Lobster at Home [Hardcover]

Jasper White (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 10, 1998

With its vibrant color, its delicate and luscious flavor and its excellent nutritional value, it's no wonder that lobster is such a favorite. Yet for all its specialness, lobster is actually an affordable luxury when made at home. And as a food, the meat in a one-pound lobster has only 98 calories, 13 milligrams of cholesterol (less than the same amount of skinless chicken) and is high in the Omega-3 acids known to help reduce cholesterol levels.

More than five years in preparation, Lobster at Home will teach anyone, from the most inexperienced novice to the seasoned professional, to master the art of cooking lobster. Written clearly and with care for important detail, Lobster at Home goes far beyond any other seafood cookbook. It explains everything from how to choose just the right lobster for a delectable dinner to how to extract every last morsel of meat from a cooked lobster. A treasure trove of information, it also contains completely reliable chapters on lobster anatomy, the basic cooking techniques and the essential equipment. Recipes cover the full range of dishes: soups, chowders, stews, salads and sandwiches, as well as pot-pies, pastas, risottos and classic main courses, along with a special chapter on chefs' creations. Now you can easily turn out restaurant favorites such as Lobster Bisque, Baked Stuffed Lobster and Lobster Fra Diavolo right at home, and at a fraction of the cost.

Among this book's unique features:

• a beautiful illustration showing how and when to select lobster, helping the cook know at a glance when hardshells and soft-shells are available, as well as the best prices
• a handy chart giving cooking times for each size of lobster
• a list of recommended sources for mail-ordering live lobsters
• many recipes that call for the use of already-cooked lobster

From cover to cover, this is a book that welcomes all kinds of lobster lovers who have always wanted to cook lobster at home for family and friends.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If you are the sort of cook who blanches when fresh, troll-caught king salmon costs more than $8 a pound, you're going to want to own a copy of Boston restaurateur Jasper White's Lobster at Home on the day you tumble for one or two of these shellfish kings in your local market. Lobster may well be relatively inexpensive in some parts of the country, but at anything from $9.99 to $13.99 a pound in cities where the delicious beasts from the deep must be flown in, well, a cook is likely to think twice about the purchase. For about $15, you get four ounces of actual edible lobster. To tread in such waters without an appropriate guide is, at best, foolhardy. Thank goodness for Jasper White.

Lobster at Home is the most comprehensive book available on the subject of selecting, cooking, and eating lobster. With this book in hand, you will know how to find and buy the best possible lobster for your money. And then, with a lobster at home scuttling across the kitchen counter, you will know what do with the beast, how to dispatch it, and a world of variations on how to cook it. Knowing what to do is an important issue when half the recipes in the book seem to start out asking for $30 worth of lobster. There are no recipes that call for anything resembling Lobster Helper.

White's enthusiasm for lobster is infectious, and his collection of recipes that rely either on lobster meat or broth, or enhance the experience of eating it, are nothing short of delicious. It will probably always remain something of a special-occasion treat for anyone who doesn't grow up in or marry into a lobster-fishing family. The special nature of this food demands the careful and creative handling espoused by Jasper White. If you ever buy and serve lobster, use this book. --Schuyler Ingle

From Publishers Weekly

James Beard Award-winner as Best Chef in the Northeast in 1991, White (Jasper White's Cooking from New England) empowers any home cook who has ever been intimidated by this succulent beast. Through text and illustration, White demystifies how, where and when to choose a lobster for home preparation; how to cook it, whether boiled, steamed, grilled, broiled or pan-roasted; and how to eat it and revel in the sensuality of the experience. He even makes killing a lobster less daunting. An excellent repertoire of nearly 75 recipes brings the lobster up from the deep and into the light of the everyday kitchen. Cambodian-Style Lobster Soup gains luster from Thai chilies, ginger, shiittakes, lime and mint. Lobster Pizza can be served as an hors d'oeuvre or main course. Lobster salads and other cold plates include the World-Famous Maine Lobster Roll and the extravagant Millionaire's Salad: Warm Greens with Lobster, Foie Gras and Papaya. Modifying the ingenious Lobster with Vanilla Butter Cream for the home chef, White doesn't ignore such classics as Lobster Thermidor and Lobster Newburg. Lobster Ravioli requires time and effort, but summery Spaghetti with Lobsters, Tomatoes and Capers is a snap. Additional recipes are gathered from fellow chefs: Joel Robuchon, Larry Forgione, Wolfgang Puck and others. In sum, White admirably fills what has been an unaddressed niche. Photos unseen by PW. BOMC/Good Cook selection.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; 1st edition (June 10, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684800772
• ISBN-13: 978-0684800776
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 8.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #441,467 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written, a complete treatment of all things lobster!, August 31, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Lobster at Home (Hardcover)

If you eat/prepare lots of seafood, you'll find this book a great reference/cookbook. If you love eating lobster, you may feel obligated to write Chef Jasper and thank him for an exceptional and complete "bible" on preparing and enjoying lobster. I especially appreciated the information on best times to buy, and lobster size versus use versus flavor comparisions, and how to get the most out of every part of the lobster. A definite "keeper"; educational and great recipies.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-have for anyone serious about lobster!, July 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Lobster at Home (Hardcover)

Jasper White eloquently describes how lobsters live, how they are caught, where to buy them and how to prepare them.

The book is divided into three sections. The first describes the lobster as an animal, the lobster industry and the seasonal influences on the lobster market. Very detailed, with sufficient illustrations it provides you with practical background information.

The second part, deals with basic cooking techniques. Different cooking and cutting techniques are discussed, including basic recipes and tables, for cooking, steaming, grilling, broiling and frying lobster. Each of the basic recipes, is followed by some of Jasper's reciped.

The third part of the book, contains lobster recipes from famous cooks, ranging from Puck to Rebouchon. Creative recipes representing the major kitchens of the world, and often combining them in good American tradition. Traditionalists would categorise most recipes as fusion, but I believe this is just modern cooking.

Alto! gether, the book is packed with facts and anecdotes and is the definite bible for lobster afficionados.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Covers all aspects of the world of lobster, August 6, 2001

By 

P. Burke (Rhode Island, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lobster at Home (Hardcover)

Mr. White's book is an excellent resource for everything lobster. He tells you where and how to buy your lobsters (even if you're not lucky enough to live in coastal New England). He talks about how the seasons affect the qaulity, quantity, and price of lobster. And for those who are intimidated by the prospect of eating a lobster (especially in public), Mr. White even includes a section on how to eat them!

The recipes include the essential steamed, boiled, or grilled lobsters, as well as salads, chowders, and soups. In addition, Mr. White provides excellent directions and variations for his wonderful Pan-roasted lobster. The book also includes recipes and detailed directions for such classics as Lobster Thermidore and Newburg.

This is all around an excellent book, and Mr. White's style makes lobsters much more approachable!

A quick note about Mr. Lafleur's comments: Perhaps he has a different "version" of the book (is there more than one version?), but my copy includes full-color pictures of some of the recipes, plus drawings of how to cut up the lobster, lobster anatomy, and various lobster prep/eating tools. I especially like the circular chart describing lobster availability/quality throughout the year.