July 4, 2013 Lobster American (Homard À L’ Américaine) and asparagus and rice

July 4, 2013 Lobster American (Homard À L’ Américaine) and asparagus and rice

Around 10:00 am we called Ta Lin and they were open and they had received a shipment of lobsters, so we went to Ta Lin and bought a nice 2.8 lb. lobster and went home and threw it into boiling water to kill it.  After the we removed the lobster from the boiling water I added 1 Tbsp. of Zatarains’s Crab and Shrimp Boil and three in the 1 ½ lb. of shrimp ($3.97/lb. for 71-90 count) I had bought at Pro’s Ranch Market on Thursday and then peeled them and put them in a bag into the fridge for the shrimp enchiladas we intended to cook for the party for Willy on Saturday.

Then in the evening we opened Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking to the recipe for Homard À L’ Américaine and cooked the recipe.  Here is the recipe:

 

We prepared boiled rice and chopped 1 or 2 Tbsp. of chives and parsley from the garden to garnish the rice and steamed 16 stalks of thin asparagus bought at Sprouts ($2.49/lb). 

We opened a bottle of 2009 Domaine Taillandier, Vendage Manuelles that we bought at the winery in Savennnières in 2012.  The wine was a little sweet and did not have that minerality that I like, but it was the first bottle of Savennières we bought and the winery tasting room is in the family who owns the winery’s house which is just beside the park near the church in the small town of Savennières as shown on the charming drawing on the label.

 

After dinner we went to the Isotopes Ball field at around 9:00 p.m. and asked two persons who were leaving for their tickets as we walked in.  The game between the Isotopes and Iowa Cubs, was tied 5-5 in the bottom of the ninth inning, when we sat in the seats that our benefactors had given us, which was just on the outfield side of the third base side infield.  It was a good place to see the game and an even better location from which to view the fireworks that followed the game.  In the 10^th inning the Cubs scored four runs and the game ended 9 to 5.  Many of the diehard Isotopes fans left because they were very upset that the isotopes had blown a 5-1 lead.  We were center stage for the fireworks that were shot off from the top of the hillside behind the right field fence.

Suzette declared it one of the best Fourth of Julys ever.  It was probably the combination of a great dinner and a wonderful ending to the ball game and the terrific fireworks. 

Bon Appétit