• Place the lobster shells in a gallon-size zip top bag and seal tightly, pushing out any air. Pound the shells with a heavy object such as a rolling pin or meat mallet until crushed into small pieces. Set aside. Make a bundle with the thyme, tarragon, and parsley sprigs, tie tightly with butchers twine and set aside.
• Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a 7-8-quart Dutch oven or heavy bottom pot over medium heat. Add the chopped carrot, onion, celery, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of the white pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes.
• Add the lobster shells and cook for about 8 minutes, until you begin to see browning around the edges and bottom of the pot. Add the tomato paste and stir to thoroughly coat the shells, 2 minutes. Carefully pour in 1/2 cup of the dry sherry and cook until it's almost evaporated, 2 minutes. Drop in your herb bundle and pour in the seafood stock. Crank the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid (slightly ajar), and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
• While the stock is cooking, make a paste (beurre manie) with the remaining room temperature butter and flour in a small bowl using a spoon to mash it all together. You'll use this later to thicken the soup.
• Strain the stock through a colander into a large bowl pressing on the shells with a wooden spoon to release as much liquid as possible. Discard the shells and aromatics and wipe out the cooking pot. Return the strained stock to the pot and bring back to a simmer over medium-high heat.
• Add the beurre manie into the simmering stock one tablespoon at a time, whisking vigorously to fully dissolve each addition. Continue whisking and simmering for about 3 minutes then kill the heat.
• Transfer the soup to a blender, add the cooked rice, and top with the lid. Since the liquid is hot, begin blending in short pulses at first, then gradually increase the speed to high. Continue blending for about 1 minute, until very smooth.
• Place a fine mesh sieve over your cooking pot and strain the contents of the blender back in. Turn the heat to medium and add the heavy cream, the remaining dry sherry, and sherry vinegar. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring frequently. Check the seasoning and add more salt, if needed, plus a few grinds of white pepper.
• Serve in bowls with a sprinkling of fresh chives, if desired.

• Place oven rack in the middle position and crank oven to 350℉.
• Place butter pats in a medium microwave-safe bowl and cover with a paper towel (or you could just re-use the wax paper that the butter was wrapped in). Cook on high-power in three 30 second bursts, or until just melted with a few faint pieces remaining. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.
• Seal the crackers in a 1-gallon zip-top bag, pushing out as much air as possible. Crush the crackers to a fine consistency using a rolling pin or another heavy object. Transfer crumbs to a medium bowl. Pour in the butter and the sugar and combine thoroughly with a rubber spatula. Add the egg white and stir until the texture resembles wet sand.
• Using your fingers, press the cracker mixture into the pie plate, allowing it to scoot halfway up the sides of the pan. If the mixture starts to stick to your fingers more than the pan, lightly moisten them with cold water. Place the crust in the freezer for 10 minutes to set, then bake for 15 minutes. Park on a wire rack for 10 minutes to cool.
• Whisk the egg yolks with the condensed milk in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Whisk in the lemon juice, lime juice, and salt until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.
• Pour the filling into the cooled crust and bake for 15 minutes. When the center of the filling no longer jiggles, the pie is done.
• Remove the pie back to the wire rack until it cools to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving with whipped cream and a sprinkling of finely grated lemon and lime zest.

• Combine the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse 3-4 times. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks mealy, 5-6 times. Then add the shortening and pulse until incorporated, another 3-5 pulses. Remove the lid and drizzle in the water. Replace the lid and pulse until the mixture begins to come together and pull away from the sides of the bowl.
• Dump the mixture onto a clean work surface and squeeze together with your hands to form a smooth ball. Press the ball into a disk shape, wrap in plastic film (we like Stretch-Tite), and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (You can refrigerate longer, even overnight, just be sure to let the dough sit at room temp for about 15 minutes before attempting to roll.)
• Lightly dust a 12-inch x 24-inch piece of wax or parchment paper with flour. Unwrap the dough disk and park on the paper. Lightly flour the top of the dough then roll into an 11-inch circle. Flip over into the pie pan and peel off the paper. Press the dough gently into the pie plate, taking care to get any air out at the corners, then tuck the edges underneath. Crimp with your fingers to form a fluted design at the lip or simply crimp with a fork. Refrigerate crust while making the filling.
• Place a rack in the lower third of the oven and set for 350℉.
• Place the butter pats in a medium microwave-safe bowl and cover with a paper towel (or you can just re-use the wax paper that the butter was wrapped in). Cook on high-power in three 30 second bursts, or until just melted with a few faint pieces remaining. Set aside to cool for 15 minutes.
• Clean your processor's work bowl, add the eggs, the yolk, and the sugar and process for 10 seconds. Remove the lid, add the flour and salt, and pulse for five 1 second pulses. Remove the lid again and add the cooled melted butter, the buttermilk, vanilla bean paste, and nutmeg and blend 10 seconds.
• Retrieve the crust from the fridge and place on a half-sheet pan. Pour in the filling and bake for 45 minutes, until the top of the pie puffs slightly and turns golden brown.
• Remove to a wire rack to cool for 1 hour. The pie is best served at room temperature with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

• Cut a 2-inch by 1/2-inch strip of orange zest using a sharp Y-peeler. Twist it to gently open up the oils and rub around the rim of the glass. Drop the twist into the glass.
• Combine all the liquids in your shaker and add two handfuls of ice. Seal and shake vigorously for 20 seconds, then strain into the glass and serve.

• Place the two slices of sourdough in a cast iron pan so that the bottom opening of a 7.5-inch-wide chimney starter fits over the bread. If need be, trim the bread. (see note)
• Lightly spritz a few wads of newspaper with vegetable oil, stuff them into the bottom of the chimney starter, and place on the grates of a grill. Fill with enough charcoal to come up to the top hole in the side of the chimney (3/4 of the way up). Light the newspaper and leave it to burn until the coals are ashy.
• Combine the cheeses with the dry mustard, smoked paprika, and black pepper in a medium bowl and set aside.
• When the charcoal is about half lit, place a 7 3/4-inch steel pan on top of the starter. Add 2 teaspoons of extra-virgin olive oil and the chopped onion. Season with a pinch of salt and stir occasionally until soft and showing just a bit of golden-brown.
• When the charcoal is fully lit and the onions are close to done, lightly brush the bread (up-side only) with a bit more of the olive oil. Gently shake the starter to knock down any stray charcoal pieces, then place the starter over the bread in the pan for up to 45 to 60 seconds or until well browned. (Place the pan with the onion back on top of the chimney during this time.)
• Carefully remove the starter, flip the bread (without brushing with oil) then replace the starter and broil until lightly charred, another 30-45 seconds. (Keep cooking those onions in the meantime.)
• Remove the chimney yet again, then spoon the cooked onions evenly over the toasted bread. Top with the cheese mixture, then place the chimney starter over the bread one last time and broil another 30-60 seconds or until the cheese is melty and starting to brown. Remove the chimney, carefully close the sandwich, and remove to a plate. Rest 2 minutes before cutting in half (diagonally, of course) and serving.

For the Hrenovuha

• Put all ingredients in a quart-size jar. Lid up, shake to combine, and steep at room temperature, out of direct sunlight, for 18-24 hours.
• Triple straining is required. First, strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a large measuring sup. Dump the solids, then line the sieve with a coffee filter and filter the vodka into a second vessel. Then line the funnel with two filters and slowly pour through into the bottle.
• Stash in the freezer for up to 6 months. (The refrigerator is fine, but I do like a straight shot of this stuff every now and then, and I like my vodka shots numbingly cold.

For the Bloody Mary Mix

• Place the tomatoes and juice in a mesh sieve set over a medium bowl. Break up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon to extract as much juice as possible. (You should end up with 2 cups.) Discard the solids or save them for another use.
• Combine the juice and the remaining ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, about 30 seconds.
• Pour the mixture into a clean jar or bottle, lid up, and chill for 4 hours before use.

  Keep refrigerated for up to 1 month.

For the Bloody Mary

• Stir the Bloody Mary mix and hrenovuha together with ice in a Collins glass and serve with a leafy celery stalk.

  For a more elegant presentation (as for a proper evening cocktail), strain 5 ounces of the above cocktail through a fine sieve to remove pulpy stuff. This should render 4 ounces of thinner liquid. Shake with ice in a cocktail shaker for several seconds to chill, then strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cocktail olive.

• Heat the oil for 1 minute in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the chili powder, cumin, and garam masala and bloom for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add the shallot, garlic, ginger, Thai bird chili, and salt and cook for 2 minutes.
• Stir in the tomato puree, molasses, apple cider vinegar, and palm sugar and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until thickened.
• Remove from the heat, cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for up to 2 weeks in a glass jar (plastic vessels can stain). Serve with our Tots Masala or anything else where the kick of a spiced ketchup would bw welcome. (I love this stuff on fish sticks...yes, even the frozen kind.)