Grilled Lobsters With Summer-Vegetable Slaw
From Emmett Fox, Asti
Vinaigrette for Slaw
juice and zest of 2 lemons
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard
2 tablespoons honey
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients and set aside.
Slaw
1 red bell pepper, julienne cut
1 yellow bell pepper, julienne cut
1 head radicchio, cored and julienne cut
1 zucchini, julienne cut
1 bulb fennel, julienne cut
1 red onion, sliced vertically (not in rings)
1 bunch scallions, green part only, julienne cut 2 inches long
1/4 cup mint leaves, julienne cut
1/4 cup basil leaves, julienne cut
Toss vegetables and herbs with vinaigrette about 1 hour before serving. Cover and keep chilled.
Lobsters
1 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons paprika, smoked or sweet (plain)
1 tablespoon pure ground red chile (not chili powder), available in bulk or spice sections of supermarkets
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
8 one- to one-and-a-half-pound live lobsters
To make paprika oil for seasoning lobsters, mix together the first 6 ingredients. Set aside.
Put water and salt (1 tablespoon per quart) in a large, deep pot and bring to a rolling boil. Immerse each lobster, head first, in pot (depending on pot size, 2 or 3 may be cooked at once). Cover, return water to a boil, and cook for 4 minutes. Drain.
Meanwhile, preheat charcoal grill (or fire up gas grill). Split each parboiled lobster in half lengthwise by placing it on its back and drawing a fairly large, heavy knife from the head through the end of the tail (striking the back edge of the knife blade with a hammer will aid in cutting through the carapace). Clean out body cavity (leaving tail meat in place). Brush tail meat with paprika oil, place lobsters on grill, flesh side down, and cook for 6 minutes. Turn and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from grill.
Before serving, loosen the tail meat with a knife and crack the claws and knuckles with a hammer or nutcracker. Brush with more paprika oil and fill the body cavity of each lobster with slaw.
From the July 2001 issue.
A Star-Spangled SpreadSix top Austin chefs set off culinary fireworks with a potluck picnic for the Fourth of July.
Five weeks before the real event, Casa Volpe (Italian for "Fox House"), as Lisa and Emmett Fox of Austin's Asti call their stylish Tuscan-Texan villa outside Austin, was the scene of a pre-picnic photo shoot and sampling fest. As late-afternoon sunlight flooded the covered deck, the chefs began to arrive, bearing great baskets and platters of food. Marion Gillcrist, the chef and a co-owner of La Traviata, brought fresh, creamy Texas mozzarella and a bounty of heirloom tomatoes in shades from crimson to orange to green with yellow stripes. Aquarelle's Jacques Richard, a native of France, showed up with a still life of raw and blanched vegetables and a bowl of the world's most garlicky aïoli. Sam Dickey, the chef and a co-owner of the Granite Cafe, whipped up luscious mashed sweet potatoes infused with maple syrup and cascabel chiles. Will Packwood of Emilia's, who was recently named one of the country's top ten up-and-coming chefs by Food & Wine magazine, reinterpreted five-bean salad with a terrific parsley-thyme-scallion vinaigrette. For their part, the genial hosts prepared grilled lobsters (filled with vegetable slaw in a rainbow of colors) and homemade vanilla ice cream with swirls of puréed fresh peach.
Recipes
Crudites and Sauce Aioli
Five-Bean-and-Red-Onion Salad
Grilled Lobsters With Summer-Vegetable Slaw
Heirloom Tomatoes and Texas Mozarella
Honey-Ginger Applesauce
Mashed Maple-Cascabel Sweet Potatoes
Peach Swirl Vanilla Ice Cream
Sweet and Spicy Brined Pork Loin
Texas Blueberry Shortcake
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