Enjoying slow summer evenings dining al fresco is one of our favorite past times.  Serving a Lobster feast makes it even better.

 Our vacation days at the beach this summer flew by so quickly that we were unable to get together for a lobster boil.  One of my favorite foods on earth is a fresh lobster roll from the roadside stand just outside the entrance of  East Hampton State Beach. The fresh, bright, briny, flavor of over a pound of fresh lobster tucked into a soft, buttery, grilled roll is unforgettable, especially after a long day at the beach.  The lobsters are caught right there off the coast of Montauk.  I think between Main and Montauk I could live happily ever after.

Luckily, we can have the same delicious feast right here at home in Barrington Il.  Thanks to Pat and Carol Hannagan who own Diamond Fresh Seafood Market and Cafe. Their Live lobsters are direct from Maine.  Our feast included Fresh mussels from Prince Edward Island and East Coast little neck clams.  All that we enjoyed this evening from Diamond Fresh Seafood was tender, sweet and delicious.

This one pot meal couldn’t be easier.

Lobster Boil

3 1.5lb lobsters

18 little necks

2 lbs of mussels

8-10 redskin potatoes

4 cobs of fresh corn

1 lemon

3 bay leaves

2 Tbs kosher salt

Bring the water, potatoes, lemon, bay leaves and salt to a boil add all seafood and corn boil for 10 minutes. Drain and dump onto your table or into a bowl.

Optional; At this point I take a few of the small lobster legs off the lobsters and put them in a sauté pan with 1TBS olive oil, 1 stick unsalted butter, one chopped shallot and 2 cloves of minced garlic. Sauté, reduce and pour over the bowl of seafood. This makes a great dipping sauce for crusty bread. For delicious lobster rolls chop into generous pieces about 3/4 pound of meat per roll. Add just about 1 Tbs of Helman’s Mayonnaise and a squeeze of fresh lemon. Tuck into a toasted roll. We like top split hotdog buns toasted with butter on the grill.

Enjoy!