My Aunty Margie made a seafood mornay that I loved. I have probably written about it before.
It was not a fancy dish, or an extravagant one. Just some veges, some seafood extender, and some sort of cheese sauce. Probably pasta as well, but I am not sure of that bit.
As I mentioned, wait, four sentences ago, I loved this dish. I thought it was great. I loved a great deal of Aunty Margie's cooking. This particular thing, the seafood mornay, came to my head on Saturday.
On Saturday I went to George's Paragon Seafood. I had a lot to eat, gee you all look so surprised by this, but there are two things I want to focus on. Bugs and lobster. I love bugs. I can, and will, eat loads of bugs given the chance (yes both the Moreton bay bugs and the small insects covered in chocolate, this is about the Moreton bay bugs specifically). I have not always been a big fan of lobster though.
On Saturday night, I had both bugs and lobster. Bugs, followed by lobster. I have never had them at the same time. I thought maybe that my lack of appreciation for lobster was because I had had bugs first and that left a lasting impression on my palate.
The challenge was set to go. I had three bugs, halves but my rant about that is for another time, vs a lobster thermidor. I had other things as well, it was all good, definitely going back at some point.
Oh yeah, quick side note, scallops were good, but have I mentioned GOMA though I don't think you can get them there anymore so George's Paragon Seafood is a pretty good substitute.
Anyway, I had the bugs. They were delicious. I am pretty sure there was a dipping sauce, but I'm not sure I used it. I love bugs flavour on its own. Three halves, stacked, steaming, some other stuff on the plate, who cares there are bugs. For a few seconds. Then, empty shells, and a big smile. Bugs have a certain sweetness to them which makes them taste great. Sometimes there are sauces that go really well with the flavour, oh yeah I think there was something I dipped them in. It went really well with the flavour, how about that. I ate the bugs, leant back in my chair, and let let the flavour roll around my mouth for a while. Until the lobster came.
I have had lobster before. I wasn't impressed. I didn't hate it, I just didn't think it was that great. I thought of it as an excuse to eat garlic butter. I still kind of do, but a really good one.
On the menu I saw Lobster Thermidor. I had never had this before, and never really thought about it. Until Lego Batman mentions it is his favourite thing to eat. So yeah, that is pretty much the entire reason I wanted it. At first. Then it dawned on me, I would be able to have lobster and bug close enough together that their flavour would still be fresh in my mouth.
The challenge was on. Lobster vs Bug.
Before the lobster came out, I was fully prepared to crack into it if I needed to. I had no idea what to expect, and thought only part of the shell was missing. It came in two halves. I had a little fork, for digging out lobster flesh, and a shell cracker thingy, for cracking lobster shell. I needed the fork, and I just used the shell cracker because it was there. The actual thermidor is cooked inside the shell, I think. Using the fork, I scooped out the biggest amount I could. Tasted it. It wasn't bad. This was actually pretty good. The tiny bit of lobster I managed to get without sauce was genuinely pretty tasty. I was impressed. Not as good as bugs, but still pretty good. This was the first time I really enjoyed lobster. I finished the meal then I sat back.
That was when it hit me. Lobster thermidor, while a more extravagant dish, reminded me of Aunty Margie's seafood mornay. A little bit in flavour, but mostly because it was a very well made creamy seafood dish. The location helped. When I looked around George's Paragon Seafood, I saw a lot of families. A lot of love. A lot of people enjoying their food. The whole combination reminded me of sitting in Aunty Margie's dining room, eating excellent food and being surround by family.
Aunty Margie's cooking is missed by many, many people.
So, the winner was bugs. I prefer bugs to lobster, but I would love to have Moreton bay bugs thermidor. That would be awesome. I think I may have to actually cook something.
Eat well everyone.
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