Eating in Lubec.....

Ahhhh.....cooking in Maine.....I love it....and cooking for Debbie is great fun as she's an appreciative audience!  I didn't cook wonderfully every night....but I hit it on a couple of nights....as did Debbie....

First night: I bought some haddock and cooked it like my grandmother did----floured, paprika'd and sauteed in butter.  Mmmmm.  Definitely a childhood comfort food kind of thing.

The next night we had Ernie's classic grilled chicken....

The following day we bought some lobsters.....we usually save our classic Grandpa version of stuffed lobsters for later in the week----and Debbie is in charge of that anyway.  So I went through the cookbooks I had with me and what was in the house....still couldn't decide but then I thought about the book I'd been reading: Heat by Bill Buford.  I liked the beginning of the book, liked it less as it went on but his description of cooking cockles and pasta had stuck with me.  He talked about throwing the pasta, barely cooked, into the pan with the cooked cockles so the pasta absorbed the juices...

SO......I decided on some kind of lobster and pasta thing.  I went with linguine as it's a favorite of Ernie's.  I decided I wanted to cook the pasta in the lobster juices so before we steamed it I sauteed some garlic and onions in olive oil.  Then I added a couple of inches of water and salt and brought it to a boil. We steamed the lobsters (Debbie's in charge of that) in the flavored water and took them out to cool, later taking the meat from the shells. For a sauce I sauteed some diced tomatoes and capers in olive oil.  Next time I would use much less tomato but it was an experiment you know.....  Once the tomatoes and capers were softened I tossed in the lobster meat to warm it up.  Then we cooked the linguine in the lobster water.    Tossed it all together and served it with warm La Brea bread and a simple green salad. 

The sauce, the lobster, the bread, the salad.....all good.  The linguini?  ABSOLUTELY AMAZING..... Oh my god....the stuff just tasted like the ocean.  Wet and salty and ocean-y and reeking of lobster.  MMM-mmmmm.  I must say I think it's my favorite thing I cooked the entire vacation.

We had a bit of the lobster and pasta leftover so I made a frittata for breakfast.  Well, it was kind of a frittata...I also browned some pieces of the leftover bread in the pan before pouring the eggs over. Oh, and I threw some parmesan on top .  It might have been better done a little more simply but overall it came out pretty darn well.  The best part?  The teeny pieces of pasta found in it.....

I think the next night we ate lunch late, Ernie and I went out for a drink and when we got back I put together sandwiches for us....nothing fancy but hunger and Rayes mustard will do the trick.  More on Rayes in another post.....

On Wednesday we renewed our hunt for someplace to buy steamers (clams) and fish.  Lubec is small enough that there is just an IGA with limited fresh seafood and produce.  Next year I guess we'll know to stop in Machias at a bigger store.  We had asked a couple of people about our steamers quest and had been told about a place which Debbie and I had tried to find on a fruitless trip.  A few days later, armed with more detailed directions Ernie and I headed there....we finally found it only to be told they weren't doing retail any more that it would be at another place down the road. We ended up at the Boldcoast Smokehouse and bought the most fabulous lox that I have ever had in my life.  Not that I'm an expert I suppose but good LORD but they were fantastic.  Also had an entertaining chat with the owner about Maine and Lubec and lighthouses and New Years Eve 1980....  I cooked some cream (it was vacation after all) with some fresh tarragon, let it reduce a bit and then added the sliced salmon and the rest of the tarragon at the end---put it over the rest of the box of linguine and it was pretty great.  Ricky liked it as well (he even pronounced lobster 'not half bad' on this trip).  Evidently I was too busy and hungry to take pictures....oh, if you could only taste that salmon....it would be worth ordering online....

Let's see....what else?  I had an amazing clam roll in a little restaurant called the Happy Crab in Eastport, Maine.  Sometimes fried clams taste like fried friedness if you know what I mean but these clams were moist and oceany while still all crispy.  And by my reckoning....ANYTHING you put on a New England style hot dog bun is great....with a little very good coleslaw on the side (I'm on a coleslaw kick)...it was pretty darn wonderful....  Thanks Happy Crab!

Oh, and Debbie brought an ice cream maker....good lord but homemade ice cream is a different creature!

and last but certainly not least....our traditional lobster.  Debbie makes it just the way my Grandpa did....  Steam the lobsters, lay them flat to cool, slice them open and fill with a stuffing made of crushed saltines, butter, tomalley and the coral if you get a female.  Mound the stuffing where you've cut it open and run it under the broiler.  The only thing I do a little different than Grandpa is that I like to add lemon juice to my melted butter.  Debbie abstains as she is a purist to the bone.  Side dishes?  Potato chips and cole slaw only.....  They were superb as always Debbie....

mmmmmmmm......