Stonewall Kitchen - Favorites, Delicious Recipes to share with family and friends every day

For the lobster salad and sandwich:

Two 1 ¼-pound live lobsters, or 1 ¾ cups cooked lobster meat
Salt
4 strips great quality, thick, smoked bacon
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
4 slices brioche bread, white bread, a crusty roll, or your favorite bread
4 romaine or buttercrunch lettuce leaves
2 to 4 thick slices vine-ripened tomato

For the basil aioli:

1 cup mayonnaise
¼ cup thinly sliced leaves
2 ½ teaspoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

To cook the lobsters: Fill a pot with enough water to come about 2 inches up the sides of the pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Add a pinch of salt. Add the lobsters, shell side down, cover, and let steam for 12 minutes. Drain the lobsters and let cool.

When the lobster is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the tails and claws and very coarsely chop. You should have been 1 2/3 and 1 3/4 cups of meat. Set aside in a medium bowl. (Save the bodies and shells for snacking on or for making a lobster broth).

Cook the bacon in a skillet until crisp on both sides, about 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

To make the basil aioli: In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, basil, and oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate; the aioli and the lemon juice to lightly coat the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper. Store in the refrigerator for up to 6 hours if not making the BLTs at once.

To assemble a BLT: Lightly toast the bread. Spread the toast with a light dollop of the basil aioli, just under a tablespoon on each piece of bread. Divide the bacon, lettuce leaves, tomato slices, and lobster salad between 2 slices of the toast. Cover with the remaining 2 slices toast. Slice the sandwiches in half on the diagonal.

Recipe Tips: You can prepare the basic aioli, the lobster salad, and the bacon up to 8 hours ahead of time and assemble the sandwiches at the very last minute. You can also substitute cooked crabmeat for the lobster. You can omit the bacon, or serve as a salad on a bed of good greens.