Did you know it’s easy to make lobster rolls? If you have ever been to Maine, it’s 99% certain that you’ve tasted a lobster roll and loved it. I was in Maine several years ago, and I haven’t forgotten how delicious they are. So yesterday, when I accidentally thawed lobster instead of fish for dinner, I knew that I had to try my hand at making my own.
Ingredients:
Two lobster tails. We catch our lobster fresh at the beach near our home.
Six oblong bread rolls. You can use hotdog buns in a pinch.
1 1/2 cups of mayonnaise. If you’re really hardcore, make your own using this recipe.
2 Tablespoons of ketchup
1 Tablespoon of lemon juice
Half an onion, minced
Black pepper to taste
Parsley for garnish
What you do:
Prepare the lobster. Boil the lobster tails. This takes about ten minutes. The meat should be white and opaque when it is done. Let it cool for a bit, then dig out all the meat and tear into small chunks.
Make the sauce. I like to call the sauce that goes in this “Bear Flag Sauce.” It’s my attempt at creating the famous dipping sauce from Bear Flag Fish Co in California, and it’s a tangy twist on traditional lobster roll sauce. Mix the mayo, the ketchup, and the lemon juice together. You can add a hint of mustard, if you like.
Mix it up. Combine the lobster, sauce, onion, and pepper in a bowl.
Put it together. Make a large slit in the top of the rolls, longways. Spoon a generous amount of the mixture into the rolls. Garnish with more pepper and parsley.
Yummy! This is a great meal for summer evenings.
It’s been a while since I posted a Foodie Tuesday, but I’m planning to be back at my weekly recipe posts for good, so stick around and head back next week! Subscribe or like my page to find out each time I post a new recipe.
This is a special installment of Foodie Tuesdays! Today we are going to visit one of Sint Maarten’s best restaurants, Papa Dan’s. Come with me to discover delicious pizza flavors and the elements of business on an island.
Papa Dan’s is located near American University of the Caribbean, between Tung Yuen Market and the coffee shop. It has been operating for nearly a decade, and has become an important part of the local community. The restaurant is hugely popular with students; at any given time, one can see AUC students walking briskly to class or study group with a pizza box in hand. It’s little wonder that the shop attracts so much local business. The surrounding neighborhood is constantly filled with the aroma of baking pizza, and once you try a Papa Dan pizza, you’re hooked. Why? Because there’s a lot more to Dan’s pizza than just pepperoni.
I arrive at Papa Dan’s on this warm tropical morning, camera in hand. Dan Passerieu greets me at the back door and gives me a quick tour of his little kitchen. Cooled boxes of fresh toppings line one wall: cheese, veggies, meat, and tomato sauce for the traditional and barbecue sauce, jalapenos, pesto, and honey for the adventurous.
The first thing you will notice when you visit Papa Dan’s is that the menu is no ordinary menu. Dan shows me the lists of pizzas and explains where some of the unique combinations came from.
Student’s Special, a combination of mozzarella, Gorgonzola, pepperoni and honey, was the first special he created. Dan tells me about the history behind this pizza. Before Dan lived on Saint Martin, he ran a restaurant in Paris. He first came to Sint Maarten to visit a friend of his, who was a student at AUC. Dan fell in love with the island, and decided to stay. His friend was a regular visitor of the shop, and always ordered the same thing- pepperoni. Finally, Dan insisted that he had to try something else, and concocted Student’s Special for his friend. Before long, Dan was getting constant requests for this pizza, so onto the menu it went.
There are actually three other pizzas inspired by students. Dan named these pizzas after regulars from the school who ordered the same combination of toppings every day. If you visit Papa Dan’s, be creative with your toppings and tell your friends to order the same; who knows, your creation might end up on the menu!
My personal favorite is Sugarmama, a combination of Gorgonzola, mozzarella, goat cheese, and honey. I would never have thought to put honey on a pizza, but it’s a surprisingly delicious addition.
Making specialty pizzas on Sint Maarten is not all culinary art and creativity. Running a restaurant on an island poses special challenges. Dan’s current problem is a late shipment of mushrooms. Because everything has to be imported from the U.S. or Europe, he explains, you can’t always get what you need as soon as you want it. If a shipment is delayed, there’s nothing you can do. That’s the island life.
I watch as Dan creates a pizza. First, he prepares fist-sized lumps of dough.
Next, he runs the dough through a rolling machine.
He tosses the circle of dough in the air.
Next, Dan smooths a spoonful of sauce on the pizza.
Finally, he adds cheese and toppings. This pizza is pepperoni. Dan’s favorite combo is mozzarella, mushroom, spinach, Gorgonzola, garlic, and honey.
He places it in the oven. The warm scent of baking dough fills the little kitchen.
Hot pizza, ready to eat!
Before I leave the kitchen, Dan slides a hot pizza from the oven into a box and hands it to me. The distinctive scent of warm goat cheese floats up from the box. I smile, looking forward to the sweet-and-salty Sugarmama ambrosia that awaits me.
Hi friends! Usually of Foodie Tuesdays, I tweak an international recipe and share it here on 3rd Culture Wife.
Today, I have glorious amounts of leftovers and absolutely refuse to cook.
We have ribs and pizza, so I doubt Ben will argue with that sentiment.
Instead of the usual, I decided to share with you my favorite Word Press baking post of the day. Incidentally, it fits in with my Caribbean theme. If you’ve ever visited the Caribbean, odds are you’ve enjoyed a nice, warm johnny cake. If you haven’t, now’s a great time to try it for yourself!
Click on the link below to visit Mandy G’s blog and learn how to make this classic Caribbean staple.
Ben’s favorite breakfast is baked oatmeal. I usually make him something quicker, like toast or eggs, but once in a while I get up early to make this treat. It’s soft, chewey and sweet. It’s also filling and staves off the snacking.
Today’s recipe is one of one my most successful food attempts of all time. It is close-your-eyes-and-enjoy-the-moment delicious. My husband told me that this is the best way I’ve ever made chicken and that I have to make it again.
Now, that’s what I like to hear.
I have honestly never thought of trying Persian food before yesterday. Our neighbor down the hall is leaving the island in a few months, and he offered us the spices, food, and first aid stuff he doesn’t plan to use before he leaves. Do we have the most awesome neighbors ever, or what? Some of the spices he gave us are used in Persian food. He explained their uses enough to me to be able to Google intelligently and find some yummy recipes.
Behold, zeerah polow and chicken.
Zeerah polow is rice with cumin seeds. This and the chicken should take about four hours to make the right way, but I only had an hour before dinner time, so I sped things up a bit. Here’s Zeerah Polow in cut-time.
Gather your ingredients:
Brown rice, 3 cups
Cumin seeds, 3 tablespoons
One chicken quarter or two breasts
Olive oil
Plain yogurt, one cup
Dried mint, 1 tablespoon
Garlic powder, 1/2 tablespoon
Black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon
Paprika, 1 teaspoon
Salt, 1/2 tablespoon
Flour, one cup
Rinse rice until the water is clear. Boil six cups of water and add rice. Simmer. Scoop rice from the bottom of the pan to the top every few minutes.
Toast the cumin seeds in a pan. Set aside.
When the rice is done, drain rice and mix with cumin seeds.
Meanwhile, prepare the chicken. Cut into strips.
Mix garlic powder and yogurt. Let chicken marinate in the mixture for ten minutes.
Mix flour and rest of spices in another bowl.
Heat oil 1/4 inch deep in a skillet. Coat chicken in flour/spice mixture and fry in oil until the chicken is cooked and the batter is crispy.