It's Better in Nova Scotia - Part 2

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As I mentioned in my last blog, meeting Donna at the Sobey’s in Liverpool, NS was such a treat! She chose beautiful live lobsters for our first meal there, all the while pointing out how to choose a great lobster. That is, ensuring the shells are hard and also how to tell the difference between a female (to get the roe) and a male lobster. And Donna’s best way to cook a lobster dinner for two, well here you go:

• Buy the lobsters from Donna
• Take a large boiling pot down to the beach and fill it with about 5/6 inches of ocean water bring pot to a boil
• Insert the lobsters head first and on their backs
• Cover and steam until cooked (ours took about 15 minutes)

And how do you know they’re done?

• Lobsters will turn their characteristic bright red colour well before the meat is thoroughly cooked inside
• Tug on an antennae or pull off one of the small walking legs. They both will come off easily when the lobster is done. (I love that one!)
• The meat inside will be firm, white and opaque
• The tomalley, which fills much of the body cavity, will be green
• The roe in female lobsters will be bright red and firm. If it is a dark greenish black, with an oily tar-like consistency, the lobster is undercooked
• The internal temperature will be 180F (80C)
• If the lobsters will not be eaten right away, they must be cooled quickly in ice water. Drain the chilled lobsters, cover and keep refrigerated. You can keep cooked lobsters in your refrigerator for 1 or 2 days

Who knew!!

Donna also introduced me to summer savory, something I have always had in my spice cupboard and never really knew when to use it, unless specifically called for in a recipe. And that was how I discovered the best summer savory ever! In fact I am planning to bring it in this fall for inclusion into our gift packs. So here’s Donna’s recipe for fish cakes (or at least my interpretation of Donna’s instructions):

• Fish fillets (any kind) – I used haddock because it was fresh that day (about four)
• Sauté them in a frying pan in a little butter
• Mush them up in a bowl and add summer savory to taste
• Add just enough mashed potatoes to bind (I found a ratio of approximately 1 part potatoes to 3 parts fish worked well)
• Add one egg
• Form this into small balls and coat in panko or cornflake crumbs and sauté in a little butter until browned. At this point they can be cooled and frozen and reheated on another occasion. To freeze them, lay them on a cookie sheet in the freezer just until frozen and bag them.

A little tip (I learned this the hard way), don’t add milk and butter to your mashed potatoes, save that for the turkey dinner!!