I'm on a plane again... this time heading to the Idaho Shakespeare Festival for three months! I haven't been on a three-month job in quite a while... and, like a crazy person, I agreed to help my dear friend, chef extraordinaire Bob Chambers, cook a buffet for 60 yesterday.
As is always the case with Bob, the day was hard work and great fun and the food was amazing... lobster mac 'n' cheese, roast chicken, and beautiful salmon, along with salads, grains, and veggies, including a mountain of tiny asparagus... a veritable feast! And there were a few ingredients I was allowed to take home!!!
So... in the realm of "Be flexible... cook what's there," I scrapped the planned farewell dinner menu... and improvised.
There was some cooked pasta with butter and EVOO, some cooked asparagus and... wonder of wonders... a bit of beautifully cooked lobster. Not wanting to overwhelm or mask the sweet, clean, rich flavor of the lobster, I decided on cakes. And, as is always the case, less is more...
I added 3/4 tablespoon of lemon zest and a tablespoon of lemon juice...
... A handful of fresh bread crumbs, a small bit of sautéed, finely diced celery and shallot...
And an egg. If your cakes are about to fall apart, you're doing it right! Heat some EVOO and butter in a nonstick pan, gently lower the cakes in, and LEAVE THEM ALONE... Once there's a crust, they'll want to stay together. Since everything but the egg is cooked, all you're trying to do is get a nice golden crust...
When that appears (peek gently), carefully turn them over... This is no time to showboat by flipping! I served them very simply... lemon wedges, and a bit of mayo. I gently reheated the pasta and the asparagus, combined them, added a bit of Parm... Wow!
Not necessarily the menu I had planned, but... Wow!
