CALLING ALL LOBSTER LOVERS TO PORT.Byline: Marlene McLean Greer Staff Writer When you sit down to eat a whole steamed lobster, it's not pretty. There's a lot of finger, wrist and hand action. A lot of pulling, twisting and sucking. It's messy. It's also conducive to interesting conversation, says Jim Hall Jim Hall is the name of:
``With lobster, you have to sit there and crack it open and get your food out. It's down-and-dirty eating, but it's part of the charm, part of the fun,'' Hall says. ``It lends itself to congeniality.'' And Hall expects a lot of down-and-dirty eating at the festival. He estimates that 15,000 live Maine lobsters will be steamed and served at the three-day event three-day event a competition in the pleasure horse sport comprising usually one day each for dressage, cross country and show jumping. . In a nearly military-style operation, Tommy Amalfitano of San Pedro Fish Market and Restaurant and Pete Dragich Jr. of Quality Seafood in Redondo Beach Redondo Beach (rĭdŏn`dō), city (1990 pop. 60,167), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1892. Once a commercial port for Los Angeles, it is a residential and resort city with a protected harbor and an excellent marina. will churn out 1,800 to 2,000 pounds of fresh cooked lobster every hour. Amalfitano and Dragich will use four large metal steamers to cook several hundred lobsters every 12 minutes. The live lobsters, which are a greenish brown/black when live, are put into wire baskets and inserted into what looks like a giant pizza oven. Twelve minutes later, they come out fully cooked and a beautiful bright red-orange. (When lobster is cooked, all the pigments are masked except for astaxanthin, the red background pigment, which causes the lobster's change in color, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Maine Lobster Promotion Council.) ``It's a lot of work. We're up at 6 a.m. and go to midnight. But it's an exciting thing for the community, and it's right here in my back yard,'' says Amalfitano, whose fish market/restaurant has been in San Pedro for 39 years. It's not only a lot of work to cook, but it takes a lot of work to gather and ship 15,000 lobsters from Maine to California over three days, Dragich says. The lobsters, he says, are caught starting up to a month before the event and stored in a huge, 2-foot-deep holding area filled with refrigerated re·frig·er·ate tr.v. re·frig·er·at·ed, re·frig·er·at·ing, re·frig·er·ates 1. To cool or chill (a substance). 2. To preserve (food) by chilling. seawater seawater Water that makes up the oceans and seas. Seawater is a complex mixture of 96.5% water, 2.5% salts, and small amounts of other substances. Much of the world's magnesium is recovered from seawater, as are large quantities of bromine. . The refrigeration refrigeration, process for drawing heat from substances to lower their temperature, often for purposes of preservation. Refrigeration in its modern, portable form also depends on insulating materials that are thin yet effective. , he explains, slows down the lobsters' metabolism, reducing their activity and putting them into a semi-dormant state. Beginning the day before the festival, several thousand pounds of lobsters start their trek to California on a refrigerated truck to the airport, where they are packed in seaweed to keep them moist, an overnight flight, a midnight pickup, then a refrigerated ride to Ports o' Call and a holding tank. Shipments continue through Saturday night and early Sunday morning Sunday Morning may refer to:
The steamed, 1-1/4-pound lobster meal, with coleslaw cole·slaw also cole slaw n. A salad of finely shredded raw cabbage and sometimes shredded carrots, dressed with mayonnaise or a vinaigrette. , potato chips, lemon wedge and drawn butter, will be $9.99 at the festival, which, Amalfitano says, is a bargain. ``Tell me where in Southern California you can get a lobster dinner for $10,'' he says. ``It's a nice deal.'' And if you don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. how to eat a whole lobster, there will be people around to help you out, Amalfitano promises. Or, he says, just watch someone else. Or better yet, know before you go. Be a pro. Here's how to eat a whole lobster, according to the Maine Lobster Promotion Council: Twist off the large claws. Crack each claw with a nutcracker, pliers pliers, n a tool of pincer design with jaws of varying shapes; used for holding, bending, stretching, contouring, and cutting. pliers, contouring, n , knife, hammer or rock. (With your meal at the festival, you will be given a plastic tool.) Separate the tail from the body by arching the back until it cracks. Break off the tail flippers n. 1. A type of shoe with a paddle-like front extending well beyond the end of the toe, used an aid in swimming (especially underwater). . Insert a fork and push the tail meat out in one piece. Remove and discard the black vein which runs the entire length of the tail. Unhinge the back shell from the body. Open the body by cracking it apart sideways. Lobster meat lies in the joints where the small walking legs are attached. The excellent meat contained in the legs can be removed by sucking. Other dishes offered at the festival will include seafood chowder chowder, stew of fish or shellfish with potatoes, onions, and pork (usually salt pork), thickened with crumbled hard bread. The name chowder seems to have originated from the French word chaudière , shrimp, barbecued ribs and Tchicken, jerk chicken, Thai and Mexican foods, roast corn, beer and wine, and a variety of desserts. In addition to great food, the Lobster Festival features a children's Lobster Calling Contest Friday (Lobsters don't have ears, but, hey, be the most enthusiastic and you could win a computer.); a LobsterDog Pet Parade at noon Saturday (Dress your dog as your favorite seafood, and, yes, you could win a computer); a Cioppino ciop·pi·no n. pl. ciop·pi·nos A stew made of several kinds of fish and shellfish, tomatoes, and white wine. [Italian, perhaps variant of northwest Italian ciuppin.] (fish stew) Cook-Off; and a Gospel Music Brunch Sunday. There's also plenty for kids with craft booths, games and rides and arts and crafts arts and crafts, term for that general field of applied design in which hand fabrication is dominant. The term was coined in England in the late 19th cent. as a label for the then-current movement directed toward the revivifying of the decorative arts. activities. Plus continuous live entertainment, from jazz to country, will keep everyone tapping their feet. Cooking lobster at home If, after you taste the fresh lobster at the festival, you want to try it at home, either steam or boil it. ``You never want to microwave it,'' Dragich warns. The microwave cooks from the inside out, which takes the moisture from the lobster. ``It drys it out,'' he says. His favorite way to cook a lobster is steamed because, he says, it's the best way to retain all the juices. Lobster can be purchased in many forms: live, whole frozen, tails, frozen tails and claws. Right now, Amalfitano says, whole, live lobster is expensive - about $16 a pound - but at other times of the year it may be $12. Here's how to steam or boil live lobsters, according to the Maine Lobster Promotion Council. TO STEAM LOBSTERS: Put about 2 inches of seawater or salted fresh water in a large kettle. Bring water to a rolling boil. Add live lobsters, one at a time, grasping just behind the claws. Let water boil again and begin timing. Allow 18 minutes for 1- to 1-1/4- pound hard-shell lobsters and 20 minutes for 1-1/2-pound hard-shell lobsters. If they are new-shell lobsters, reduce cooking time by 3 minutes. TO BOIL LOBSTERS: Fill a large kettle -3/4 full of water, allowing about 2-1/2 quarts water for each lobster. If seawater is not available, add 2 tablespoons salt for each quart of waterT. When water boils, add live lobsters one at a time and let water boil again. Reduce heat, cover and simmer about 15 minutes for 1- to 1-1/4-pound hard-shell lobsters and 20 minutes for 1-1/2- to 2-pound hard-shell lobsters. Reduce cooking time by 3 minutes for new-shell lobsters. When antennae pull out easily, lobsters are done. THE FACTS What: The Port of Los Angeles International Lobster Festival. When: 4 p.m. to midnight Friday, 11 a.m. to midnight Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Where: Ports o' Call, San Pedro (Sixth Street and Harbor Boulevard). Cost: $6; children 12 and under, free. Information: (310) 366-6472 or www.lobsterfest.com. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: (Color) A freshly steamed lobster meal, with coleslaw, potato chips, lemon wedge and drawn butter, will be sold for $9.99 at the Port of Los Angeles International Lobster Festival, Friday through Sunday at Ports o' Call. Leo Leo, in astronomy Leo [Lat.,=the lion], northern constellation lying S of Ursa Major and on the ecliptic (apparent path of the sun through the heavens) between Cancer and Virgo; it is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Hetzel/Staff Photographer |
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