New England Lobster Roll

Labor Day weekend. The last holiday in the College Park townhouse. Derek grilled in the backyard — his fourth and final performance of the year in this backyard, with this grill, under this sky. He was sentimental about it, which for Derek means he was slightly less efficient than usual and paused once to look at the fence. The fence. He built that fence in 2021. He hung those string lights. He planted those tomatoes that never produced a single tomato. This backyard is a museum of his efforts and we're leaving it.

Zoe was quiet this week. She's lived here since she was eleven — her formative years, the years when the shy girl became the artist, when the nine-year-old from the church mixer became Mama T's daughter. I found her sitting in the backyard Sunday evening, sketching the house. She was drawing the College Park townhouse from memory while sitting in front of it, because Zoe understands that memory and reality are different views of the same thing and both deserve to be recorded.

The move is in four weeks. The Cascade Heights house closed. The keys are ours. Derek drove me there Saturday evening and we stood in the empty kitchen and I opened every cabinet and touched every counter and turned on the gas stove and the blue flame appeared and the flame was the beginning. The beginning of the kitchen I'll cook in for the rest of my life. The kitchen with the magnolia tree. The kitchen three streets from Mama.

Made pulled pork in the slow cooker — the Labor Day alternate to grilling, the one you make when the grill is Derek's and the stove is yours. Pork shoulder, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, spices, eight hours on low. Served on brioche buns with coleslaw. Curtis said, "This is good pork." GOOD PORK. Unqualified. The College Park kitchen is going out on a high note. The last great meals in this kitchen will be followed by the first great meals in the next one. The cooking doesn't stop. The cooking never stops. The address changes. The love doesn't.

I know what I said about the pulled pork — and Curtis was right, it was good pork — but there’s a second dish I keep thinking about from that weekend, the one I made the night before when Derek was still measuring the fence with his eyes and Zoe was still sketching. I wanted something that felt like a send-off, something a little celebratory and a little indulgent, because a kitchen that has held four years of dinners deserves more than a weeknight goodbye. A lobster roll is that kind of food: simple enough to make on a Sunday evening, special enough to mark an ending.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 25 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs cooked lobster meat, roughly chopped (from about 4 whole lobsters or pre-cooked tails and claws)
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 stalk celery, finely diced
1 tablespoon fresh chives, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 top-split hot dog buns (New England style)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Lemon wedges, for serving
Potato chips or kettle chips, for serving

Instructions

Make the lobster salad. In a medium bowl, combine the chopped lobster meat, mayonnaise, lemon juice, celery, and chives. Season with salt and pepper and stir gently to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Toast the buns. Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat. Spread softened butter on both flat outer sides of each bun. Place the buns cut-side down in the skillet and toast for 1—2 minutes per side, until golden and lightly crisp. Watch closely — they go fast.
Fill and serve. Spoon a generous heap of the lobster salad into each toasted bun. Serve immediately with lemon wedges and chips on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

New England Lobster Roll — The Last Great Meal in a Kitchen That Loved Us Well