Lobster at Home

Lobster at Home is the most comprehensive book available on the subject of selecting, cooking, and eating lobster. With this book in hand, you will know how to find and buy the best possible lobster for your money. And then, with a lobster at home scuttling across the kitchen counter, you will know what do with the beast, how to dispatch it, and a world of variations on how to cook it. Knowing what to do is an important issue when half the recipes in the book seem to start out asking for $30 worth of lobster. There are no recipes that call for anything resembling Lobster Helper.

White's enthusiasm for lobster is infectious, and his collection of recipes that rely either on lobster meat or broth, or enhance the experience of eating it, are nothing short of delicious. It will probably always remain something of a special-occasion treat for anyone who doesn't grow up in or marry into a lobster-fishing family. The special nature of this food demands the careful and creative handling espoused by Jasper White. If you ever buy and serve lobster, use this book. --Schuyler Ingle

Product Description

With its vibrant color, its delicate and luscious flavor and its excellent nutritional value, it's no wonder that lobster is such a favorite. Yet for all its specialness, lobster is actually an affordable luxury when made at home. And as a food, the meat in a one-pound lobster has only 98 calories, 13 milligrams of cholesterol (less than the same amount of skinless chicken) and is high in the Omega-3 acids known to help reduce cholesterol levels.

More than five years in preparation, Lobster at Home will teach anyone, from the most inexperienced novice to the seasoned professional, to master the art of cooking lobster. Written clearly and with care for important detail, Lobster at Home goes far beyond any other seafood cookbook. It explains everything from how to choose just the right lobster for a delectable dinner to how to extract every last morsel of meat from a cooked lobster. A treasure trove of information, it also contains completely reliable chapters on lobster anatomy, the basic cooking techniques and the essential equipment. Recipes cover the full range of dishes: soups, chowders, stews, salads and sandwiches, as well as pot-pies, pastas, risottos and classic main courses, along with a special chapter on chefs' creations. Now you can easily turn out restaurant favorites such as Lobster Bisque, Baked Stuffed Lobster and Lobster Fra Diavolo right at home, and at a fraction of the cost.

Among this book's unique features:

The recipes in here are truly inventive and luscious. How about the New England September Soup of Pumpkin, Sweet Corn and Lobster? Maybe Lobster Pizza, or Spaghetti with Lobster, Tomatoes and Capers, or Pappardelle with Lobster, Mushrooms, Shallots, and Cream. The baked stuffed lobster is one of the best recipes in this entire cookbook. We had this dish at Legal Seafood (where author/chef Jasper White has worked), but it wasn't as good as the one in the cookbook - the restaurant's stuffing tasted mostly like cracker, and this one has more to it than that.

If you have a strong stomach and don't mind mucking with live lobsters, you can enjoy this cookbook to the fullest. But there are truly very few recipes that you can't make by using pre-cooked lobster meat. Lobster Ravioli, Avocado and Lobster Salad with Toasted Almonds, Warm Green Salad with Lobster, Mineola Oranges & Citrus Vinaigrette, and so on. You'll find appetizers, sandwiches, cold plates, main courses, and even a section on "Great Lobsters from Great Chefs."

I'm not a lobster fiend like my husband, but I look forward to every use of this cookbook. Lobster meat may be expensive, but these recipes make a heck of a way to celebrate holidays and other special occasions.


Covers all aspects of the world of lobster   August 6, 2001
16 out of 17 found this review helpful

Mr. White's book is an excellent resource for everything lobster. He tells you where and how to buy your lobsters (even if you're not lucky enough to live in coastal New England). He talks about how the seasons affect the qaulity, quantity, and price of lobster. And for those who are intimidated by the prospect of eating a lobster (especially in public), Mr. White even includes a section on how to eat them!

The recipes include the essential steamed, boiled, or grilled lobsters, as well as salads, chowders, and soups. In addition, Mr. White provides excellent directions and variations for his wonderful Pan-roasted lobster. The book also includes recipes and detailed directions for such classics as Lobster Thermidore and Newburg.

This is all around an excellent book, and Mr. White's style makes lobsters much more approachable!

A quick note about Mr. Lafleur's comments: Perhaps he has a different "version" of the book (is there more than one version?), but my copy includes full-color pictures of some of the recipes, plus drawings of how to cut up the lobster, lobster anatomy, and various lobster prep/eating tools. I especially like the circular chart describing lobster availability/quality throughout the year.