(4 appetizers or 2 entrees)

Lobster Roll
½ cup packed Weownit dry cranberries
¾ cup ruby port
5 ounces native Maine shrimp, shelled
To taste fine sea salt and white pepper
1 large leek, greens removed, split, leaves separated and lightly steamed
4 each lobster tails, precooked and shelled

Simmer cranberries in port for 20 minutes. Blend the cranberries and port in a blender until a smooth puree is created. Cool this cranberry mixture well. In a food processor, blend the cranberry/port mixture and shrimp together to form a smooth paste and season the mixture with salt and pepper. Lay out the leek leaves, one overlapping the other by at least ¼ inch and trim the sheet of leeks to 5''x7" rectangle. Season the leek sheet and spread a thin layer of the shrimp mixture over the entire sheet. Season two lobsters tails and spread some of the shrimp paste onto the underside of one of the tails and place the other tail on top of it in the opposite direction so that an even cylinder is created. Place the tails near one end of the leek sheet and roll them up tightly in the leeks to create a "lobster roll". Repeat this process with the rest of the lobster and other ingredients. Chill the rolls for two hours before cooking.

Sweet Potato Puree
1 large sweet potato, baked and held hot
2 tablespoons butter
1 ounce fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons maple syrup
To taste fine sea salt and white pepper

Scoop the flesh of the sweet potato into a blender and discard the skin. Add the butter, orange juice, and maple syrup and blend the mixture until it is very smooth. Force the puree through a fine strainer and season with salt and pepper. Check the flavor; depending on the natural sweetness and moisture content of the sweet potato, it may be necessary to add a little more syrup and/or orange juice to achieve the desired consistency and taste.

Cranberry Orange Compote
2 cups fresh cranberries
½ cup fresh orange juice
1/3 cup sugar
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
1 each Valencia orange, zest only
½ teaspoon ginger, minced
To taste coarsely ground black pepper
½ cup fresh orange segments, liquid drained (no seeds, pith, rind, or membranes)

Place all ingredients except pepper and orange segments in a non-reactive pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until cranberries begin to pop. Remove from heat and add pepper to taste and orange segments.

Presentation
To garnish sliced chives
To garnish cured lemon zest

Heat a small amount of oil in an oven proof sauté pan. Season the leek and lobster rolls well. Sear each side of the roll until golden brown and crispy. Transfer the pan to a high temperature oven and cook until the lobster is hot. It does not take a long time to cook. Remember, the lobster meat is already cooked; it is simply being reheated. Meanwhile, heat the sweet potato puree and the cranberry orange compote in separate saucepans. Remove the hot "lobster roll" from the oven and slice in half on a bias. Place the two halves vertically on a warm plate with the cut face up. Drizzle some of the liquid from the cranberry orange compote onto the plate and spoon a few cranberries and orange segments around the plate. Make a nice quenelle shape (smooth oval) out of the sweet potato puree and place it on the plate. Garnish the plate with the sliced chives and the cured lemon zest.

Tom Gutow
Castine Inn