Jasper White’s recipe for Lobster Thermidor is adapted from Auguste Escoffier, the father of classic French cuisine.

Dining Tip: Jasper White’s Lobster Thermidor

A classic recipe that pairs well with Chardonnay

• 3 live 1 1/2 to 2-pound hard-shell lobsters
• Kosher or sea salt
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) good quality diced tomatoes (ideally Italian plum)
• 2 cups dry white wine, preferably the wine you will serve with dinner
• 2 medium onions, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 2 small carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 5 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads (optional)
• 4 shallots (2 ounces), finely chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated
• 6 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Cayenne pepper to taste

1. Using a 12-quart pot, parboil the lobsters in 9 quarts of water and 9 tablespoons salt at a rolling boil for 10 minutes. (If using a smaller pot, maintain the same ratio of 3 quarts water and 3 tablespoons salt to 1 lobster.) Remove and let cool to room temperature.

2. Cut the lobsters in half, lengthwise. Remove and crack the claws and knuckles. Remove the thin blue intestine from inside the tail. Remove the meat from the tail, claws and knuckles, and cut into 1/2- to 1-inch chunks. Chop the greenish tomalley and orange-red roe (in females) and add to the meat. Cover the meat and four of the emptied lobster halves (the tail and the middle of the carcass with small walking legs intact) in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

3. Put all that remains from the lobsters in a pot with 3 quarts water. Bring to a simmer, skimming off the scum that forms on top. Add the tomatoes with juice, 1 cup of the wine, the onions, celery, carrots, garlic, fennel seeds, pepper flakes, peppercorns, thyme and, if desired, saffron. Simmer for 1 hour. Salt to taste. If the broth seems thin, cook another 20 minutes. Strain and refrigerate. (Lobster broth can be made 2-3 days ahead. It will freeze up to 4 weeks.)

4. Combine the shallots, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 cup lobster broth and the remaining wine in a small saucepan. Simmer until liquid reduces to 1/3 cup. Set aside.

5. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute, until it smells nutty but doesn’t get more than a light caramel color. Whisk in the milk, 1/4 cup at a time. Stir constantly, allowing the sauce to thicken before adding more milk. Simmer slowly for 15 minutes. Stir to prevent scorching.

6. While the sauce simmers, mix the cheeses together. Add half the cheese mixture to the sauce. Stir over low heat until melted. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and cream. Mix in 2 tablespoons of the cheese sauce. Remove the cheese sauce from the heat, and stir in the cream and egg mixture. Strain into a mixing bowl. Add the wine reduction, mustard and lemon juice. Stir and season to taste with salt, black pepper and cayenne. When tepid, fold in the lobster meat.

7. Put a rack in the top third of the oven and heat to 450° F.

8. Place the empty lobster shells on a baking sheet, and fill with the lobster mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. (The dish can be prepared, covered and refrigerated at this point up to 8 hours ahead. Bring to room temperature before baking.)

9. Melt the remaining butter and drizzle over the cheese. Bake the lobsters for 5 minutes, then turn the oven to broil and cook until the tops of the lobsters are brown and crispy. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Beef Short Ribs with Zinfandel Sauce
Serves 4
Beef ribs are different than pork ribs, just by nature of the size and the texture of the meat. A full slab of beef ribs would feed quite a few people, it wouldn’t fit on your plate, and it would take a really long time to cook — even by barbecue standards. So they’re usually cut, cooked, and served a little differently than pork ribs. For this recipe, I’ve used short ribs that are cut across the bones, creating a small enough piece of meat to cook fairly quickly. This type of cut also allows for a lot of surface for glazing, so I’ve made a sauce using reduced Zinfandel. I love the Zins from California with grilled and smoked food and these beef ribs are a great match. Be sure to get an extra bottle of Zin for drinking with your ribs. These would go very well served with buttered noodles and grilled asparagus.
Zinfandel Sauce
2 cups good-quality Sonoma Zinfandel
3 tablespoons butter
1 small red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups low-sodium beef broth
4 pounds cross-cut beef short ribs, 1/2 inch thick
Steak seasoning salt, as needed
1. To make the sauce: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat the Zinfandel. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, until reduced by half. Remove from the heat and set aside. In another medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and garlic and cook for about 4 minutes, stirring often until the onion is tender. Add the flour and mix well until blended. Add the beef broth and the reduced Zinfandel and mix well. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes, until thickened.
2. Prepare the grill for cooking over direct medium heat. Season the ribs on both sides with the steak seasoning salt. Place the ribs directly on the cooking grate. Cook for 5 minutes. Flip and brush with the sauce. Cook for another 5 minutes and repeat. Continue flipping and brushing for about 40 minutes, until the ribs are browned and tender. Discard any remaining sauce. Remove to a platter to serve.

Pair with a Zinfandel.

Bucatini all’Amatriciana

I beg you to look for guanciale. Could you substitute it with pancetta and still enjoy this dish? Sure, but I assure you that it is pale in comparison to guanciale. I was able to find guanciale after only stopping at two Italian butchers. It’s certainly not something that you’ll find at the local supermarket but, with just a little digging, it’s very possible to source.
Also, I found that using a combination of both fresh and canned tomatoes gave this dish a gorgeous contrast on the palate and my tasting panel agreed wholeheartedly. You could just use the canned tomatoes but it would take away from the recipe, in my opinion.
Makes 4 – 5 servings
½ pound slice guanciale
1 pound Bucatini (pasta)
4 –5 cloves of Garlic (rough chop)
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (you can double this if you prefer a good amount of heat)
28oz of canned San Marzano tomatoes
¾ cup of plum or grape tomatoes cut into large dice (must be fresh and ripe)
¾ cup of grated pecorino Romano cheese
½ cup red wine (preferably the same wine you plan to pair with the dish)
Olive oil (as needed)
Bunch of fresh basil (for garnish)
Place a large pot of salted water on a burner on high to bring to a boil.
Strain the juice from the canned tomatoes and, over a strainer, try to remove as many seeds as possible.  When you’re done, you should have a bowl of strained and deseeded tomatoes and a bowl of tomato juice.
Place a medium to large sauté pan (or sauce pan) over a medium flame.  Add olive oil to just barley coat the pan.  Before the oil gets too hot, add the guanciale.  Think about making Sunday bacon, but with the intention of pulling the meat before it gets crispy.
Add the pasta to the water and set the timer for one minute short of its recommended cooking time.
Remove the guanciale from the pan onto a paper towel to drain, and pour the rendered fat from the pan through a fine mesh strainer.  (This is not 100% necessary, but those small bits you can’t scoop out with a spoon may burn if you leave them in the pan.)  Wipe any burnt bits from the pan and pour two tbls of the rendered pork fat back into the pan.
Add the rep pepper flakes, the garlic and the fresh tomatoes.  Allow to cook over medium-low flame for two minutes.  Then (with the pan removed from the burner) add the red wine. 
Once the wine has begun to reduce, add the strained San Marzano tomatoes and a cup of the strained tomato juice that came from the can.  Bring this entire mixture to a simmer and allow to reduce for 3 – 5 minutes.
Around this time, the pasta should be done.  Strain the pasta and pour back into the pot.  Now pour the sauce over the pasta and stir until combined.  Sprinkle half of the cheese into the pot as well as half of the cooked guanciale.  Over a low flame, stir until completely combined.  Allow this mixture to cook for one minute on low flame.
Check for seasoning, but remember that the guanciale can add a good amount of seasoning on its own.
Chiffonade the basil. 
To plate, place a mound of pasta on a heated plate and sprinkle with pecorino Romano, then guanciale, and finally the basil chiffonade.  Clean the rim of you plate and serve.

Pair with any Italian red or white.