Lobster Bruschetta

So, the Southern husband and I have this thing we do on Saturday nights called The Restaurant Project, and it goes like this: every Saturday night we go to a new restaurant we have never been before.  We started it about a year ago and it has been a year of fabulous dinners, a few clunkers, and some adventurous expeditions where I have said fervent prayers of thanksgiving that someone out there invented the GPS.

One of the rules of the restaurant project is that in addition to getting two different entrees, we also must order at least one dessert.  All of which adds up to good substantial eats on Saturday nights...and why I have decided I need to institute an addition weekly tradition which I am kicking off with this scrumptious lobster recipe, and which I am christening "Friday Night Lights." 

In a nutshell, we are going to cuddle up on the sofa every Friday night while the teenager is out gallivanting around, and we are going to have a light but still wonderful supper that is an appetizer only...something new every Friday night.  This will both balance out (I hope) the Saturday extravaganza, and also give me the chance to work my way through my teeteringly tall pile of appetizer recipes.  Because while I would love to have weekly fancy dinner parties wherein I make fancy finger foods, somehow I haven't figured out a way to work that into my life yet.  I'll try to be organized enough to post these on Thursdays so you can follow along with us on Fridays if you want to!

So here you go, the first Friday Night Lights supper: a quick and easy bruschetta.  Lightly toasted slices of Italian bread brushed with olive oil and topped with a mixture of chopped lobster, red onion, shallots, tomato and fresh torn basil, all tossed with a little bit of Madeira wine.  

Where did I get the fresh basil in the midst of the winter, you ask?   Well let's just say that the Aerogarden has been so successful that I am now making herb bouquets and distributing them around the house.

But that is a topic for a whole 'nother post.  Meantime, Friday Night Lights, baby.  It's not just a great television series anymore.

Lobster Bruschetta, adapted from Bon Appetit

• 2 1 1/2- to 13/4-pound lobster, steamed, shelled and torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
• 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• 8 ounces tomatoes (about 2 medium), each cut into 6 wedges
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 small shallot, finely minced
• 2 peeled garlic cloves; 1 minced, 1 whole
• 2 tablespoons Madeira
• 3 extra-large basil leaves, torn
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil plus additional (for drizzling)
• 4 5x4x1/2-inch slices sourdough bread

1.  Mix onion and vinegar in large bowl; let stand 5 minutes.
2. Add lobster meat, tomatoes, celery, shallot, minced garlic, Madeira, basil, and 1/4 cup oil to bowl with onions. Toss to coat. Let stand 30 minutes for flavors to blend.
3. Lightly toast bread. Rub with whole garlic clove. Drizzle with oil. Divide lobster salad among toasts.  

Click here for printable recipe