Lobster

Editor's note: This recipe is excerpted from Maguy Le Coze and Eric Ripert's book the Le Bernardin Cookbook. To read more about Ripert, click here. Eric: This was one of Gilbert's specialties and was always one of the most popular items on the menu. I think it closed more than one deal, and definitely led to some second dates. If you want, you can make it with langoustine or spiny lobster.

For food safety, it is very important to grill the lobsters immediately after they have been boiled and split.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Cooking lobsters is often perceived as a last-minute frenzy. The following recipe lets you progress through menu-planning worry free: The lobsters can be parboiled in the morning and kept chilled until you're ready to grill them at dinnertime. To satisfy any die-hard lobster-and-butter traditionalists at your table, you might want to serve some clarified butter along with the dipping sauce.

The parts of Corsica that are not cultivated or forested are covered with a thick underbrush called the Maquis. It consists of diverse aromatic herbs that make the hillsides white with little flowers in the spring and inspire one of the island's nicknames, "the Scented Isle." A blend of these herbs, called herbes de maquis, is a flavoring for many seafood specialties, including this rich pasta and lobster dish. Many say that the most flavorful lobsters in the Mediterranean come from the waters off Corsica. For reasons of food safety, it is essential to make the sauce and finish cooking the lobster immediately after the lobster has been boiled.

We've called for live lobsters in this recipe, but, to save time, you could use 1 pound (about 3 cups) cooked lobster meat from your fish market.

Owner Dick Varano knows a thing or two about traditional New England lobster rolls: He sells about 20,000 of them a year. His customers love this dish so much that it's the only recipe he hasn't changed since he bought the restaurant 13 years ago.

Buy cooked fresh lobster meat and you can whip this salad together in about 30 minutes. Cooking your own lobster, however, not only ensures the freshest flavor and the tenderest meat, but you get more bang for the buck—you can use the lobster shells to make stock and lobster oil.

To cut down on prep time, use cooked lobster meat, available in some fish markets and supermarkets, or follow the directions below for cooking frozen lobster tails.

Gastronomic lore tells us that the forerunner of this famous lobster dish was actually created at Delmonico's, the well-known New York City restaurant, during its heyday in the latter part of the last century. Mr. Ben Wenburg (or Wenberg, as some believe), a Delmonico's habitué during this period, is said to have devised a dish made with seafood, cream, and egg yolks. It was called Wenburg on the menu until some time later when the epicurean Mr. Wenburg became involved in a dispute with the management. Thereafter, the restaurant renamed the offering seafood "Newburg," and a classic was born.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

(Arrossejat de Fideus amb Llagosta) This Catalan specialty could be described as a pasta cooked like a rice dish. Arrossejat is Catalan for "golden" and refers to the technique of sautéing noodles in oil until golden brown before simmering them in fish stock. The dish is usually prepared in a glazed earthenware casserole known as a cassola, but you can substitute an ovenproof skillet or saut0an with great results. The base of our intensely flavored dish is a sofregit~©on slow-cooked with tomatoes and often garlic and herbs'% foundation for almost every sauce and stewed dish in the region's cooking. Active time: 1 1/2 hr Start to finish: 2 hr

It's actually a clam boil, and it’s prepared on the stove top. The secret is to layer the ingredients, like clams, lobsters, potatoes, and sausages, in one pot so that the flavors mingle during cooking.

This recipe can be prepared in 45 minutes or less. Traditional New England side dishes like boiled potatoes, corn on the cob and coleslaw are just right with this festive dish. If it's more convenient, thaw two frozen uncooked lobster tails (skip the parboiling). The Goober Ice Cream Sandwiches are perfect to wrap it up.

Hash, a venerable Yankee dish, is usually made with the leftovers from Boiled Dinner (Corned Beef) or Roast Beef Dinner. In keeping with the humble origins of hash, my version of Lobster Hash uses a modest 2 ounces of lobster meat per person. Serve this as a satisfying main dish for lunch, brunch or even a hearty breakfast.

This is a sophisticated first course. The soup is also nice without the lobster. Uncork a Chardonnay or a French Sancerre.