobster this year for our official Valentine’s meal, last September. (I like planning!) And yes sir, I mean buying the lobster ALIVE and cooking it ourselves.

We experienced the whole rigamaroo 4.5 years ago when we were visiting family in Boston. And when I say “we” I mean “definitely not me because I was too busy screaming and flapping my arms around like a janky bird and splashing white wine in my eyes to block the horror.” But as the years have passed, I’ve matured by an entire 8% and I’ve decided that I can do this.

I need to do this. I’m grown up and I’m ready and I have freshly washed hair to prove it!

So off we went.

And the dude picked them out for us. And put them in a bag. And I tried to hold the bag but all the moving around inside freaked my life.

Hi, Ricky and Lucy! I’m just kidding, STOP CRYING. We didn’t name them. Aaron put a stop to that before we’d even left the checkout counter.

Charlie was really, really curious. And then her life got freaked too so she went outside to play with a piece of dead grass.

Now, there’s the option of sticking them in the freezer for a while to put them “to sleep.” But it was 4pm when we got home and natural light always comes first to a food blogger, so we had no time for that riff raff. In the fridge they went for a few minutes while the sides were prepped. And we kept it simple. Boiled potatoes and corn tossed with melted butter, Old Bay seasoning, salt and pepper. Das it.

And then the big moment came. And I was READY.

PSYCHED. UP.

About to grab life by the SHELL.

And I put my hand on it. Pulled it off. Put it back on. Laughed. Squealed. Ticked Aaron off beyond words. Put my hand back on. Back off. Another round of laughing. Another round of squealing.

And then the dang thing’s leg popped up and touched my finger and that was it. That was as far as I got. I ran away with 2 bottles of cab sauv, my Crowded House cd and hid in the bathtub for the next 4 hours.

Okay so I came out about 20 minutes later.

I’ve. Never. Seen. Anything. More. Beautiful. In. All. My. Live. Long. Days.

And of course this is the only (blurry) shot of the de-meating of the lobster because A) My hands and face had melted butter and succulent lobster pieces all over them and it was the most glorious event of my life. And B) My hands and face had melted butter and succulent lobster pieces all over them and it was the most glorious event OF. MY. LIFE.

P.S. Lobster claw meat and I plan to marry next spring.

I think we done did gerd, MAINE.

And since baking gives me hives, this of course is what we turn to for good dessert.

Next time, I’m leaving my hand on the lobster for a full 3 seconds!

What it took for 2:

* 2 (1 1/2 pound) fresh lobsters
* 1 pound red potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
* 4 mini corn on the cobs
* 1/2 stick butter, melted
* 1 Tbs. Old Bay seasoning
* fresh parsley for garnish
* coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

Buy your lobsters. Do NOT name them. You can either put them in the freezer for a bit or not.

Bring a LARGE pot of salted water to a boil. Place the lobsters into the water and boil about 15 minutes. They general rule is to boil 10 minutes per every pound. Remove from water and let them cool a few minutes.

In the meantime, boil your potatoes and corn until tender, 15 minutes. Drain and toss with 2 Tbs. melted butter, the Old Bay and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Reserve the rest of the melted butter for lobster dipping.

If you want to make actual drawn butter, you slowly heat up the butter until you see a foam on top. Skim that off. The milk solids will drop to the bottom of the butter, so go ahead and strain the butter into a small dish. Voila, drawn butter. Butter butter butter.

As far as how to CORRECTLY de-meat (?) a lobster, I’m no expert. What we did was twist off the legs first and suck out the meat/juices. If you have to pull the leg shells apart at the joints to get more meat, DO IT.

Then you start to pull off the tail….you know what? Just watch my friend Hilah do it.

Balemtime’s Bay!