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A new year. 2013. 12 new months. 52 new weeks of adventure. 365 days where, three+ times a day we can eat. And I am starting out with luxury.

This whole salad started because I had some extra lobster meat. Now I know what you are thinking, Natalie, why in god’s name would you have left over lobster meat? If you are eating lobster, shouldn’t you just devour the whole lot with lots of drawn butter and lemon? To which I would normally say, ABSOLUTELY!! However this was an instance of a very overzealous Costco buyer (I am looking at you, Bob) who thought it was a good idea to buy 25 pounds of lobster to consume for Christmas dinner. There were seven of us for dinner, and although we tried our damnedest, we barely made it through half – roughly 13 pounds of lobster.

So what is a girl to do with 12 pounds of leftover lobster? Ideas were thrown around – bisque, ravioli, lobster crab cakes – but what I was really craving after all those dinners laced with butter and cream, the boxes of See’s bonbons and seemingly endless supplies of Manhattans was a big salad with lots of veggies and a hint of decadence. Enter a Lux Lobster salad with equal parts reduced fat mayo and greek yogurt, tangy lemon juice and piquant shallots over a bed of sweet greens. It’s the perfect way to start the new year and recover from all those finger hors d’oeuvres  and champagne cocktails from your New Year’s Eve. Look for more of these healthy recipes here in 2013, as well as a very more guilt-ridden pleasures and exotic, world-traveled dishes and travel logs.

Prospero Año Nuevo!!

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Lux (Healthy) Lobster Salad 

Adapted from Downhome with the Neely’s for the Food Network. Active time: 10 minutes. Serves 4. 

1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 lemon, juiced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 stalk finely chopped celery
1 finely chopped shallot
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
3 lobster tails cooked (about 1 pound lobster meat), chopped

1 head butter lettuce, rinsed and torn into pieces
1 roma tomato, diced
1 yellow pepper, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Lemon slices, for garnish
Dry rub, for garnish (I like Stubbs)

Combine mayonnaise, lemon zest, lemon juice, celery, shallot, tarragon and chives in a bowl. Add lobster meat to mayonnaise sauce and combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

In a large bowl, add lettuce, tomato and pepper. Drizzle olive oil and lemon juice over greens, sprinkle with a pinch each salt and pepper and toss with to combine. Divide onto four plates; divide lobster equally among plates. Sprinkle with dry rub and serve with lemon slices. Enjoy!!