We finished our fish lessons this week with a fine night of shellfish. We made mussels in a shallot and white wine sauce, scallops and lobsters. The night was going along great - mussels were yummy, and fresh baguettes were brought up from the bread kitchen. The scallops were even better, and I'm excited to make this one at home soon. Then the evening hit a snag. Lobster. I was initially excited for this, as this was going to be our dinner as well. That was until chef demonstrated how he wanted us to kill our lobsters. No, not just drop them in a pot of boiling liquid, but first stab it in the head with a 9 inch chefs knife, and then follow the cut down the face between the eyes. My partner got our lobsters and put one on my cutting board. As the guy moved around in front of me and looking at me, I just couldn't. I thought it would be like filleting the fish, but there is a big difference when it is brought to you already dead. So, after a few minutes of trying to get up the courage, I had to ask a fellow classmate to "do the deed" for me while I looked the other way. Let's hope this dish is not on the midterm!
Anyway, here are some pics of the other dishes of the night.
Mussels Mariniere
Scallops with Parsley Coulis
And the highlight of the evening - our own raw bar!
Shrimp cocktail, oysters and clams. Not sure if you can tell by the picture, but this raw bar had us work for our food in that none of the oysters or clams were shucked. We had to open them all ourselves to learn the process. It was tricky but I got a handful open! I found the clams much more difficult - it's a good thing I prefer oysters!
My first shucked oyster:
We also made a couple of broths as a class to cook the shellfish in. One of them includes sauteing the lobster bodies and this can be used as a foundation for lobster bisque.
Tonight, we are moving onto chicken and duck. Hopefully none of them come walking into the classroom!
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