Olla-Podrida: Lobster Omelet

I am having a great time with these plates.

Before I say another word, let me tell you that I do not eat like this all of the time. In fact, the only other time I had a lobster omelet was six years ago at Arno's Restaurant on Main Street in Nantucket. We were spending an autumn week with friends on Cape Cod and decided to enjoy a couple of days in Nantucket. If you've not been there, let me tell you it is a wonderful place. From the time my feet hit terra firma I felt as if I'd somehow wandered into a Charles Wysocki painting. I can't think of any place else that is quite like it, and I could return again and again. As I mentioned we were with friends who happened to be seasoned veterans of roaming Nantucket. As soon as we exited the ferry at around 9:00 in the morning they led the way to Arno's. Having gotten up in the pre-dawn hours to catch the early ferry we were all starving, so ordered coffee and opened the menus. My eyes fell upon the words "Lobster Omelet" and I needed to look no further, I'd decided. I can still remember the wonderful taste of that omelet, unique to anything else I'd ever had. Last week while digitizing pictures, I stumbled across the set I'd taken during this trip and I immediately thought of Arno's and that omelet. I went online to see if I could find a recipe (no), so perused the menu at Arno's website. It is described as sauteed lobster and Boursin cheese. (Hence my interest in making my own homemade Boursin.) I mentioned this to my husband who bought me a baby lobster (all of five inches long) and I ended up creating a delicious omelet that easily rivaled Arno's, if not surpassed it.

For those of you willing to try it, here are step-by-step directions.

Remove the baby lobster from the shell by loosening the meat from the top and then slowly pulling it from the shell. It should extract in one piece, as shown.

Cut the lobster meat into bite-sized pieces while you melt about a teaspoon of butter in a 7" saute pan.

Saute the lobster pieces until done. You can actually smell when it's done as it releases a wonderful fragrance, but if you're unsure, saute until it is opaque. Remove from pan and set aside. Melt a tablespoon of butter in the microwave in a small glass dish. It will separate leaving the milk solids on the bottom and the "clarified" butter on the top. Pour this clarified liquid into the saute pan and heat until bubbles subside.

Pour 2 eggs, scrambled, into the pan and swirl to cook quickly. Dot the top with as much Boursin cheese as you like. I found four dots to be just perfect.

Put the cooked lobster meat into the omelet and continue to swirl until cooked through. (I was actually able to flip this one, can you say "proud?") Turn it out onto a plate. Top with fresh chopped chives and a very light sprinkling of Old Bay seasoning. As an experiment I only put Old Bay on one side. It was the better tasting, so I would definitely use it again. Yum!