EASY RECIPE
This weeks easy recipe is an affordable alternative to the lobster salad sandwich. We recently took my oldest son to lunch at a nice ocean side restaurant where he ordered an open face lobster salad sandwich. After a few bites my son declared that the sandwich should have been called a mayonnaise sandwich. So I started thinking about ways to improve on the lobster salad sandwich. I think the problem with the restaurant version is cost based. To keep the sandwich relatively affordable they cut back on the amount of lobster, or put another way they increased the amount of mayo and cheese to handsomely cover the bread.
My goal is to provide easy recipes which the new cook can successfully put together. I also try to use affordable ingredients. So, rather spend tons of money on lobster or ladle on the mayo my recipe uses langostino instead of lobster.
recipe serves 4
Ingredients:
4 slices Tuscan Pane bread (or your choice)
4 tomato slices
12 oz package of Trader Joes frozen Langostino tails (pre-cooked)
Gouda cheese
1/2 C mayonnaise
3 Tbsp celery – minced
2 Tbsp fire roasted Red Peppers – chopped
2 Tbsp green onion greens only – minced
1 Tbsp Italian parsley – minced
1 Tbsp squeezed lemon juice
1 Tbsp Shrimp Cocktail Sauce
Olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Thaw and rinse frozen langostino and then drain. Use paper towel to gently absorb moisture.
Prepare red peppers, celery, Italian parsley, green onions.
Place sliced bread on oven sheet. Brush bread with olive oil.
To oiled bread grate generous amount of Gouda cheese.
Turn oven to broil and place oven sheet of bread on top rack. Watch carefully so as to avoid burning the cheese.
When cheese is melted, and slightly browned, remove tray from oven.
In a large mixing bowl add mayonnaise, shrimp cocktail sauce, lemon juice, salt and pepper and then stir to mix.
Next add to the mixing bowl the langostino and gently fold it into the mixture.
Finally, to the bowl add the red peppers, green onion, celery and again gently fold to mix.
To each piece of bread add a tomato slice.
Place an equal serving of langostino salad on each slice of bread, and garnish with the Italian parsley.
For my side dish I trimmed and steamed snow peas. But, you could just as well plate a small salad or vegetable.
And that’s it! For maybe $20 you justed made and served 4 people a highend meal. Take a bow and a sip of wine, time for dinner.
AND STUFF
For the past 5 years I have purchased season ski passes. It was kind of a life long dream to have a season pass (not sure but maybe had something to do with belonging). I know its pure emotion, but having the ski pass seemed like I was a member of the mountain. I would make the 5 1/2 hour drive many times each year to amortize the cost of the pass. After 8.8 days skiing each year I was in the profit zone of skiing for free or alternatively reducing the per day day cost with each added day.
But time marches on. Both my youngest son and I have gotten older. His team sports and my aches and pains get in the way of popping up to ski on a regular basis. And, seems like the cost of everything from gas to food and lodging has gone through the roof. Last time I was up I got a foot long hot dog (I know), fries, and a beer and the tab was $26.00.
So, I was sitting there at the same old table in the same old lodge, after skiing the same old (but great) runs and it hit me: I don’t want to do this 7.8 more times just to break even on my pass.
This will likely be my last year as a season pass holder. It’s going to be hard, and She Who Must Be Obeyed may have to hold me down, but when the 2013 -2014 pass opens for sale I’m going to sit it out. I have a new ski pass business model. I’m going to create my own ski pass that is usable at any ski resort for my chosen number of days. I think I’ll call it the day pass. And so it goes, round and round.
Good Eating and Table Talk,
Roger
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