Hupurt...

The summer after my father died, I was visiting at home, and sad.  My big brother cooked up a mess of steamed muscles and lobsters to cheer me up. It worked. And he went over the top, as he often does.  Everyone else had pound and half lobsters, but me?  He bought me a HUGE lobster. It was double the size of the others. He dubbed it, "Hupert," and was so pleased to surprise me.  This is my brother. One of my all time favorite humans. Especially because he buys me huge lobsters.

My husband took note of my delight and now often does this same thing.  We live in Maine now, and treat ourselves to lobster often.  Here is how we have a lobster feast Conner style:  Chris fires up his outdoor propane cooker, and gets a huge kettle of salted water heating up.  Meanwhile, we carry plates, little bowls for melted butter, a roll of paper towels,(this is a messy meal!) a bottle of wine, lobster crackers and picks, plates, etc., out to the picnic table on a huge, well used tray.  There is usually fresh corn on the cob, and some nice dinner rolls, too. Sometimes Chris also cooks steamed clams. But the lobsters are the stars of the show.  This meal may be just the two of us, or we might have some of our favorite people join us.  Last night we had three fun family members here from out of state, and the feast was ON.

Chris thrilled me...

A "Hupurt!" This is just one of the ways he makes me feel cherished, every day. In case you are wondering, Hupurt was delicious. 

If we play the family lobster feast right, there are left overs.  What does one do with leftover clams and lobster? Make stew of course!  Simply melt some butter, then sauté a big onion. Add some diced potato, and a bit of broth saved from steaming the clams.  When the potatoes are tender, add the leftover clams, lobster, and corn (cut from the cob, of course.) Add a dollop of cream, salt, fresh cracked black pepper, and heat through.  The result is medley of deliciousness. 

Kind of like summertime, when we have lobster feasts at the picnic table as often as we can. And Hupert's, for sheer joy.