Oh it's been a while since I've posted here (not sure I'm a fan of the recent changes), but I am glad some things haven't changed. annpatt is still fighting the good fight, I see. She converted me. Besides, with 2 teens, we never have any bread, pastry, cereal, or any other wheat-based product around long enough to get stale or moldy. A box of saltines last a couple of hours.

Seagrass, I deep-fry battered dill pickle slices all the time. If you've never tried it, they're sooo delicious! Especially good with a ranch-type dipping sauce. Joe, thanks for all the recipes and tips! I had a feeling maybe a different style of sauce might be best. I'm a sucker for good sauces, so I think I'll try both. Cilantro isn't my thing, but hot Chinese mustard sure is. It would be okay to sub Italian parsley for the cilantro, wouldn't it? And those olives sound great. Will definitely throw some in the pot with the pickles next time. Fried rattlesnake is very common in Texas, but I never got up the nerve to try it. Thanks for confirming that my wussiness didn't cause me to miss out on much, RE. :) And thanks for all the wonderfully clear and detailed instructions! I've fried shrimp several times and oysters once but wasn't totally thrilled with the results. I feel *much* more confident now that I can pull this thing off successfully. Will have a practice session with some shrimp tomorrow. Jim -- great tip about not overmixing. Just like muffin batter, huh? Who knew? I've always stirred to a faretheewell... I was wondering how on earth to get the things out of the shell while still raw. Parboiling sounds like it might work, but any idea how long? (I think the tails are usually around 6 oz.) I also really like your suggestion about using tempura for the veggies! Now all I need is a good appetizer. Linda C., I'm sure you're right about the tails. My friends were visiting near the Gulf Coast, so warm-water lobsters makes sense. And we're so far inland that I'm sure frozen will be the only kind available. So, all you Mainers, we're NOT committing heresy! :) Want to hazard a guess as to how long they should be parboiled? Greatly appreciate all the help! Any more tips and recipes welcome. sm

There is no such thing as too much lobster. We have lobster earlier this week. I just made a cold plate with some prawns and avocado and serve it with a seafood/roumalade sauce. You could also cut the lobsters in half and brush with lemon or garlic butter and reheat on the grill. Save some to make Alexa's lobsters triangles. These are wonderful and freeze beautifully. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table ===================================== Posted by caliloo (My Page) on Mon, Dec 19, 05 at 16:04 Phyllo Triangles with Lobster Filling Martha Stewart Entertaining Makes about 50 1 Steamed Lobster 4 Tbsp unsalted butter 6 scallions finely chopped ¼ cup white wine or vodka 1 ½ tbsp all purpose flour ¼ cup heavy cream pinch of cayenne pepper Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper 1 lb Phyllo 1 lb unsalted butter, melted Remove meat from lobster and chop. Set aside Melt 2 tbsp butter in a small skillet and sauté the scallions for 2 or 3 min. Add lobster meat and wine or vodka and stir quickly to combine over high heat. Drain the mixture reserving the liquid. Melt the remaining 2 tbsp butter in another skillet. Add the flour and cook slowly without coloring the flour for 5 minutes. Add the reserved liquid and cream and stir constantly until the mixture begins to thicken. Stir the lobster meat back into the cream mixture, add cayenne and season to taste. Cool completely before filling the triangles. Prepare the triangles as you would sharonÂs Spanikopita. If you need those directions, I can copy them over. I do not know if these freeze, but I am not going to need all 50 for Xmas Eve, so I am going to give it a shot with the leftovers. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table ============== Combination plate of Cold Shrimps, Crab meat, or crab claws, or lobster, slices of avocado. Drizzle with Homemade Seafood Sauce. Shellfish sauce - Remoulade sauce ================================= Source: My Own 1 cup Homemade Mayo, or 1 cup Hellmans mayo 1/4 cup Chile Sauce 1 garlic Clove minced 1 tablespoon horseradish 1 tablespoon dijon mustard (Coarse) splash of Worchestershire sauce 2 tablespoons HP Sauce (or A 1 Sauce) fresh squeezed lemon juice fresh dill salt and pepper . Mix all of the ingredients together. Taste and adjust to suit personal taste. If you like Horseradish, add more, or more mustard.

"Posted by ruthanna ------ I would be happy to be presented with a lobster with its outer garments removed. Very creative and user-friendly idea, dcarch. Now I'm waiting to see a similar crab autopsy." Thanks ruthanna. Those were not outer garments, they were outer hostile armaments. Regarding crabs: I also post in another forum where there are many professional chefs. I was advised of the following: "In Japan, it's very common to do something sort of similar to crab legs. You use a smallish deba knife, ------And basically you shave a fat strip of shell right off along the leg, exposing the meat to chopsticks. The claws can be shaved or cracked with the same knife. " "Posted by hawk307 -------Dcarch: I don't know how this can be classed as an Autopsy. ----What Dcarch has done here, is amazing and would probably only be seen, in a 10 Star Restaurant. -----Lou" Thanks Lou. But I like "autopsy". The term "autopsy" derives from the Ancient Greek autopsia, "to see for oneself". Pretty fancy word for what I was doing. I consider that a compliment. "Posted by arley ----------- but rather than using the word 'autopsy' to describe this, this preparation is best described as an 'ecorche' (pronounced ay-kor-SHAY) ----------And dcarch, whatever word you use to describe it, you have demonstrated a high level of artistry and craftsmanship in that. Bravo. --------" Thanks arley. "ecorche", Now thats even better than "autopsy". Everything does sound better in French LOL! "Posted by annie1992 -------I love lobster and will eat it in nearly any way it's presented to me, hot, cold or in the middle. I dont want the roe or the liver, though, thanks. And yes, I've been present during more than one autopsy. Annie" Annie, come here to NYC. Lobsters are on sale, $4.99 a lb! I will be getting may be 10 lbs and freeze a few. dcarch