Giant and extra-big lobster....

The giant crustacean

A few months ago I was in Koreatown visiting the HK Supermarket. I have bought some good seafood there in the past.

They have some tanks with live fish in them and usually there’s some Korean Halibut in there. Large, flat, green guys about 10-12 lbs each. There’s other tanks and they usually have Crabs-Dungeness- and lobster. Well, today I had come in to look a the crabs ,and they looked pretty nice all crammed together in their tank in their brown splendor,legs agitating the water. But when I looked at the blackboard with the prices on it I noticed that the crab and lobster were the same price- at $11.99/ lb. So I thought that the lobster was a bit more special. I started looking in the tank a bit more carefully and got the attention of the fish-counter person.

It was a pretty long tank- about 12 foot I would guess- and over on the left side I noticed one I liked. I chose him because he had a really large left claw and I like claw meat. As you probably know lobsters have one claw quite larger than the other.

“I’ll have that one", I said ,pointing to the guy I had chosen. So the man takes the wooden implement they use to hook out the lobster and starts fishing. First try was no good. He was trying to manoeuver from the right side along the tank but he didn’t have the right angle. Then the head fish-guy joins in and suggests he use the step ladder. So he sets up the step ladder and tried again. It took him three more tries before he got it and even then it was touch-and -go as the lobster seemed to be stronger!

Finally he fishes it out and I see the whole glorious thing. And it is a big one! He gets it onto the scales with some difficulty and the pointer reads 5 lbs 12 oz. WOW!! That’s the biggest lobster I have ever bought .

Then came the packaging . At first they want to put it in a big plastic bag but I am having none of that. I want to make sure that he arrives home still alive. Working in restaurant I knew that they transport them in boxes usually with some wet newspaper on top. So I issue the order and they go and find a suitable box. They take the lobster out of the black trash bag and put it in the box. Then, by some gesturing, I show them the paper towels on the wall. Finally they get it!

They peel some off and get them wet and put them over my lobster. They bring the box around to my cart and I wheel it carefully to the check-out. I am so proud of my purchase that I open the box to show it to the checker and the bagger. They murmur appropriately complimentary phrases in Korean. Like “what a beauty”.

Then it’s in the back of the car and I am on my way home. Driving fast: quite an adrenaline buzz this lobster buying!!

I had texted Rina ; “ Put some hot water on”. When I got home there was a kettle singing and another pan of hot water boiling. Perfect!!

Well it took a while to organize things but finally I had my biggest pot on with boiling water . I had added salt, peppercorns and a squeezed lemon. Then; the moment of truth: I opened the box and let the big boy loose. He squirmed around on my counter as if he knew what was coming. I turned off my sensitive-feelings knob and just grabbed the beast. I put him in the water but at first it seemed he wouldn’t go in. He had one claw outside, or the body wanted to back out or another scenario. But finally I had the giant crustacean in the water, making his last contortions.

I cooked the lad for ten to fifteen minutes. I was sure by now that he had cooked through. Quite relieved and glad this ordeal was over I hooked him out and put him on a platter. I was ready for a break and a beer!

Later I attacked the lobster and it was a job. I got the head off the tail and half a gallon of fluid came out. Then I took of the claws and the legs.

Lobsters have ten legs which include the claws.

So finally I get the tail itself out of the shell and plump it down on a scale. It weighs a meagre 12 oz!! But I know those frozen tails you buy can cost upwards of $9 each and they only weigh a mere 2 oz. So doing the calculation I reckon I got a bargain.

.

Man we feasted on that lobster! It was one meal over two days and required a lot of butter! I melt my butter and add in a sliced jalapeno, as well as lemon juice and salt,pepper. Then I let the butter sit in a low oven for half and hour to let the flavors infuse and evaporate excess moisture.

When I had given up on our crustacean Rina hauled the carcass out of the fridge and, attacking the body where the legs attach, managed to extract a full extra plate of meat.

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Giant and delicious lobster we salute you!!

Big-Bottle Freak!!

Pictures: Stainless steel fermentation tanks and a selection of tonneaux,or medium-size oak barrels stacked outside and inside at the Thunder Mountain Winery in Paso Robles, a vineyard scene on the Vineyard Drive, , Jonny indulging at the 2006 Hospices du Rhone, Paso Robles.






August 10th; the Pourtal Wine Bar in Santa Monica:

We had gathered to taste the wines of Bonny Doon from Santa Cruz Ca. and meet the wine-maker Randall Grahm . Grahm has been wending his eccentric way through the Californian wine world for more than a quarter century now. The difference being, of course, that, at first, he was considered a strange fellow for searching out varietals from the French Rhone valley and beyond, whilst now he is praised for his foresight! Certainly the Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre and others are right at the forefront of the wine industry now and the annual Hospice de Rhone gathering in Paso Robles,Ca is a hedonist’s delight for lovers of Rhone wines and their emulators all over the word.

We came to taste the Cigare Volant the flagship wine. I thought I’d ask him if he had any memories of the 2004 vintage . He did not. But he did recall that in the beginning when he made the first wine in the broad Southern Rhone style ( that would be 1984) the technique was very rough and ready:

“ Just get plenty of Grenache. Mix in the other varietals and let it sit in a huge wooden tank after fermentation”. He said that since those first vintages his technique had improved and some sophistications were made.
“ But you know; now I have come full circle.” That rough and ready technique he started off with is the one he has come back to in recent times.

Over the years he has added the Cigare Volant white and rose. He makes a splendid Syrah as well as wine from the Nebbiolo and Sangiovese grapes. The favorites of Italy and particularly Tuscany. He talked eloquently about how he had made his way in the in wine world and how he had stumbled on the Rhone style.
“ Well, you know at first I was just a Pinot Noir fan but then- well-it broke my heart." He was in contact with Kermit Lynch, an innovative wine-importer from San Francisco. “Kermit introduced me to the wines of the Rhone Valley and I found my calling.”

I was taking all this in and meanwhile going back to the tasting spigots located round the room. The Pourtal has an innovative system in which flights of wine are located in oxygen free cabinets. On entering the bar you buy yourself a smart-card and put money on it. Then you go round the room inserting the card above the wine cabinets. When you press the button below any wine the machine dispenses a one-ounce pour into your glass and deducts the appropriate amount from your card. One finds it frighteningly easy to run through your weekly allowance with just a few tastes.

Having tasted several of the wines of Bonny Doon as well as some others I returned to the little circle surrounding Randall.

Now he was expounding enthusiastically on a new system of ageing or “elevage”.
“ I put the wine in demijohns- glass containers, also know as carboys- and “bons-bons” in the French. About 5 gallons capacity. The result is phenomenal.” Well, actually the result should be phenomenal but we don’t know yet as he only started with the 2008 vintage.
“ Yes .I have divided the 2008 wine into three parts. One goes into the traditional Rhone barriques –large wooden casks holding hundreds of gallons.
Some go into Bordeaux-style tonneaux- much smaller barrels. And the last part I am ageing in the glass…and I like it.”

So you will have to wait and see the results. The 2008 vintage is a good three years away from being released. The 2005 is now being released to members of the Wine Club. It costs $32 a bottle.

The Boony Doon Vineyard has practised Biodynamics since 2004 ( more..)

Well, one thing in the wine world has absorbed me this year: Big Bottles.

Magnums Jeroboams Methuselahs Imperials: the names are so evocative.

The 2008 Bordeaux futures campaign this year started it. Looking at the order sheet one day I was told that on almost all wines one can order magnums, double magnums and imperials. Some charge more for this bottling service than others.
Then later in the campaign a new size surfaces. A few chateaux offer their wine bottle in Melchiors.
Never heard of a Melchior ? You are not alone. I hadn’t and neither had Grahm. But a Melchior holds a whopping 18 L of wine or 24 bottles. So effectively it is two cases worth of wine in one bottle. I haven’t seen one yet- it must be impressive.

And more recently I have seen the 2007 CNDP’s ( that’s Chateau Neuf du Pape to the ignorant) offered in sizes on the pre-arrival offers: magnums, double magnums jeroboams and so on.

Well, that interests me a lot as I am planning a wedding dinner for myself and I want to have plenty of large bottles on the top table.They look great and make the party.

So as I found a moment to get his attention I mention my interest to him:
“ I’m a big-bottle freak. Can you help? Maybe, if I come to the winery?”

I seem to have struck a chord.

“ Oh absolutely. I can hook you up with 3 and 5 liter bottles. And not just one vintage: from 2005 ,2006 and 2007. I love big bottles too. Never had bad wine out of big bottle.”

We parted on good terms and I intend to take Randall up on his word when I am next in Santa Cruz : described in the Bonny Doon Vineyard brochure as ‘ The heartland of New Age thinking, dreaming and deferred transition to “adulthood ‘. Now someone up there has a way with words!


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