Yuzu-Tarragon Lobster Rolls

Surprise: I’ve never been to the Hamptons. I’m from Maryland, so the number of people who go to the Hamptons at any point in the summer is close to 0. Instead, we have the ~Delaware beaches~. Think Hamptons, but the exact opposite. No lobsters, just crabs.

So I took this month’s apartment cafe as my best opportunity to go the Hamptons without actually taking a 3 hour train to get there. For some reason Ina Garten wasn’t able to make it. And I couldn’t snag a Polo brand deal either. Alas.

Even though I’ve never been to the Hamptons, I have been to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. In my mind they’re all the same. So that’s why I decided to make New England’s claim to fame, cold lobster rolls. And because of my success with donuts (Eid cafe: saffron-rose donuts, Garden Party cafe: lavender pineapple donuts), my dessert bake was a brambleberry lemon verbena fritter. According to god of the Hamptons Wishbone Kitchen, a brambleberry is actually any berry that grows in a bramble…including blackberries and possibly blueberries. Not sure. But for marketing purposes my blue-and-blackberry fritters are now christened brambleberry fritters.

Just a few weeks ago, I had a lobster club BLT from the one and only Edith’s in the West Village (it’s as heavenly as it sounds). And I tasted a slight tinge of yuzu in their lobster salad, which inspired my lobster rolls. Yuzu is just as bright as a lemon but doesn’t stab your tongue in the same way with its sharpness (does that make sense? idk). I adapted Claire Saffitz’s hot dog bun recipe, making the buns slightly smaller so the rolls would be cute sized. And my co-host Christine procured a healthy amount of Petrossian Caviar. A healthy dollop ending up on the crown of each of my lobster rolls didn’t disappoint.

With my bakes set all that was left to do was wait to see what people would bring. And I was absolutely FLOORED with all the food:

• Christine: lobster BLTs on jalapeño-corn sourdough focaccia
• Deepika Kalla-Paul: triple corn blondies; brown butter cherry walnut cookies
• Erika: strawberry-corn shortcakes
• @dolcetta.baking: strawberry basil mini cakes
• @arlynosborne: fluffernutter cookies; shrimp rolls with potato chips
• @daniellesepsy: PB&J fluff rolls; Tate’s knock-off cookies

That’s a grand total of 11 baked goods!! The most we’ve ever had at an apartment cafe. So if you had a visual heart attack looking at this month’s photos, that’s why. We had so much food, most of the items were capped at only 1 column on the buffet.

Thinking back on the food, perhaps there’s a reason why the Italians said not to mix seafood and dairy… Aside from that thought, I was once again completely wowed with what everyone made. The lovely hints of herbs showing up subtly on the plate, the lushness of strawberries, the richness of beautifully cooked brioche buns. I would eat that meal over and over again.

The star baker (we have that now) was Deepika with her triple corn blondies. I’ve never tasted anything like that in my entire life. A dessert I would expect to be served only at the finest of restaurants. I think blondie isn’t the right word for it because these treats were so airy. I presume what a butter mochi would feel like if it were three times lighter. And the taste was perfect, too. Just savory enough from the corn. My top 3 bakes are:

1. Deepika’s triple corn blondies
2. Danielle’s PB&J fluff rolls
3. My yuzu-tarragon lobster rolls (sorry, I didn’t kill 4 lobsters and spend $133 not to make the top 3)

For the love of dairy & seafood together,

Ryan