Georgeous Scilly Cay is an enchanting, thatched roof, open-air restaurant on a tiny island off the northeast coast of Anguilla, a small island about 125 miles from St. Thomas. The owners, Eudoxie and Sandra Wallace, serve only three main courses–grilled lobster, grilled crayfish, and grilled chicken. All three succulent dishes are sensational.
I've been trying to get the sauce recipe from Sandra for years with no success. Finally, she gave me the list of ingredients, but refused to give the exact amounts. She wished me luck. Well, I think I've come pretty close. The fragrant sauce can be used on Caribbean lobster or giant shrimp (shelled, except for the tails, deveined, and threaded onto dampened wooden skewers) or chicken halves or pieces.
2 – 1 1/2- to 2 pound Caribbean lobsters
For the Sauce:
1/3 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon orange marmalade
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
Dash paprika
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
The recipe makes about 3/4 cup sauce. It's easily doubled.
Make sure the grill is hot. Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl and put next to the grill.
Split the lobsters down the center between the eyes to the end of the tail. Discard the head sac and intestines. Crack the claws with a hammer, exposing as little lobster meat as possible. Place the lobster on the grill, shell side down. Brush each liberally with the sauce, using about half of it. Close the cover and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the lobsters. When done the meat should be snow white. Just before serving, brush with the remaining sauce and serve immediately.
Scilly Cay's side dishes never change: cold pasta sal~d, garlic bread, grapes and slices of orange garnished with slices of plum.
Serves 2.
Editors' note: Michele Evans, a resident of St Thomas, is the author of thirteen cookbooks. She also co-authored "La Cucina Siciliana di Gangivecchio", which won the James Beard Foundation award for the best Italian cookbook for 1997. Her travel guide, "Caribbean Connoisseur…An Insider's Guide to the Islands' Best Hotels Resorts and Inns", published by St. Martin's Press is in its third edition.