A free afternoon spent with the lovely Lorraine is always both a joy and an adventure. After our last day out, I came home with duck liver lap cheong (but that’s another story) and a couple of small Canadian lobsters.
The lobsters were a Costco find – we were peering into the frozen seafood cabinet and there they were – three for $21. That’s an amazing price – our local rock lobsters (which are actually a form of clawless crayfish) often retail for $50- $60 each (they’re a lot bigger though). We bought a tray and divided it between us – Lorraine took one home, and I kept the other two.
On Saturday morning, I defrosted a lobster and split it in half…
…and then hunted around for the lobster picks that I’d bought a couple of years ago but had never used…
A surprising amount of meat and delicious roe came out of the shell…
I kneaded and shaped up a batch of Cuban bread rolls…
The tender crumb and soft crusts were the perfect foil for the lobster meat. I also made a half batch of our speedy mayo using a warm, freshly laid egg and juice from one of our lemons. The morning was getting better and better…
Heeding Lorraine’s advice not to shred too finely, I cut the meat into large chunks and mixed it with a little too much mayo and a grinding of black pepper. I then layered it into a roll over a few sorrel leaves and ate it all by myself for lunch (to be fair, I did offer, but no-one else wanted any)…
It was rich and delicious and incredibly filling – I couldn’t eat anything else for the rest of the day. And I’d had great fun spending an easy weekend morning assembling my lunch – the bread had taken a couple of hours from start to finish, and I’d wandered into the garden to get a fresh egg and a lemon for the mayo, some lemongrass leaves for the bread, and a little sorrel to dress up the roll.
That afternoon, I commented to Pete that some women (I’m told) go shopping with their girlfriends for clothes and antiques. My friends and I always seem to be heading out on food adventures!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
What a treat. I do the same- off on food adventures, More exciting and rewarding than clothes.
Francesca, I’ve really tried, but I just can’t get into the girly stuff. I was once out with some mothers from school and they wanted to spend an hour in a shabby chic shop, and I told them I’d rather eat my own spleen.. :)
Lol!!! Perish the thought. Enough to drive one to doing Praying Mantis impersonations.
LO very L to both comments! I reckon we can blame Barbie on all that girlie stuff. Never seen a gardening or covered in flour Barbie!
Maree, you’re a muso! Love the gravatar pic! My Big Boy used to play the French horn in the uni orchestra.. :)
Oh if only you knew! If you get a chance or feel inclined check out my post ‘facing my fears’ or such on the blog. I keep chipping away, one day I might feel not so much like an imposter the the beautiful world of music!
I haven’t had a crayfish in years.. sounds delicious, and your rolls, well i am off to look at that recipe, that might be just the thing for me this weekend! have a lovely sunday.. c
Celi, I reckon you’d love the rolls, you get to use some LARD in them! :D xx
Love Lard!.. c
Sounds like a great way to spend an afternoon and a morning. For my birthday in a couple weeks we’re going shopping – there’s a cheese factory, a smallgoods factory, a couple of delis and spice shops and a bakery on the list. Can’t wait.
See, kindred spirits, that’s what I’ve found through this blog! :D Sounds like the best way ever to spend a birthday.. xx
Lobster rolls sound very tasty. Can’t imagine why no-one joined you!
Ah well, Small Man is a pedant and will only have pulled pork in his Cuban sandwiches, Big Boy was out with his girlfriend, and Pete’s not a huge fan of crustaceans.. :)
Oh well, more for you!
Ive never thought to look for frozen lobster ….. until now. Thank you for the tip!
Claire, you need to go shopping with Lorraine. Goodness knows many times we’ve been at Costco and gone right past it.. :)
Beautiful rolls. The sandwich looks delicious.
I usually end up in the gardening section at stores!
Manuela, I can understand how appealing the nursery sections are, as we’re often there as well! :)
Clothes and antiques… meh! Make it food and a little op shopping and I’m there with bells on! Wow, I think this sounds delicious… Peter and I go to Costco occasionally to stock up on washing liquid etc. Next time we go, I must look out for these lobsters. A delicious treat, Celia, especially with those buns! xox
Ooh yes, I do like a little op shopping as well! I hope you track down some lobster – it was great fun to have such a novel ingredient to play around with!
I’m a solitary shopper whatever it is I’m after, but you’re a lot more likely to find me near food than clothes, although I may well be in the bookshop.
Sandra, now that I buy almost all my books on Kindle, I tend to stalk the Amazon website! :)
While most books I buy are electronic, i prefer to browse a hard copy to have a good look, before deciding to buy. I find that too difficult on the Ipad screen
Where I grew up, lobstah rolls were quite common and were one of the things I learned to make on my first summer job as a 17 year old. We didn’t serve them on rolls as good as yours – ours were toasted on the sides. The mayo wasn’t homemade with a freshly laid egg either. They were pretty with a dusting of sweet paprika on top though.
You’d win a prize in Maine, I’m sure. :)
Darn, I spelt it wrong, it should have been lobstah! :) I got a bit carried away with the mayo – as one does.. :)
PS. the minute I defrosted that lobstah, I thought of you! xx
Our local Costco has those frozen lobster also, and I might grab one next time I’m there!
Yay Misky! Have fun! xx
From a great Costco bargain to finish off as a fabulous gourmet lobster sandwich! You nailed it, Celia! Good job!
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
Thanks Julie! It was a lovely little food journey.. xx
You picked a winner a female with all her roe. Delicious. M
Norma, I did squeal with excitement when I saw all the roe! :)
We still don’t have a Costco here, so no cheap frozen lobsters for me and the local ones cost way too much, so I’ll just reminisce about my trip to Canada last year.
Costco isn’t far off in Adelaide, Amanda, or so we’ve been told! :) And there’s quite a lot of SA cheese in our Sydney Costco too!
This looks fabulous. I know I wouldn’t be eating this alone, the boys love lobster, and that fresh bread, they would be all over that too! I certainly love food adventures as well, especially when traveling.
Luckily they come in a pack of three, so there would be plenty to feed your whole tribe! :)
What a wonderfully fun day it was! You know I would just hang around with you every day if I didn’t think you’d get sick of me! :P I love the look of your lobster rolls! I can’t wait to make mine into one- maybe tonight!! :D
You *know* we adore you! Your enthusiasm is always so contagious! xxx
Celia, we had one of hubby’s oldest friends visit us from Canada last year. I realised after his stay that all the places we took him to were food related! Lucky that during the week when we were working he did all the touristy things. The first thing I look into when we travel is places to eat :) We are going to Costco in next couple of weeks, hopefully they may have some left. These look so delicious, I can’t believe no one wanted to join you, hubby wants to know if we can have a invite :) On one of our trips to Canada there was a special on live lobster, we ended up buying 8 lobsters for I think $45.00 such fun cooking and eating them. I love lobster and cheap lobster even better :) x
Stefanie, I can’t believe that these lobsters all the way from Canada can be $7 each! I hope there are still some there when you go! :)
My husband still talks about the prawn and mayo rolls we ate on a particular occasion in the USA, many years ago. Lobster sounds even better! I wish I had known about your easy mayo recipe, but I had found one about two weeks ago that is almost identical (probably copied your recipe! Lol). I have had to do without mayo for months because I can’t eat the commercially produced ones for one reason or another. The immersion blender method is so easy! Thank you Celia.
Ardys, credit where it’s due, the immersion blender mayo is the brainchild of the lovely Annabel Langbein! It works a treat too! :)
Trust you to make the bread as well, sometimes when we have lobsters here which is often as we can get our own in our waters we have a simple sandwich and it is my favourite irreverent indulgence.
Roz, I look at your lobster photos on FB with wonder – so happy that you get to enjoy them so freely and frequently! xx
Mmmm! Looks good :)
Thank you!
One perfect day!
One of many! :) xx
You are kidding!!!!! I can’t believe your crew turned down eating such a beautiful offering! I’ll pop by next time to give you a hand if you like!
Well, Small Man is fussy, Big Boy was out, and Pete won’t eat lobster! I wasn’t complaining though, more for me! :D
I am sending that bread recipe to my dad!
How fabulous! Hope he’s doing well, Celi xx
He is fit again and tramping again but flying on three engines. However he loves making his bread!.. c
The sad state of my wardrobe attests to my aversion for clothes shopping… second hand and op shops are my thing (& budget) rather than antiques but which I can only do for so long before the dust gets up my nose. I do love a bit of lobster (any sort of seafood) and mayo, or in your case mayo and seafood. Yum :)
Hehehe…I DID get a bit carried away with the mayo, but it was worth it! :D
Have never been jealous that I live too far from Costco until now: that was an absolutely brilliant buy even if I would go somewhat easier on the mayo also :) ! Oh loved clothes when I was an urban cowboy, but knew exactly what I needed, bought when I saw things advertised or by chance and would have thought retail therapy with gfs distinctly a waste of time!! Except perhaps for an hour or two in Florence or Venice or suchlike . . . Food, books, Asian stores . . . always . . .
I think I’ll be going easier on the mayo too next time. It was very rich! :D
How great is a food adventure!
It really was, Clare! :)
Long may you continue your adventures Celia;-)
Thanks darling! Any luck with the sourdough starter? (Not chasing, I promise, just inquiring, I know you’ve been flat out with uni.. :))
To be honest Celia l forgot about Bonnie for nearly a month. My dad passed away after a short illness so forgot all about it. Have been feeding her since I got back and she seems to be okay. Just have to finish one more assignment and sit one exam and then the semester will be over and l can start trying to bake bread again:) p.s your Priscilla is so resilience. Bonnie’s made of good stock:)
Jody, I’m so sorry to hear about your dad! Hope you’re ok.. xx
Thanks Celia. It was sad but also a release for him. He was suffering the last year so he’s at peace now and he had a good life:)
I wish I could join the two of you!
We really did have a great time! :)
Lobster is a rare treat here in the UK – I haven’t eaten any since our Canadian holiday last year! I prefer food shopping too – we always look in supermarkets and food shops as part of our holiday adventures!
Suelle, Misk commented above that she’s seen them at her UK Costco – don’t know if you have one near you?
It all looks delicious. I’ve been known to go shopping for various items…lately it is all about plants for the garden.
Deb, it’s hard to keep out of the nursery section, isn’t it? :)
Clothes shopping, not a chance – dislike it at the best of time!
Scrumptious taste explosion lobster roll Celia.
Have a wonderful week ahead.
:-) Mandy xo
Mandy, thank you! Hope your week is grand! xx
I would have loved being with the 2of you! Your divine upscale sandwich looks just fantastic, Celia,…just wonderful. 😝
Thanks Sophie, it was so delicious, if a little mayo heavy! :)
hahahahahaha! I would easily gobble it all up!
Basically, my goal in life right now is to find the perfect lobster roll (either recipe or in a restaurant), this one is definitely going on my list to test!
Next time I’m going to use a little less mayo.. ;-)
Lobster rolls are one of our most favorite things to eat! Johan meticulously cuts the meat into super large chunks, and bathes them in a little mayo, lemon and chives. We do it outside right on the picnic table for easy clean up. How come no one wanted any of yours? It looks delicious! I love how you used your Cuban bread for this… Now, if you’re ever in NYC, you must visit Pearl Oyster bar for the best lobster roll you’ll ever have! Happy weekend Celia :) Link:http://www.pearloysterbar.com/
Yes, a LITTLE mayo. I’m going to be lighter-handed next time, but I’d made all this mayo and no-one wanted any of my lobster, so I kept spooning it on.. :) Clicking over to that lobster roll at the Pearl Oyster now..
That sounds like a perfect way to spend a morning to me – and then you got to eat that amazing lunch!
Chica, it was really nice. If only we always had such time and resources to enjoy things so leisurely.. xx
I saw this on Instagram and thought you’d done really well to get yourself something so prized at such a great price. I’m yet to become a member of Costco but really must get out there. I love how you made your own bread and mayo and flavoured it all with one of your lemons xx
Charlie, you’d love Costco! There’s so much there – from designer handbags to mountains of paper products to vintage port! :)
Anyone who chooses food adventures over shopping is very wise in my book, and the more so for making such glorious lobster rolls!!!
Thanks Kathryn! Any other sort of shopping seems to add clutter to my house – not that buying stuff for the kitchen doesn’t, but at least most of it is consumables! :)
Oooh, yes please Celia! Food and friends make the best adventures indeed xox
Becca, I wonder if Costco in Canberra has these lobsters? I’d be surprised if they didn’t. Hope you find some! xx
Oo how lovely! I’ve only ever had lobster when my Dad used to dive for them. I used to love eating it just like that.
Susan, this is the first time I’ve made a lobster roll and it was delicious – I can only imagine how much more delicious it was fresh from the sea!
Aren’t you lucky, no one else wanted the lobster roll. I would demand at least half of the roll.
Norma, I’d have gladly shared it with you too! :)
ohh i didnt know costco had lobsters! would kill for a lobster roll right now!
Hahaha…don’t kill, but quick, go to Costco! :)
Oooh Celia, this is my kind of meal. We are so lucky here near the coast of New England to be in the middle of a glut of lobster. The price goes up in the winter but has just started back down again and is around $5.99/lb. there is no other meal that I’d rather have than lobster, any way at all but I’m surprised that no one took you up on your offer to share. And your bread is just perfect with it.
Diane, how nice to hear from you! How’re you feeling? I’ve been thinking about you..hope you’re doing well, love xxx
I’m doing very well Celia & been enjoying catching up on your posts – they really are great reading. The surgery was very successfully & I’ve had a physical therapist coming to the house twice a week to get me up & moving. Today might be a slow walk up my street!
Wow! That sounds like my type of lunch :)
Thank you! It really was mine too! :)
Dear Celia,
Your lobster roll looks delish!
I know for a fact that pretty girls go shopping and intelligent girls go for food adventures.
Ha! You clearly haven’t seen my friend Lorraine, or you’d know that pretty girls RULE at food adventures! :)
That is a great price! In Boston we used to order them hot with butter and herbs. Many places offer a choice; hot with butter or chilled with mayo. I am so craving a lobster roll now!
Hi Celia,
It all sounds fabulous. Next time you make Mayo try using lime instead of lemon