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To Serve Cold
Prepare the lobster the same as directed, substituting mayonnaise for the cream sauce; and do not heat it, but, after mixing, put it on the ice to get thoroughly chilled, and fill the cases just before serving. The mixture may thus be made ready in the morning for a luncheon or supper.
A cold variation on a hot lobster entree given earlier in the book: same picked meat, mayonnaise in place of the cream sauce, and no cooking at the end. The whole point is that it can be assembled hours ahead.
- The hinge: fill at the last minuteThe mixture chills on its own; the cases are filled only as the plates go out. Mayonnaise-dressed lobster left standing in pastry or bread cases will soften the base.
- "Put it on the ice"In this period the phrase generally meant the ice-chest, or a bowl set directly on ice. Refrigerate at 40F or below, covered, and count on no more than a day; a morning-to-luncheon hold is well within that.
- CasesA "case" of this kind was commonly a baked puff-pastry shell (vol-au-vent or patty shell), a bread croustade, or the cleaned half-shells of the lobsters themselves. Pastry or bread cases can be crisped briefly in a moderate oven and cooled completely before filling.
- MayonnaiseMayonnaise of this period was hand-made from raw yolk, oil and vinegar. Use pasteurized eggs if you make your own, or a good jarred mayonnaise thinned with a little lemon juice.
- The lobster itselfCooked, cooled and picked meat cut in small pieces, tomalley discarded or not to taste. Two 1 1/4-lb lobsters yield roughly 1/2 lb of meat.
- Seasoning cold foodChilling flattens salt and acid. Taste the mixture after it is cold, not while it is being mixed, and correct with salt, lemon juice and cayenne then.
- Yield and servicePortion by the size of the cases for a luncheon course. Lettuce under each and a lemon wedge alongside would suit the dish.