Market Baskets and Old Favorites

We returned home just in time for the monster heat wave, but our local Urbana farmers' market was in full swing despite the wet and cold spring.  Our larder, freezer, wine cellar, and refrigerator were all bare, and we've been working hard to fill them up.  We're having fun doing kinds of cooking again that was not feasible in London: especially barbecue, pizza, and pasta.  Of course, we miss the fish.
One of the new vegetables to appear in our CSA share and at the market this year: radicchio!  The Moore's have been growing them for the first time, and while Dianne says they are unpredictable (some form heads and others refuse to), they are great on the grill, cut up into quarters, whether marinated in olive oil alone, or balsamic and garlic and olive oil.
Here is the little beauty, raw and ready for grilling:

And here it is grilled (imagine the aroma):

Then we used it for pizza.  The basic idea for these toppings came from the wonderful Chez Panisse pizza and pasta book, an old favorite.  Pizza number one:  sliced grilled radicchio with roasted red pepper, and parmesan.  The rustic hand-rolled crust is part of the charm.

Pizza number 2: a layer of tomato sauce (last year's frozen Marcella Hazan Number 1), some grilled eggplant, and parmesan.

This is the most circular pizza I think I have ever made - obviously a fluke.

It has become customary, at the end of July, to observe a certain anniversary with lobster à l'Américaine.  We use the recipe that Raymond Oliver (La Cuisine)  learned from his father, and we reproduce it here.
For 2 persons
1 live 2 pound lobster (we used 2 one-and-a-half pounders, from Meijer)
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 Tb butter
1/4 cup Armagnac (or George Dickel to be truly "Americaine")
12 shallots minced (can be done in the cuisinart)
3/4 cup dry white wine
optional 1/2 cup fish stock
4 medium-sized tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
salt
cayenne pepper
1 Tb minced tarragon
1 Tb minced parsley

Start with your live lobsters.

Prepare the shallots and tomatoes.  This dish goes well with corn on the cob as a first course.

Kill the lobster by plunging the sharp point of a knife into its head. Remove the claws from the lobster and crack them.  Separate the tail from the body and cut the tail into 4 or 5 crosswise slives. Cut the upper body into halves and discard the sac behind the head and the intestinal tract.  Reserve all the coral and the rich inside liquid that some people call the lobster's "blood."

Heat the oil and 3 Tb of butter in a large deep skillet. Cook the lobster pieces in it over high heat until the shells turn red.

Drain the pan juices into a bowl.  Make sure Kima is paying attention.

(She was more interested in this dish than any we have cooked together so far.)
Sprinkle the lobster with the Armagnac (or other whiskey) and flame it.

Transfer it to a china dish. Return the pan juices to the skillet, add the shallots, and cook until they are golden, but do not let them brown.

Add the wine and return the lobster and its juices to the skillet, together with the rich lobster liquid.  If you have some, add the fish stock, but this is not essential.  Add the tomatoes and season with salt and a little cayenne pepper as well as the tarragon.  Lobster à l'Américaine should not be very hot: but it should be well seasoned.

Bring to the boiling point. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.

Remove the lobster pieces from the sauce and put them into a hot serving dish and keep them hot. Bring the sauce to a quick boil and stir in the remaining butter mashed with the lobster coral. Cook for a couple of seconds longer, pour over the lobster, and sprinkle with parsley, "but only if it is very fresh and crisp. Do not bother otherwise."

Serve simply, with some sliced baguette and a crisp dry white wine, such as Sancerre. 

Make sure you have plenty of napkins!