Tea Sandwich Saturday #52 - Lobster & Sun-dried Tomato

Christmas calls for foods a bit more festive than usual, so I got a bee in my bonnet to make something with lobster this week. I decided to make a simple spread, and then I used my Linzer cookie cutters to make sandwiches with Christmas cutouts. Neat and easy, just like I like 'em!

Before I chose to use lobster, I had mentioned to my friend Maureen (ParTea Lady) that I wanted to make a new Christmas tea sandwich recipe, for which I would obviously need a speck of something red. She offered the idea of sun-dried tomato. I LOVE the taste of sun-dried tomato and can't believe I haven't incorporated that into my sandwiches this year! Here, you can see the pretty red and green colors from celery and the chopped sun-dried tomato pieces. So here you go, an easy, last-minute recipe for Christmas tea sandwiches.

Lobster & Sun-dried Tomato

1 teaspoon sun-dried tomato pieces
1 celery rib, cut in large pieces
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 (6.5-ounce) can lobster meat
1-1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2-3 drops red pepper sauce
Dash of chili powder
Salt and fresh black pepper to taste

Place first three ingredients in bowl of food processor and pulse til combined. Remove to a small mixing bowl. Boil lobster meat for about five minutes, then strain and place in food processor, pulsing until light and fluffy in consistency. Add to mixing bowl with remaining ingredients and combine, adjusting seasonings as desired. Yields about 1/2 cup spread. (Expensive to make, but once a year I figure it's worth it!)

And finally, I'd like to point out that yes, today is Tea Sandwich Saturday #52 even though there is still one more Saturday in the year. I counted, and there are indeed 53 Saturdays this year. A minor point, but worth a mention in case like me you're wondering if the numbering got off one week!