SERVES 4

This gloriously retro dish debuted on the menu at Baltimore's venerable Maison Marconi in the 1930s.

4 1-lb. live Maine lobsters
4 tbsp. butter
8 oz. white mushrooms, sliced
1 shallot, peeled and minced
Salt and freshly ground white pepper
3 egg yolks
1 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp. La Ina or other fino sherry
1 tbsp. minced fresh parsley leaves
1 tsp. minced fresh thyme leaves

1. Cook lobsters in a large pot of boiling water over high heat for 15 minutes. Drain. When cool, remove meat from shells, leaving tails and heads intact. Cut meat into chunks and set aside. Use scissors to cut a 2" × 4" rectangular opening in backs of lobster tails.

2. Melt butter in a large heavy saucepan over medium-low heat. Add mushrooms and shallots, season to taste with salt and pepper, and cook until soft, about 10 minutes. Set saucepan over a larger pan of simmering water over medium-low heat.

3. Lightly whisk egg yolks in a mixing bowl, then whisk in cream. Add sherry, parsley, thyme, and lobster, then add to mushrooms in saucepan, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until thick, 10–15 minutes. Adjust seasonings and serve in lobster shells. Garnish with parsley and lemon wedges.