Lobster

This decadent lobster mac and cheese has it all: A generous amount of lobster meat and a rich, three-cheese sauce made with fontina, Gruyère, and mascarpone are mixed with pasta, and baked under a crunchy topping of panko and Parmesan. The cheese sauce has a secret flavor booster. The shells are separated from the meat and cooked with aromatics, wine, milk, and cream, infusing the sauce with a surprising depth of lobster flavor. The shells are then strained out before adding the cheese in this luxurious main course dish.

""Lobster stew is one of the pillars of Maine cooking," according to chefs Mike Wiley and Andrew Taylor, of Eventide Oyster Co. in Portland. For this green curry–laced version, they took cues fromtom kha, a coconut milk–based Thai soup, and enriched it with umami-heavy Golden Mountain sauce and hen-of-the-woods mushroom confit to create a richly-aromatic lobster stew. Sweet potato, curry paste, heavy cream, and coconut milk come together in a well-balanced broth that highlights the sweetness of lobster. Chefs Taylor and Wiley use sweet potato peels to thicken the broth; they lend a creamy, pleasantly-thick body to the stew. While the chefs always use fresh lobster, look for pre-cooked lobster and store-bought lobster stock (such as Better than Bouillon Lobster Base) to make this dish weeknight-friendly."

Derrick Westbrook turns the classic moules frites into one show-stopping meal by replacing the mussels with garlic-butter drenched lobster. The double-fry method for cooking the fries ensures that they will be perfectly cooked — creamy on the inside and crispy on the outside. The first fry will cook them through, and the second will turn the outside brown and crisp. Adding Old Bay to the aioli is a genius move. Serve the meal with a bright, crisp, minerally Chablis.

A small pinch of saffron goes a long way in imparting a vibrant golden hue and floral fragrance to this creamy, indulgent lobster risotto. Precooked lobster and bottled clam juice deliver robust layers of flavor with a minimum amount of effort, making this a perfect weeknight supper. Pair it with a bottle of white Bordeaux, recommends sommelier Tonya Pitts, of Les Dames D'Escoffier International, San Francisco. "I love white Bordeaux with this easy dish. It highlights the lobster and creaminess of the risotto, ultimately becoming intertwined with the flavor and textures."

Classic lobster thermidor stuffs gently cooked lobster meat back in its shell with a wine-based sauce and a touch of cheese before coming together under the broiler. The natural sweetness of lobster still shines through the rich, but not heavy, cremini mushroom and dry Sherry laced creamy sauce. A touch of cayenne adds warmth, not spice, that brightens the whole dish, while Parmesan cheese gets bubbly and brown under the broiler to finish each impressive stuffed lobster tail.

Scott Worcester opened the Maine wine store Sawyer's Specialties some 20 years ago. He knows wine, but more to the point—his family’s been on the Maine coast since the late 1600s—he also knows lobster.