Dining with Dan First Course: Lobster Thermidor

I was the grateful recipient of a dinner made by the greatest man I know, my husband. He went all out and cooked a 4 course meal of dishes that reminded me of places we have been and people we miss.
First course and reminder of our favorite French restaurant in Germany, Maloiseau's, was a beautiful and scrumptious Lobster Thermidor, which we paired with a light and crisp Sancerre. My beau chose a version of the recipe from the 1940's by chef Louis P. DeGouy. Both of us were quite sceptical about how it would turn out. Not only is twice baked lobster a tough recipe for a professional, but give it to a couple of home cooks and we were pretty scared. It also had a surf and turf feel to it that we just didn't know how it would translate in the dish. It was beyond our wildest expectations. It was so good we forgot to take a picture of it when it came out of the oven all full of golden, bubbly goodness. This will definitely stay in our book of tricks.

The recipe makes 4 servings so we cut it in half for the two of us. Here is the original recipe:
2 (1/2 lb) live lobsters
1/2 stick (1/4cup) unsalted butter

1/4 lb mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 TB medium dry Sherry
1 cup heavy cream, scalded
2 large egg yolks

1. Plunge lobsters headfirst into an 8 quart pot of boiling salted water. Loosely cover pot and cook lobsters over moderately high heat 9 minutes from time they enter water, then transfer with tongs to sink to cool. Preheat broiler.
2. When lobsters are cool enough to handle, twist off claws and crack them, then remove meat.
3. Halve lobsters lengthwise, beginning from tail end, then remove the tail meat, reserving shells. Cut all lobster meat into 1/4 inch pieces. Discard any remaining lobster innards, then rinse and dry shells.
4. Heat butter in a 2 quart heavy saucepan over moderate hear until foam subsides, then cook mushrooms, stirring, until liquid that mushrooms give off is evaporated and they begin to brown, about 5 minutes.
5. Add lobster meat, paprika, salt, and pepper and reduce heat to low. Cook, shaking pan gently, 1 minute. Add 1 TB Sherry and 1/2 cup hot cream and simmer 5 minutes.
6. Whisk together yolks and remaining TB Sherry in a small bowl
7. Slowly pour remaining 1/2 cup hot cram into yolks, whisking constantly, and transfer to a small heavy saucepan. Cook custard over very low heat, whisking constantly, until it is slightly thickened and registers 160F on and instant read thermometer. Add custard to lobster mixture, stirring gently.
8. Arrange lobster shells, cut sides up, in a shallow baking pan and spoon lobster with some of the sauce into shells. Broil lobsters 6 inches from heat until golden brown, 4-5 minutes. Serve remaining sauce on the side.

Buon Appetito!