Creamed Oysters On Toasted Cornbread

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If you are of a certain age, you will remember these fondly, especially at this time of the year.  

Oysters have been an important part of a Thanksgiving menu since the Indians brought them to that first three day celebration with the Pilgrims in 1620.  They were particularly popular in New York and New England.  During the heyday of New York’s oyster production (In the late 19th and early 20th centuries the city’s waters produced around 700 million oysters a year) East Coast cookbooks unanimously and prominently featured oysters on the Thanksgiving Day. menu.

Fanny Farmer"s

The Plaza Hotel 1899

 


The trend seems to have taken a real upswing in the Gilded Age and endured — at least in the cookbooks sampled — until around WWII. What happened then? They probably became too much of a luxury, I suppose, and in the city, the local beds were long since polluted and harvested into depletion.

This particular recipe used to be a classic in the mid 1900,s but it too disappeared from everyone's radar.  Perhaps people got tired of it or oysters became prohibitively expensive to serve for a group.  Those who know about the good things in life have not forgotten them.  You can buy them shucked, in their liquid, in the Fish section of most grocery stores.  They are not that expensive and taste very fresh.  If you want to impress a group of gourmets sometime, I suggest you serve them.  I, on the other hand, am trying to singlehandedly revive them.  It's simply too good a recipe to shelve.  Aside from Thanksgiving, Creamed Oysters make for a wonderful lunch, served with a salad.  The cornbread is a new twist on the usual thin toast over which they are serve.  It is not my idea.  It is Gourmet's.

Readers know that this time next week I will be entertaining my grandchildren for Thanksgiving for the first time ever.  For this occasion, they will be the guests of honors and will be catered to in every which way a grandmother knows how to do, but to a certain extent.   Yes they will be privy to all the things Lindaraxa enjoyed as a child but they will also sit at the table and hopefully behave like their parents have trained them to.  I did not get to sit with the grown ups until after I was eight but parents these days are different so we must adapt.  Compromise, my favorite new word.

I enjoyed a small sample for lunch today after  I shot these photos.  Yep. that's my plate. I had every intention of bringing out the silver and staging a more professional shoot, but promptly gave up.  They looked too good to pass up. 

 

 

Creamed Oysters on Toasted Corn Bread

Serves 8 as a first course

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup minced shallot
• 1/2 cup minced celery plus 3 tablespoons finely chopped celery leaves
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 32 shucked oysters, reserving 1 1/4 cups of the liquor, strained
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon ground celery seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
• 8 squares of corn bread, split, toasted, and buttered

• In a large heavy saucepan cook the shallot and the minced celery in the butter over moderate heat, stirring, until the vegetables are softened, add the flour, and cook the mixture over moderately low heat, stirring, for 3 minutes. Stir in the reserved oyster liquor, the milk, and the cream, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring, and simmer it, stirring, for 3 minutes. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, the celery seeds, the cayenne, the oysters, and salt to taste, simmer the mixture for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the edges of the oysters curl, and stir in the celery leaves.
• Arrange a bottom half of a corn bread square on each of 8 heated plates, spoon the creamed oysters over the bottom halves, and top them with the remaining halves.

 
Recipe by Kemp M. Minifie
Gourmet Magazine November 1993  

Dinner Party Appetizers...Gravlax With Fennel- Orange Butter

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This is one of my favorite ways to serve gravlax when I'm having a small group of guests for dinner.  What I like about the recipe is that it is for a small batch and can be adapted to serve a few or a larger number of guests by simply doubling or tripling the amounts.

If I am entertaining a group of six or more at a party, I usually serve drinks on the terrace and let guests mingle and get to know each other before we sit down for dinner.  On such occasions I like to have one or two hors d'oeuvres that I can pass around,  for I know that when they start drinking and talking nobody is going to gravitate to a table and help themselves.  This is a perfect substitute for the traditional gravlax with mustard sauce which I adore but which is best enjoyed at the table and as a first course.  

I have played with the recipe in the past by substituting the traditional dill for the fennel but I have to admit the fennel is better and more unique.


FOR THE GRAVLAX:

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 teaspoons sugar
1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1 one-pound, skin-on salmon fillet
1/2 cup chopped fennel fronds, more for serving
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon


FOR THE FENNEL-ORANGE BUTTER:

2 small garlic cloves, minced
Sea salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon chopped fennel fronds, more for garnish
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon
3/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, more for serving
Slices of cocktail pumpernickel, for serving
Fresh lemon juice, for serving.

Directions:

1. To make the gravlax:  Lightly crush the peppercorns using a mortar and pestle, the side of a knife, or a pepper mill. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in the sugar, salt and orange zest. Rub mixture over salmon flesh; press the fennel fronds and tarragon all over flesh.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil. Place a smaller pan on top of the foil and weight it with some heavy cans. Refrigerate the salmon for at least 2 and up to 3 days, turning it every 12 hours and basting it with the liquid that collects.

2. To make the butter (up to 3 days ahead): Using a mortar and pestle or the side of a knife, mash the garlic with a pinch of salt until it forms a paste. Transfer to a bowl. Add the butter, 1 tablespoon of fennel fronds, tarragon, orange zest and pepper. Stir to combine.

3. To serve, spread fennel-orange butter on slices of pumpernickel. Wipe off most of the marinade from the salmon and slice off the skin. Thinly slice the fish as you would smoked salmon, pile it on the pumpernickel, and sprinkle with salt, more black pepper and a little lemon juice. Top with fennel fronds.

Yield:  8 to 10 as an hors d’oeuvre.


Recipe adapted NYT June 17, 2010
Photo Andrew Scrivani NYT

Gnocchi Alla Romana

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Unlike the gnocchi which you are most familiar with and which is commonly made with potatoes Gnocchi Alla Romana is made with semolina flour.  In Marcella Hazan’s “The Classic Italian Cookbook,” she mentions that this dish can be traced back directly to Imperial Rome. Apicius, the Roman gourmet who lived during the 1st century, had a recipe for gnocchi made of semolina exactly like these, then fried and served with honey. These are made the same way, but baked in the oven with freshly grated parmesan cheese and butter and are as light as can be.

It makes for a great first course or primi after which you can serve any meat or fowl.  I actually like it the way it was suggested in Williams Sonoma's site, accompanied by Roman Style meatballs.

The entire dish can be made ahead up to 2 days, before baking, if it is refrigerated and covered with plastic wrap.


Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients:

•1 cup semolina

•1 quart (1 liter) milk

•1 brimming cup grated Parmigiano plus more for sprinkling over

•7 TBs unsalted butter

•2-3 egg yolks

•Salt

Preparation:

Bring the milk to a boil, and gradually stir in the semolina, stirring constantly to prevent lumps and keep the mixture from sticking to the pot. The mixture will become quite thick; continue cooking and stirring for about 20 minutes, and remove the pot from the fire. Beat the yolks with a little more milk, and add them to the semolina, together with 2/3 cup of the cheese,  2 TB butter, and a pinch of salt. Mix well and spread the mixture a little less than a half an inch thick  on your work surface.

Let the semolina cool for 2 hours, and with a biscuit cutter cut it into rounds.

Butter a square pan and layer the disks in it, overlapping like roof tiles.  spread a little more grated cheese between the layers (there should be 3-4). When all the rounds have been used up, dot the gnocchi with the remaining butter and add the rest of the grated cheese. Use more cheese if you need to.

Bake the gnocchi 15 minutes in a hot (400 F or 200 C) oven, until golden, and serve at once. If a crust hasnt formed, raise the temperature to 500 and bake another 5 minutes.

Let rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

Adapted from Marcella Hazan

Curried Pumpkin and Leek Flans

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This makes for a beautiful first course or as a side to the main dish.  I usually serve them on a silver platter with the sauce on the side and pass them around.  Everyone can pour a little over their flans.

You can use any type of cooking pumpkin or squash, preferably butternut squash.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 small cooking pumpkin, about 2 pounds

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 leeks, including 1-inch of green, carefully rinsed and cut into 1/2-inch dice

3 whole eggs

3 egg yolks

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon curry powder

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Boiling water, as needed

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley, plus extra for garnish


Directions
Preheat oven to 375*F (190*C). Lightly oil a baking sheet. Cut the pumpkin in half through the stem end and place, cut side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until easily pierced with a knife, 40 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Leave the oven set at 375*F (190*C). Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and fibers and discard. Spoon the flesh into a blender. Puree until smooth.

Meanwhile, in a large frying pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are very soft and begin to fall apart, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the heat.

In a bowl, whisk together the whole eggs and egg yolks, 1 cup of the cream, the sugar, curry powder, salt and pepper to taste. Add three-fourths of the pumpkin puree and all the leeks and stir well.

Butter six 2/3 cup (5 ounce) ramekins or flan molds. Place in a large baking pan and divide the flan mixture evenly among the prepared molds. Pour boiling water into the baking pan to reach halfway up the sides of the molds. Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil. Bake until the custards are firm in the center and browned on top, 20 to 25 minutes.

While the flans are baking, combine the chicken stock, the remaining pumpkin puree and the remaining 1/2 cup cream in a saucepan. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil gently until reduced by half, 5 to 10 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Remove the flans from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of each mold and invert onto individual plates. Ladle the sauce around the custards. Garnish with the parsley and serve.

Serves 6.

Recipe adapted from Joanne Weir
Photo by Penina

Reviving A Classic...Tomato Aspic Before And After!

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Tomato aspic is one of those dishes that was all the rage in the 30's 40's and 50's.  I caught the tail end of the furor, maybe had it once or twice when I was young; but all of a sudden, like everything else, poof! it disappeared.  Nowadays when I think of it, I think of lace tablecloths, transferware china and those little crochet doilies they used to place on top of old silver.  Kind of a comforting, fuzzy wussy feeling.

This afternoon, while having a light Sunday lunch of cold shrimp, sliced tomatoes and my Mother's potato salad (here we call that light), I started thinking about this old classic. It was always a sure candidate for a cold buffet in the summer, and definitely a favorite of the ladies who lunch. Their taste hasn't varied that much so why did it disappear? Well, like every popular recipe, sometimes people don't know when to stop. These days it's Cowboy Caviar, in my day it was the Mexican Layer Dip. They last a summer or two and then they too disappear from the radar. Tomato aspic, on the other hand, held its ground for a long time so I think it's time to bring it back.  Now that I am a grandmother again and I am usually in charge of the Christening brunch, I think it will make its debut at my table in a month or two.

Now I have seen tomato aspic being served at Thanksgiving, but this I don't understand.  Somehow, in my mind,  it is hard to envision it served with the likes of sweet potatoes and cranberries.  In my day, it was usually served as a first course for lunch or as part of a buffet.

Since as a cook I am very traditional and this is definitely a very Southern dish, I have gone to Lee Bailey's Southern Food And Plantation Houses Cookbook for his recipe.  It is the one that was used by his family's cook who always made extra to serve later with sandwiches.  I think the best accompaniment for this aspic is shrimp or crab, and that is how I usually serve it.  Although it can be served in winter as well as summer, it is most refreshing at this time of the year.

Aspic server - Revere byWilcox And Evertson

I have posted a few pictures showing the different molds you can use.  If you use the top one, the center can be filled with mayonnaise or with cold shrimp or crab meat salad.  If you use the one at the bottom, serve the mayonnaise in a silver gravy boat or glass bowl.  Below, you will find a photo of tomato aspic served as a first course.

Lee Bailey's Tomato Aspic

Printable Recipe

Serves 12

Ingredients

2 envelopes unflavored jello

1/2 cup boiling water

3 cups tomato juice, warmed (I use Campbell's)

1 small onion, very finely  minced

2 ribs celery, very finely minced

2 tsps worcestershire sauce

1 TB freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 tsp.Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce

8 ounces cream cheese

mayonnaise


Procedure

Pour the hot water into a shallow bowl and sprinkle gelatin over it.  When gelatin is dissolved, stir in the warmed tomato juice, making sure all the lumps are gone.  If they persist, reheat the mixture briefly.  Stir in all other ingredients except the cream cheese and cool slightly.

Meanwhile, divide the cream cheese by spoonfuls among 12 1/2 cup molds.  Pour tomato mixture in each and refrigerate until set, several hours.

To serve, run a knife around the mold and unmold.  If you have a hard time, place the mold briefly in warm water before trying again.

Serve with homemade mayonnaise or a very good commercial one.  I use Hellman's made with olive oil.  Here in the South they love Duke's.

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Now, let me show you a very sexy variation I came across in a website on Thai cuisine.  I have no idea why they use both gin and vodka, but I'm game!

Kung Phet Aspic ( Spicy Prawns in Aspic)

Photo Flickr Scott Partee

Ingredients:

•2 Tbsp gelatin

•60ml (1/4 cup)cold water

•850ml tomato juice

•120ml (4 oz or 1/2 cup) vodka

•60ml (2 oz or 1/4 cup) gin

•2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

•3 tsp sugar

•1/4 tsp salt

•1/4 tsp celery salt

•1 tsp vinegar

•1 Tbsp catsup

•1/4 tsp mustard powder

•450g (~1 lb) cooked prawns, shelled and de-veined

•120g (4 oz) Chinese celery, diced

•140g ( 4 1/2 oz) cucumber, peeled, de-seeded, diced and drained

•60g (2 oz) spring onions, chopped

•celery leaves, fresh parsley and cucumber slices, to garnish

Method:

1.Place the cold water in a heat-proof cup then sprinkle the gelatin over the top.

2.Place the cup in a small saucepan containing some water.

3.Place over gently heat and cook, stirring constantly, until all the gelatin dissolves.

4.Take off the heat and set aside.

5.In the meantime, combine the tomato juice, vodka, gin, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, salt, celery salt, vinegar, catsup and mustard powder.

6.Stir to combine then add the gelatin and mix thoroughly.

7.Set aside until slightly thickened.

8.Take a 2 litre (4 cup) mold and grease this lightly.

9.Set in a bowl containing ice cubes then spoon a little of the aspic mix into the base (about 3mm deep) of the mold.

10.When this has set arrange a ring of the prawns decoratively on the aspic.

11.Now mix the remaining prawns the celery, cucumber and spring onions with the remaining aspic.

12.Pour into the mold and chill thoroughly until set.

13.When ready, warm gently then turn onto a serving plate.

14.Garnish with the celery leaves, fresh parsley cucumber slices then serve with Remoulade Sauce.


Remoulade Sauce

Ingredients:

•1 1/2 cups thick mayonnaise

•2 Tbsp grated horseradish

•1/2 cup Creole mustard (or prepared yellow mustard)

•1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

•1 tsp hot pepper sauce Tabasco or Linghams

•1/2 cup finely diced green onions

•1/4 cup finely diced Chinese celery

•2 tbsp minced garlic

•1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

•1/2 tbsp lemon juice

•salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Method:

1.In a mixing bowl, combine all of the above ingredients, whisking well to incorporate the seasonings.

2.Once blended, cover and place in the refrigerator overnight.

3. When ready, remove from refrigerator and adjust seasonings to taste.

no copyright

Morels in Cream On Brioche...Morilles A La Creme

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There used to be a restaurant named Mortimer's, in the space that is now Orsay, on Lexington Avenue and 75th Street in New York City.  It was the kind of place frequented by "the ladies who lunch" and ruled with an iron fist by its owner Glenn Bernbaum.  There really was nothing memorable to the restaurant,including the decor and the food, except as a place to see and be seen by those who made up cafe society at the time.  I was not a frequent visitor, except for lunch once in awhile.  Surprisingly, the prices were reasonable and it was fairly close to where I lived at the time.  It was also the only place outside of France where I would find morels in cream sauce when they were in season.

With Mortimer's now gone and me living on a lake in Georgia, I buy them whenever I find them and enjoy them at home.  March is the time for morels so be on the lookout for them in the supermarket or at places like Whole Foods and Dean & Deluca.  If you can't find fresh ones, buy the dry ones and reconstitute them. They are just as good and they keep forever.

This is a delightful lunch for four with a salad or it can be served as a first course for a more formal lunch.

Serves 4
 
Ingredients

1 cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup white wine

1 pound fresh morels, trimmed, washed well, and patted dry*

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Freshly ground white pepper

5 thin slices brioche or challah bread, crusts discarded, each slice cut into 4 triangles and toasted


Preparation

Heat cream in a small saucepan until hot.

Heat butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté morels, stirring frequently, until golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the wine and reduce until almost all evaporizes. Sprinkle in flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in hot cream and reduce heat to low. Gently simmer, covered, stirring once, until morels are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and white pepper.

Arrange 5 toasts on each of 4 plates and spoon morels and sauce on top. Serve immediately.

*Cooks' note:

You can substitute 1 ounce small dried morels (1 1/3 cups) for the fresh. Soak dried morels in 2 1/2 cups warm water until softened, 10 to 30 minutes. Lift from soaking liquid, then rinse well and pat dry with paper towels. Pour soaking liquid through a paper-towel–lined sieve into a bowl. Add 1/2 cup soaking liquid to cream when heating (dried morels absorb more liquid than fresh).

Figs, Prosciutto & St. Andre, A Delightful Combination

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Figs are around for only a short time of the year and when they appear in the supermarket, I have to restrain myself from buying up the whole lot.  I do try to make plenty of fig jam to serve with pates during the year; but nothing compares to fresh figs accompanied with prosciutto and a triple cream.  Add to that a crusty baguette and a glass of Sauternes or Muscat the Beaumes de Venise and you might as well be having lunch in the South of France.

Figs were brought to North America by the Spanish missionaries who came to California to build a network of Catholic missions. They found the climate particularly favorable to growing figs, which resulted in the naming of the purple-black variety known as the Black Mission. Other figs can be used for this recipe, including the large, fat, white-fleshed, green-skinned Calimyrna, and the small, thick-skinned, green Kadota. Or consider an assortment of all three. Me? The Black Missions are my favorite, but I'll take anything with the word fig, before or after.

This makes for a wonderful light lunch or first course.




Ingredients:


1/3 cup crème fraîche

2 tsp. chopped fresh mint, plus mint sprigs for garnish

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

2 to 3 tsp. milk

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

12 ripe figs, a single variety or a mixture

6 oz. St.-André or other triple-cream cheese, such as Explorateur, cut into 12 wedges

3 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto


Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together the crème fraîche, chopped mint, lemon juice and as much of the milk as needed to form a thick, creamy consistency. Season with salt and pepper. Halve the figs and arrange them on individual plates or a platter. Intersperse the wedges of cheese among the figs. Drape the prosciutto around the figs and drizzle with the crème fraîche mixture. Garnish with mint sprigs and serve. Serves 6.