Mornay Sauce

1. Place the butter in a sauce pot and melt it over medium heat. When it begins to bubble, add the flour and whisk for 3 minutes to create a blond roux.
2. Whisk in the milk, then the half and half, salt, pepper, nutmeg, mustard, parmigiano cheese and saffron (if using). Continue until it begins to thicken, then remove from heat and set aside – keep warm.

Lobster Thermidor

1. Preheat oven to 450. Put a well salted, large pot of water on high heat and bring to a rolling boil. Prepare an ice bath for chilling the lobster after it is boiled
2. Place the lobster in the boiling water for 3 minutes, then remove and place it in the ice bath for 10 minutes to stop the cooking and to facilitate removal of the meat from the shell
3. Remove the two claws with the knuckles, crack or break them open with a mallet, pick out the meat and reserve. Cut the lobster shell open beginning on the bottom, from tail to head with kitchen shears. Turn it over and repeat the process on the top. Gently pull apart the shell halves, pick out the meat and reserve
4. Gently clean the shell under cold running water with a brush to remove and discard the greenish-brown tomalley
5. Chop the lobster meat into bite-size pieces
6. Reheat and whisk the mornay sauce. Thin with a little milk if necessary. Place the lobster shells onto a baking sheet and spoon mornay sauce into each shell, then pack the shells with the chopped lobster
7. Cover all the meat with more mornay sauce, then top it with a mixture of parmigiano and panko bread crumbs
8. Bake for 5-6 minutes, then turn to full broil. Remove when the panko and cheese browns – about 1 minute more
9. Remove from the oven and plate with tongs and a spatula to support the lobster