Day 84: Lobster Newberg

The only interesting thing I could find about Lobster Newberg is that the name is actually an anagram of Lobster Wenberg. Apparently, sea captain Ben Wenberg introduced the dish at Delmonico's restaurant in New York City. This was in 1876. The dish was added to the restaurant's menu and became very popular. Then, Delmonico and Wenberg had an argument (big old babies) and the dish was removed from the menu. But the people still wanted the dish, so Delmonico changed the name to Lobster Newberg.

So, I am sure that in a restaurant this dish looks much fancier. All I have to say is that it was a little bit of a pain in the ass to cook. I had to opt for frozen lobster tail (this isn't the east coast, after all) and de-shell it and then steam it. Since I have a weird thing about lobster and shrimp (they are giant insects! In the sea!), it was especially trying to do this. Then I had to mix egg yolk, heavy cream and Madeira (of which I had to get a whole bottle for ONE tablespoon) and stir constantly until it 'thickened.' Ummmm...I was very uncertain when it was actually thickened. It progressively got thicker and thicker so I pulled it off the heat when it was the consistency of mustard. Then I added salt, cayenne pepper, nutmeg and the lobster chunks and put it back on the heat while I made a piece of toast. Unfortunately, while it was on the heat a second time, the sauce 'broke,' which is to say separated a little bit and it made me mad. Alex was horrified at the end result.

He said it looked like mucus first, which I gracefully shrugged off. Then he took a bite, let it sit in his mouth for 3 seconds and then spit it back on the plate. While he did like the sauce, he freaked out about the texture. I feel him, because the only lobster I can usually enjoy is lobster bisque, which is delicious. Should we give the rest to Saba?

She looks really interested, but we'll skip it. <You dodged a bullet, Saba>