07/13/1988
LOBSTER THERMIDOR
3 lobsters, 1¼ lbs. each
Fish stock for cooking lobster
2 shallots, chopped
3 tablespoons salted butter
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup dry white wine
½ teaspoon dry mustard, soaked 5 minutes in 1 tablespoon water
2 cups Mornay Sauce (recipe follows)
Salt and freshly ground black peper to taste
1 tablespoon heavy cream, whipped
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Boil lobsters in fish stock for 5 minutes, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes or until lobsters turn red. Remove lobsters from fish stock and when cool enough to handle, remove meat from claws and bodies, keeping the bodies intact. Cut the meat into bite-sized pieces and set aside.

Preheat the broiler.

In a saucepan, cook shallots in both kinds of butter for about 2 minutes until transparent. Add wine and reduce over high heat to one-fourth original quantity. Add soaked mustard, Mornay sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Heat through.

In a large saucepan, mix lobster meat with two-thirds of the sauce and gently heat through. Place a little of the remaining sauce in each of the reserved shells and then stuff with the lobster mixture. Blend whipped cream with the remaining sauce and spread over the tops of the lobsters. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Place lobsters on a broiler pan and broil, about 4 inches from the heat for 1 to 2 minutes until browned.

MORNAY SAUCE
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
4 tablespoons flour
1½ cups light fish stock
½ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/16 teaspoon ground white pepper
½ cup mixed freshly grated Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses

In a 1-quart heavy saucepan, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter. Remove from heat and whisk in flour. Cook, stirring over medium-low heat, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and whisk in stock. Bring to the boiling point, stirring, and then remove from heat. Add cream, 3 tablespoons butter and the cheeses.

Yields 6 servings.

-- From Off the Hook - A Cook's Tour of Coastal Connecticut