Thermidor (pronounced thur-mi-dawr or ter-mee-dawr (French))
(1) In the French Revolutionary calendar, the eleventh month
of the year (19 (or 20) July to 17 (or 18) August); it was also called Fervidor
(both terms now only of historic interest).
(2) As Thermidorian Reaction, a counterrevolution or coup
d'état in some way recalling the events in Paris in July 1794.
(3) As lobster thermidor (both elements sometimes
capitalized), a method of preparing the unfortunate crustacean for consumption.
Borrowed from French thermidor,
from the Ancient Greek θέρμη (thérmē)
(hot; heat) + δῶρον (dôron) (gift), the construct thus construct being thérm(ē) + (i) + dôr(on).
Thermidor is a noun & proper noun, thermion is a noun, thermidorien
& thermidorian are nouns & adjective and thermionic is an adjective;
the noun plural is thermidors.
In the history of revolutionary France, the noun thermidorian is used to refer to (1) a member
of the politically moderate (a relative term) group who participated in the events
of the 9th Thermidor (27 July 1794) and (2) a supporter of the reactionary
movement following the coup d'état. The
use in political discourse was named after the play Thermidor (1891) by Victorien Sardou (1831–1908), itself named for
the eleventh month of the French Republican Calendar. The Coup d'état of 9 Thermidor (remembered in
many reports as “the Fall of Maximilien Robespierre” (1758–1794)) was triggered
by Robespierre's address to the National Convention on 26 July 1794), a speech
which prompted his arrest the next day and his death on the guillotine the day
after. Due process is a quick business
in revolutionary times. Robespierre’s fateful
words included a reference to “internal enemies, conspirators, and calumniators”
within revolutionary movement but he declined to name names, giving rise among
his colleagues to fears he was plotting another great purge of their numbers.
Comrade Stalin (left), an ice axe (centre) and comrade Trotsky (right).
Comrade Leon Trotsky (1879-1940; founder of the Fourth
International) in The Revolution
Betrayed: What Is the Soviet Union and Where Is It Going? (1936) had a
feeling for the political phrase and labelled the state created by Comrade
Joseph Stalin (1878-1953; Soviet leader 1924-1953) a “Soviet Thermidor” because although Tsarist era capitalism wasn’t
re-created (a la the monarchy in France not being restored in the 1790s), the combination
of a bureaucracy supporting a personality cult (even if the latter was in 1936
still somewhat disguised) was “a counterrevolutionary regression” which
betrayed what was achieved by comrade Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924; head of
government of Russia or Soviet Union 1917-1924) between 1917-1924. The phrase caught the imagination of many,
notably those in the Partido Obrero de
Unificación Marxista (The POUM, the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification),
a non-Communist Marxist party (a surprisingly populated fork of left-wing thought)
which Stalin correctly associated with Trotskyism. The POUM was highly productive in thought but
drifted increasingly far from the moorings of political reality although rhetoric
which included polemics like “Stalinist Thermidorians
have established in Russia the bureaucratic regime of a poisoned dictator.” Agents of the Narodný komissariat vnutrennih del (NKVD, The People's Commissariat
for Internal Affairs and one of the many predecessors to the KGB), answerable
only to comrade Stalin, killed dozens of POUM’s Central Committee which ended
the organization’s effectiveness for a generation. Comrade Stalin filed away in his memory annoying
phrases and in 1940 he had comrade Trotsky murdered in Mexico. The murder weapon was an ice-axe.
Lobster Thermidor
Lobster Thermidor is a creamy, cheesy mixture of cooked
lobster meat, egg yolks, and cognac or sherry, stuffed into a lobster shell and
served usually with a an oven-browned cheese crust. In restaurants, it’s an expensive dish
because lobsters are now high-priced (there was a time when they were eaten almost
only by the working class) but especially because it’s something with a high
labor component. Cooked at home, without
the need to charge out labor, it’s a form of extravagance on a budget and it’s
a favorite among the dinner party set and the ideal thing to serve as a prelude
to discussions about house prices.
Ingredients
2 lobsters
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons minced shallots
½ teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons cognac or brandy
¾ cup milk
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves
2 teaspoons finely chopped parsley, plus additional for
garnish
¼ cup shredded gruyere cheese
Lobster Thermidor is a signature dish at Texas-based Prime Steak & Seafood and their web-site includes photographs to encourage bookings.
Instructions (cooking lobster)
(1) Fill a large, deep stock pot with about 3-4 inches (75-100
mm) of water and add enough sea-salt to make it as salty as sea-water. Some add aromatics like herbs or lemon to
enhance the flavor but thermidor purists insist thing shouldn’t be done and
that all such work must be done by the sauce.
Only ever cook live lobsters. If
this is not practical, pre-cooked lobsters are available.
(2) Once the water
has been brought to the boil, add the lobsters (head first) to the pot. Steaming is the best way to cook lobster
because the meat becomes less waterlogged and less flavor in lost to the liquid.
(3) Cover tightly and steam lobsters for 8 minutes per
pound (.454 kg), for the first pound and then an additional 3 minutes per
pound. Thus, if the total weight being
cooked is 2 lb, cooking time will be about 10 minutes.
(4) Using tongs, remove lobsters from the pot and check to
ensure they are cooked. A fully cooked
lobster will register 135-140˚F (57-60˚C) when a quick-read thermometer is
inserted into the thickest part of the tail (always insert device into the tail’s
underside).
Instructions (lobster thermidor)
(5) Preheat oven to 375˚F (190˚C).
(6) Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil and set aside.
(7) Cut lobsters in half (length-wise and a sharp blade
will be needed) and remove the tail meat.
(8) Gently twist claws from the body and gently crack
with the back of a heavy knife to remove the meat. Gently pull the front legs from the shell and
discard (some retain them for decorative purposes.
(9) Chop the tail meat and claw meat into bite sized
pieces and set aside.
(10) Place the halved lobster shells on the baking sheet
and set aside.
(11) Melt butter in a deep skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and garlic, stirring, until
fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add the
flour and whisk to combine.
(12) Cook the flour mixture, stirring constantly to make
a light roux (approximately 2 minutes).
(13) Add cognac and cook for 10 seconds, stirring
constantly.
(14) Slowly add milk, stirring constantly until combined.
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and
simmer until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (approximately 2-3
minutes).
(15) Slowly add cream, stirring constantly, until
thoroughly combined. Continue cooking
while stirring over medium heat for 1 minute (done correctly, this will have
produced a very thick mix. Season with
salt and pepper.
(16) Remove from heat and stir in the parmesan cheese,
mustard, tarragon, and parsley. Fold in
the lobster meat.
(17) Divide the mixture among the lobster shells and
place stuffed side up on a clean baking sheet.
(18) Sprinkle the top of each lobster with the gruyere
and broil until the top is golden brown (should take 5-6 minutes).
(19) Place 1 lobster half on each plate, garnish with
additional parsley, and serve immediately.
Lindsay Lohan rescues a lobster from the ice, saving it from becoming lobster thermidor (the crustacean’s ultimate fate is unknown). Lohan Beach Club, 2019.
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