Sticking it to The Water Club

After spending $60 dollars on a lobster, I needed to find some way to make this poor little overpriced lobster's life a little more worthwhile. While sitting at our table we came up with the brilliant, but somewhat odd idea to take our lobster shells to go. When we asked the staff at The Water Club to bag our lobster shells (they shell the lobsters tableside) we were met with looks of confusion and grudging acceptance( is this the customer is always right?) Our waiter even asked why we wanted the shells. I told him I was going to make a lobster stock (I thought that a restaurant that sells lobsters for $30 dollars a pound might have staff that knows what lobster stock)but clearly, the idea went way over his head. Anyway, after our meal I took home four containers of lobster shells to make stock with.

I used it both to poach cod and as the base for a sherry, tomato cream sauce in this dish:


It's cod, poached in lobster stock served with caramelized purple white and orange carrots, fingerling potatoes, purslane and tarragon in a lobster sherry cream sauce.

Asking for the shells not only freaked out the very proper Water Club staff (very amusing for me) but also helped me make something tasty to eat for Sunday dinner.