Town in a Lobster Stew

Porter Sykes.

PS.

An image of the inscription written in the upper left corner of the blueprints, laid out on the table in Doc’s office, jumped into her mind.

The inscription on the blueprints had read, Here are the plans. PS Make sure no one else sees this.

PS. It didn’t mean postscript, as she had thought. They were initials!

Porter Sykes’s initials!

He must have written that note to Charlotte, signed his initials, and then added the last line: Make sure no one else sees this.

So Porter Sykes had given the plans to Charlotte!

But how had they known each other?

Candy had a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach as she read down the columns of newsprint. Toward the end of the article, she found what she was looking for:

An art and history aficionado, Porter Sykes sits on the boards of a number of museums throughout New England, including...

She read the last few words as the blood pounded in her ears. In disbelief, she looked over at Maggie. “Oh no,” was all she could say.

“Honey, what’s wrong? What’s going on?” Maggie asked, a worried expression on her face.

Candy shook her head, feeling as if she were in shock. The hairs were standing out on her arms. A feeling of dread washed over her.

“I don’t know for sure,” she said uneasily, “but I don’t think we’ve heard the last from the Sykes brothers.”

Recipes

Lobster Stew

Created by Executive Chef Troy Mains No. 10 Water The Restaurant at the Captain Stone Inn Brunswick, Maine

1 white onion, chopped

1 cup whole unsalted butter

2 stalks of celery, chopped

2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning

1 tablespoon minced garlic

4 cups clam broth or really good lobster stock

2 pounds shucked lobster meat

1 teaspoon paprika

1 quart heavy cream

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, sauté in butter the celery, onion, garlic, and spices. Once browned on medium to high heat, pour in the clam broth or stock and let reduce by half (boil down). Then add the cream to thicken, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Once thickened, add the generous amount of lobster meat and serve in a large bowl. This recipe should serve 6-8.

I also like to garnish the stew with a puff pastry in the shape of a lobster. You can purchase a lobster cookie cutter at a cooking store to create this pastry. Cut it out of dough, brush with egg white, sprinkle with paprika for color, and bake at 400° for 7-10 minutes.

This will fancify a Maine classic.

Lobster Veloute

Created by Chef Jason Williams The Well at Jordan’s Farm Cape Elizabeth, Maine

2 quarts (serves 4)

1 lobster, about 1 ¼ pound, in hard shell

2 yellow onions

1 carrot

1 celery stalk

1 bay leaf

2 black peppercorn

4 ounces butter

4 ounces flour

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in large pot. Drop in live lobster and cook for 7 minutes. Remove and place in ice water.

Reserve cooking water.

Remove lobster meat and chop into pieces. Roast bones, return to cooking water, and add onions, carrot, celery, bay leaf, and peppercorn. Simmer for 2 hours. Strain.

In a separate large pan, melt butter and stir in flour; cook over low heat for about 3-5 minutes. Whisk in 2.5 quarts lobster stock. Bring to a simmer; continue simmering for about 20 minutes.

Serve with chopped lobster, some chopped chives, and some crusty bread. Enjoy!

Fuel’s Lobster Stew

From Eric Agren, Owner Fuel Restaurant Lewiston, Maine

4 whole lobsters, steamed and cooled Heavy cream (about a quart)

4 tomatoes, roughly chopped

4 cloves of garlic, crushed

4 shallots, diced

1 bunch of fresh tarragon, chopped

1 cup of Cognac

Remove all meat from the lobsters and reserve for later.

Break the shells into pieces. Use sturdy kitchen shears if necessary.

Heat canola oil in a large sauté pan over high heat.

Add the lobster shells and cook for about 5 minutes, until blistering but not burned.

Deglaze the pan with 1 cup of Cognac.

Flambé the Cognac and reduce to about 2 tablespoons.

Add the tomatoes, garlic, shallots, and tarragon.

Season with salt and white pepper.