by Kathy Taylor

Created on: May 16, 2009

You don't have to be rich or famous to enjoy one of the most extravagant of gourmet pleasures, the iconic lobster. Lobster is considered a ritzy superstar in expensive restaurants, but a special occasion lobster dinner in your own home can be very affordable. Lobster in its many forms, steamed or boiled with butter, lobster thermidor or newburg, bisque or salad, is simple enough for the adventurous home chef.

Although most of us like the food that we are preparing not to be moving, lobster is the exception to that rule. In the lobster world, fresh means live! Armed with a sense of adventure and a little instruction, you too can enjoy lobster in its complete succulent, delicious, and affordable splendor.

If you are fortunate enough to have a live lobster dealer in your city, here are a few tips for you. An average lobster weighs about 1 lb. There are those monster daddies in the tank, the 2 and 3 pounders, but this is definitely a case where size matters, and bigger is not better. To be that big, they are probably 6 to 8 years old; in the lobster world, older is tougher. Also, as a lobster matures, the tail grows disproportionately to the body, so with a 2 lb lobster, you won't get much more tail meat, just a bigger body and claws. As most of the available meat of a lobster is in the tail, you are better off buying 2 - 1lb young lobsters than the geriatric big guy.

The same advice applies to buying lobster online. It's possible to buy fresh live lobster from the East Coast and have it shipped almost anywhere. They usually have their claws banded to prevent fighting (and pinching the buyers!) and are shipped wrapped in damp shredded newspapers. Lobsters are one of few crustaceans who can process oxygen from the atmosphere as well as the water, so they will stay alive as long as they are kept cool. They are best cooked the day you get them, but you can keep them in your fridge for a day or two.

How to cook your lobster is the subject that sparks hotly contested debates among lobster aficionados. Steaming and boiling are the usual methods. Those that prefer steaming say that the lobster gets watery when boiled, and that the flesh is firmer when steamed. The boilers tend to be traditionalists, who insist that the meat is juicier and tenderer when boiled. Generally, boiling is faster than steaming, but the lobster don't really care.

One thing that both camps agree on, however, is that the critical ingredient is salt. Heavily salted water, preferably sea

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