23 Quick-Fix Seafood Recipes for Dinner

It is always well to commence any thesis by defining one's terms. This section deals with

food which comes out of the sea. Fish come out of the sea. Logically, therefore, recipes for

cooking fish belong here, and here they are. Seafood, however, has another meaning, at least

in the eastern part of the United States. It is a term which embraces all food that comes out of

the sea, except fish. It includes: oysters, clams, lobsters, crayfish, scallops, shrimp, prawns,

crabs, octopodes, and all other varieties of non-fish, except mammals which live in water. For

the purpose of titling this section and to keep together all denizens of the deep, I have

included fish here. In all other respects, the term "seafood" refers to non-fish. Clear?

Of all types of food, that which comes out of the water is probably the most versatile. In some

form or other it can be served at breakfast or at luncheon. It makes ideal supper dishes, it

enjoys the distinction of a course of its own at formal dinners, and it frequently is the main

course at less pretentious evening affairs. It forms an important ingredient of hors d'oeuvre

and antipasto; it makes fine soups and salads, and is as frequently eaten cold as hot. It can be

boiled, broiled, baked, stewed, sautéed, poached, and steamed. It combines well with most

seasonings and with other types of food, and, what is important here, it can be prepared more

easily and cooked more rapidly than almost anything else except eggs.

One note of caution should be mentioned, and it is iterated and reiterated in the recipes.

Seafood should be fresh. Nothing will make you quite so ill as bad fish or seafood. More than

that or perhaps less, the taste of fresh seafood is infinitely superior to that out of the water for

even a day. Great strides have been made over the past few years in the freezing and

packaging of foods, but no advance yet has succeeded in retaining the pristine goodness of

fresh seafood. If, however, you must depend on frozen fish, or lobster, or roe, or any other

variety, be sure that it is allowed to thaw naturally and thoroughly before you start to cook it.

Cooking half-thawed shrimp or crab lump can end only in disaster. One word about a specific

type of seafood: shrimp. It is preferable to start with green or raw shrimp and cook them

yourself in their shells rather than to use commercially cooked shrimp, if for no other reason

than because they will taste better. Cooking green shrimp is simple, and you will find various

methods in any basic cookbook. One method is described in the recipe called Baked Shrimp

Rapide.

There have long been two widely held beliefs about seafood: oysters are aphrodisiac and fish

is good for the brain. Unfortunately oysters have no such quality, as the first four recipes in

this section will prove—in the real but neglected sense of the word. Esquimaux live

exclusively on fish, and I have never heard of a genius from the North Pole.

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HUÎTRES APHRODITES SERVES 2 TO 4

The title of this recipe and part of its contents suggest a purpose and an effect above and

beyond the call of gastronomy. I have grave doubts that it will accomplish anything of the

sort. I am sure, however, that whether you serve the dish because you like oysters, or are

hungry, or for some other and ulterior motive, you will find it novel, exciting, and extremely

good.

And it is highly versatile: suitable for luncheon, informal dinner, or supper. It could well

appear as the fish course at a formal dinner. Moreover, it may be prepared equally well in

chafing dish or skillet. The proportions listed below are more or less a compromise. A pint of

oysters is not excessive for a reasonably hungry man at luncheon or supper, but it is too much

if other courses follow. This recipe, then, will be about right if it is to be the chief item at a

meal for two; otherwise it is sufficient for four.

1 QUART LARGE OYSTERS

1 TABLESPOON BUTTER

1 CLOVE GARLIC

½ TEASPOON MINT, VERY FINE

¼ TEASPOON MARJORAM

¾ TEASPOON POWDERED CINNAMON

1 PINCH CAYENNE

SALT

3 DASHES SCOTCH BONNET

¼ CUP MALMSEY

4 SPRIGS PARSLEY

Drain the oysters. Melt the butter in a chafing dish blazer or in a skillet, cook the garlic for a

few moments, and add the oysters. Sprinkle them with the mint, marjoram, cinnamon, and

cayenne. Season with salt and Scotch Bonnet, and stir well. Sauté the oysters, stirring

occasionally, until the edges begin to curl. Remove the garlic, and pour in the wine. Continue

to cook until the oysters are plump. Serve on hot plates, garnished with parsley.

The oysters may be placed on buttered triangles of hot toast, or, and I think better, be

accompanied by French bread. For salad, try Salade Belgique (qv). The best wine with

oysters is unquestionably Chablis, but this recipe is highly seasoned for that wine and is,

besides, rather a gala affair; so in a spirit of good clean fun, I commend to you: champagne.

Candor compels me to confess, too, that a glass or so of the same Malmsey that went into the

cooking is as good an accompaniment as it is an ingredient. If you must have a vegetable, let

it be tinned baby carrots. Simple fresh fruit would be the best way to finish the meal. Eve's

Dessert (qv) would be good, too.

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OYSTERS SMITHFIELD SERVES 4

The last place one would expect to find a recipe for inclusion in a cookbook would be a

newspaper cafeteria. Yet that is the origin of this one, or, at least, that is where I first ate

panned oysters and Smithfield ham. The cafeteria manager, who ate in the cafeteria as all

cafeteria managers should be required to do, enjoyed this combination and, during the oyster

season, was always able to produce it on demand. Occasionally on high days and holidays it

was on the regular bill of fare, price forty cents. You cannot produce it in your own kitchen

for that today, but, whatever its price, it is worth every penny. And you can cook it in less

than fifteen minutes. If you do not like Smithfield ham, you may substitute plain baked or

even boiled ham.

Photo owned by Urville

1 QUART OYSTERS

FRESH BLACK PEPPER

4 LARGE, THIN SLICES SMITHFIELD HAM, COOKED

4 SPRIGS WATER CRESS

1 LEMON, QUARTERED

In the skillet or the bottom pan of a chafing dish, cook the oysters in their own juice over a

gentle flame. After they have cooked for about two minutes, grind the pepper over them, and

cover with ham slices. Continue cooking slowly until the edges of the oysters curl and they

are plump. Remove from the fire. Place one slice of ham on each plate, put the oysters on top

of the ham, garnish with water cress and lemon quarters, and serve. A fine vegetable to go

with these oysters is braised celery, followed by Mixed Green Salad III (qv), or serve cold

asparagus spears and Hollandaise (qv), omitting salad. Crusty French bread, or rye bread with

fennel, and a well-chilled bottle of Chablis are musts. Green Mint Glacé (qv) would be a

good dessert.

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OYSTERS AU VIN ET ANETH SERVES 4

There was once in Paris, and may be still, a small but good inn with the fascinating name of

the Hotel of the Universe and of Portugal. It was, of course, on the Left Bank. There is no

known connection between that fact and this recipe, except that the name of the hostelry

fascinates me and the taste of the oysters prepared in this manner fascinates me too. For some

reason, obvious probably to a psychiatrist, I never eat the one without thinking of the other.

Oddly enough the same thing will happen to you.

Did you ever stand in a corner and try not to think of a white bear? But to return to our

oysters. They are almost as universal as the hotel. They may be served before the soup, or

after it; they may appear as a main course at dinner, at luncheon, and at supper. The recipe

will yield enough for four hungry people at dinner.

2 QUARTS OYSTERS

1 BOTTLE DRY WHITE WINE (CHABLIS IS BEST)

½ CUP BUTTER

6 TABLESPOONS FLOUR

2 TEASPOONS CHOPPED DILL

SALT

PEPPER

¼ CUP CREAM

¼ CUP FINE BREAD CRUMBS

4 SPRIGS WATER CRESS

Drain the oysters well. Place the wine in a saucepan, and bring it to a boil over a low flame.

Add the oysters and continue cooking for about one minute, or until the wine commences to

simmer again. Cover, turn out the fire, and allow the oysters to poach for another minute or

minute and a half. Drain the oysters, reserving the wine, and place them in a large casserole

or in individual ovenproof dishes. Strain the wine through cheesecloth. Melt the butter in the

saucepan, add the flour, and make a light roux, cooking it over a low flame for about five

minutes. Remove from the fire and gradually pour in enough of the hot, strained wine to

make a sauce, blending it well with a wooden spoon to avoid lumping.

Add the dill, salt, and pepper, and cook over a small flame, stirring constantly until the sauce

is cooked, add the cream, and cook a few minutes more. Pour the sauce over the oysters,

sprinkle with bread crumbs, and dot with butter. Place in a hot oven (500 degrees) for three

minutes. Remove, garnish with water cress, and serve very hot. There are no vegetables

which go well with this dish. You will want to serve French bread to sop up the sauce, and

follow the oysters with a raw Spinach Salad (qv). The wine should be Chablis. Ginger Ching

(qv) would be a refreshing dessert.

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OYSTER STEW HARFORD SERVES 2

As far as I know this stew was invented by my father; I have never found it anywhere except

in my own home. How he managed to make this contribution to the table has always

remained a mystery, as he could cook nothing else except bacon and eggs over a camp-fire.

Mystery or no, you will agree that his recipe is outstanding. Aside from the fact that it

contains oysters, this stew has little in common with the oyster stews noted on restaurant

menus in the eastern maritime states, and even less with those made beyond the mountains

where fresh unfrozen oysters are difficult to come by. If this dish is to be the soul-satisfying

thing it can be, fresh oysters are essential. A quart of oysters for two is not excessive if one

remembers that this recipe produces a stew, not a soup to be eaten as part of a meal. It is a

meal in itself. It is especially recommended for Sunday supper or an after-theatre party, as it

responds well to chafing dish treatment.

1 QUART FRESH, LARGE OYSTERS

6 TABLESPOONS BUTTER

1 CUP CHOPPED ONION

¾ CUP DICED CELERY, INCLUDING THE LEAVES

¼ DICED APPLE

½ PINT TABLE CREAM

SALT

PEPPER

2 TABLESPOONS PAPRIKA

Strain the oysters, but do not wash them. Reserve the oyster liquor. Melt the butter in a large

skillet or the top pan of a chafing dish. Add the oyster liquor. When the liquid is hot, put in

the diced onion, celery, and apple, and allow to cook slowly. This stew must be cooked

slowly over a low flame at all times, and must never be permitted to boil. When the celery

and onions are soft, about ten or fifteen minutes, pour in the cream, and then season to taste

with salt and pepper. Continue to cook slowly. Just as the first simmering bubbles appear

around the edges of the skillet, put in the oysters. Continue to cook over a low heat, stirring

frequently with a wooden spoon, until the oysters are done. Properly cooked oysters are

plump, firm, and the edges curl. Overcooking will make them shrink and detract from their

flavor. The moment the oysters are done, serve the stew in very hot plates, garnished with a

sprinkling of paprika.

Cole Slaw Mabel (qv) makes a good accompaniment; a better one is raw cabbage, cut into

wedges and served without dressing; and a large dish of oyster crackers. Add a bottle of

Chablis and the supper becomes a feast. Fresh fruit or a Blue cheese, such as Stilton or

Roquefort, is the only possible finale.

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CLAMS OZ SERVES 4

Unless you like pepper, this dish is not for you, but if you do, you will find it exhilarating

and, as the English say, "absolutely wizard." The recipe is controlled completely by the

quantity and the quality of the pepper put into the sauce. It must be freshly ground black Java

pepper, and you should use at least a teaspoonful, or more, depending on your tolerance.

Properly made it is an ideal clam dish for luncheon or supper; it has merit as a fish course at

dinner; and if you are fond of soft clams you may wish to serve it as a main course for that

meal. If you do, you would be well advised to add a fourth tin of clams.

3 TINS UNDERWOOD SOFT CLAMS

2 BOTTLES CLAM JUICE

1 BAY LEAF

½ TEASPOON THYME

3 TABLESPOONS BUTTER

2 TABLESPOONS FLOUR

½ TABLESPOON DRY MUSTARD

2 TABLESPOONS WHITE WINE

½ TEASPOON SALT

1 TEASPOON MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE

½ TABLESPOON FRESH BLACK PEPPER

Drain the clams and discard the liquid. Place the bottled clam juice in a saucepan; add the bay

leaf and thyme, and place, covered, over a low flame to simmer for about fifteen minutes.

Melt the butter in another and larger saucepan, add the flour and dry mustard to make a roux,

and cook for five minutes over a low flame. When cooked, remove the bay leaf from the clam

juice, and gradually add the juice to the roux to make a sauce. Cook the sauce slowly, stirring

constantly, for about ten minutes. Add the white wine, the salt, the monosodium glutamate,

and grind in the black pepper. Still stirring, cook until the sauce comes to a boil, but do not

allow it to boil. Put the clams in the sauce, heat through, and serve at once.

You may serve the clams on toast triangles, but French bread on the side is better. For

vegetables: baby beets, to give color, or baby lima beans are suggestions. Personally I do not

like vegetables with clams, but think a Double Cressed Salad (qv) after them makes an

enviable luncheon or supper. Beer is an excellent beverage with these clams, and so, too, for

that matter, is a moderately dry white wine, Vouvray, for example. Fragole Marsala (qv) is a

dessert to be considered.

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CLAM STEW BARNEY OLDFIELD SERVES 2

Aside from its succulence, the chief attribute of this stew is the celerity with which it can be

concocted and served. Hence its name. I have never timed it, but my guess is that it can be

got ready and served in about the time it takes a fast racing car to make one circuit of the

Nürburgring, or say ten minutes. It is one of the products of the luncheon club mentioned in

the Introduction and is the first dish I think of when I have to put a midday meal or a supper

on the table in haste. It has merit beyond its speed, as it is rich, full-flavored, and filling. It is,

too, ideal for chafing dish cookery. If you and your guest are very hungry, it might be wise to

double the quantities, as the recipe yields no more than two medium portions. Brands other

than those mentioned may do as well, but I have not tried them. I know these will make an

excellent dish.

1 TIN UNDERWOOD SOFT CLAMS

1 TIN CAMPBELL'S CONDENSED CLAM CHOWDER

2 TABLESPOONS DRY WHITE WINE

Photo owned by Marlith

Drain the clams and reserve the liquor. Put the clam chowder in a saucepan or chafing dish,

and, over a low heat, thin with liquor from the clams. (If all the liquid is used, the stew will

be on the thin side; three quarters of the clam juice will give a good, solid stew.) Add the

clams and heat thoroughly. Just before serving, stir the while wine in well; the stew will need

no other seasoning.

Carr's Table Water Biscuits and a Covent Garden Salad (qv) with hot coffee make a highly

satisfactory quick meal. If it is to be more than that, include broccoli as a vegetable, a bottle

of Riesling, and Peaches Tiberius (qv) for dessert. Crab Imperial, Deviled Crab, Crab

Ravigotte, Stuffed Crab, or Crab Capitol are essentially the same, with only minor variations

in content. One uses green peppers, another mayonnaise, some use egg yolks raw, others use

eggs hard-boiled; one at least uses poultry seasoning. The differences are unimportant. All

have in common dry mustard and other chemically hot condiments. This particular recipe

could be given any of the foregoing names without fear of serious dissent, but as it was first

prepared in the shadow of the Capitol in Washington that seemed an appropriate name. If

another reason is required, the crab mixture could be heaped in the baking dishes to resemble

a dome and topped with half a radish in lieu of the Statue of Freedom. Back-fin crab lump

makes a better dish, but for once ordinary crab flakes may be substituted, with pecuniary

benefit to the host. This is a good dinner dish, and does well at luncheon or supper.

½ POUND MUSHROOMS

2 LARGE STALKS CELERY

2 PIMIENTOS

3 SPRING ONIONS

6 TABLESPOONS BUTTER

l½ CUPS MILK

5 TABLESPOONS FLOUR

1 TEASPOON SALT

½ TEASPOON BLACK PEPPER

1/8 TEASPOON CAYENNE

1 TABLESPOON DRY MUSTARD

TABASCO

¼ CUP WHITE WINE

l½ POUNDS CRAB LUMP

4 TEASPOONS FINE BREAD CRUMBS

Chop the mushrooms, not too fine. Dice the celery and the pimientos, and slice the spring

onions all fine but not minced. Melt the butter in a large skillet and sauté the mushrooms over

a low fire until they are about half cooked. Add the celery and the onion and continue to cook

over a low flame until they are soft. Scald the milk. Add the flour to the skillet and blend into

a light roux. Cook for about five minutes, remove from the fire, and gradually stir in the hot

milk to make a smooth sauce. Put in the salt, pepper, cayenne, mustard, and three or four

dashes Tabasco. Stir in well and return to the fire, cooking slowly until the sauce thickens,

about ten minutes, stirring constantly. Add the white wine and stir well. Place the crab lump

in a large bowl, add the diced pimientos, and pour on the contents of the skillet. Mix the

whole very thoroughly but gently with a fork or your fingers, being careful not to break up

the crab. Grease four individual baking dishes or ramekins with butter—use crab shells for an

informal meal—and fill each with a goodly portion of the crab mixture. Sprinkle lightly with

bread crumbs, dot with a little butter, and bake in a moderate oven (350 degrees) for five

minutes. Serve hot.

For the same reason that I eat homemade biscuits with fish-habit—I eat fresh asparagus with

this crab, but there is no reason why you should not serve Brussels sprouts or any other green

vegetable with it. Mixed Green Salad I (qv) will follow it beautifully. And it cries aloud for

wine. Beer is possible, but a Chablis or a Riesling is much, much better. Raspberry Fluff (qv)

would be a suitable dessert.

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CRAB CHESAPEAKE SERVES 2

The Chesapeake Bay and the land immediately surrounding it are justly famous for their

history, hospitality, and contributions to gastronomy. Among these last, the oyster and the

blue crab, soft shell or hard, are, if I may use the expression, peerless peers. No resident of

the area will admit that any other seafood anywhere can compare with either. He may be

right. But right or wrong, few dishes will equal in delicacy of flavor Crab Chesapeake. At

first glance this recipe may seem to be no more than crab served in a cream sauce. The

difference, for which we give a large "vive" lies in the use of saffron, whose subtle flavor

adds to that of the crab and imparts a piquancy of its own.

To make this dish properly—and if you do not make it that way, do not make it at all—you

must use back-fin crab lump; crab flakes simply will not do. The fresher it is, the better, but if

you are limited to frozen crab lump, be sure that it has thawed slowly and completely.

2 TABLESPOONS BUTTER

2 TABLESPOONS FLOUR

½ PINT TABLE CREAM

1 EGG YOLK

4 TABLESPOONS SHERRY

½ TEASPOON POWDERED SAFFRON

SALT

PEPPER

1 POUND FRESH CRAB LUMP

PAPRIKA

In a large skillet or moderate-size saucepan, make a roux with the butter and flour; add the

cream, and stir into a light cream sauce. Shake up the egg yolk with one tablespoon of the

sherry in a swirl mixer, or beat together lightly in a cup, and thicken the sauce with this

mixture, being sure that once the egg has been added the sauce is never allowed to boil. Cook

the sauce slowly until it just reaches the simmering stage. It should be quite thick. Add the

remaining sherry, and stir in the saffron. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Now add the

crab lump, and stir it well in with a wooden spoon, being careful not to break up the crab

lumps.

Get the mixture as hot as possible without boiling, and serve immediately on triangles of

buttered toast. Garnish with paprika. This dish must not be allowed to stand; it becomes mush

and is worse than cold scrambled eggs. If for whatever reason you cannot serve it

immediately, keep it warm in a double boiler.

This crab is good at any time, but is at its best, I think, at Sunday supper, or as a main dish at

an intimate dinner. Baby carrots and Mixed Green Salad III (qv) are suggested as combining

well with it. Or you might omit the carrots and the salad and serve cold artichokes with

Hollandaise (qv). A very good Piesporter is a fitting beverage, but it must be of the best.

Although crabs and beer are traditional companions, in this case beer is de trop. Bananas

Senegalese (qv) is possible with Crab Chesapeake—but fresh fruit is much better.

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CRAB CFUSFIELD SERVES 4

Crisfield, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, is the center of the Chesapeake Bay crabbing

industry and produces some of the finest crab meat in the world. It is only proper, therefore,

that the town should give its name to at least one crab dish. The local city fathers should be

truly proud to claim this one, which is a kind of baked crab salad. The original recipe

included shrimp. It came from one whose impeccable taste in sherry indicates a true

gastronome . . . but in my opinion, shrimp detracts from, rather than adds to, the dish, which

would be welcome at any meal except a formal dinner. Even there it would serve as a fish

course. From a culinary point of view, the recipe is technically interesting, because the onion,

celery, and green pepper are not sautéed in butter before they are added to the crab. The

recipe will suffice for four, if the four are not too hungry.

1 CHOPPED MEDIUM ONION

l½ CHOPPED GREEN PEPPERS

½ CUP CHOPPED CELERY

2 POUNDS CRAB LUMP

1 CUP COOKED PEAS

1 TABLESPOON WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE

SALT

CAYENNE

l½ CUPS MAYONNAISE

4 TABLESPOONS BUTTER

½ CUP FINE BREAD CRUMBS

Photo owned by Malagua

Chop the onion, the green pepper, and the celery very fine. Place the crab in a large mixing

bowl, add the green pepper, celery, onion, cooked peas, Worcestershire sauce, about half a

teaspoon of salt, and a pinch or two of cayenne. Ladle the mayonnaise over it, and mix all

very well. Grease a baking dish or casserole with butter, and put the mixture in it. Cover with

thin patties of butter, and sprinkle the bread crumbs over all. Place in a moderate oven (350

degrees) for twenty-five or thirty minutes. Serve hot.

With peas as an integral part of the dish, you will require no green vegetable. I like to serve it

with French bread or biscuits, but julienne potatoes would be extremely good. For salad, Cole

Slaw Mabel (qv) is not to be overlooked. You will want a dry white wine such as a

Niersteiner, or a reasonably good Chablis. The really good ones should be reserved for

oysters. Chocolate Whiffle (qv) is a possible dessert, as is a Rum Omelette (qv).

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SOFT CRABS MARYLAND SERVES 2

Properly cooked, the soft crab is to seafood what Napoleon brandy is to spirits, what Chateau

Yquem is to sauterne, and what Hecate is to witches. Like roost food which comes out of the

waters, the soft crab is at its best when it is freshly caught, cleaned instantly, cooked

immediately, and eaten at once. Unless, of course, you are living hard by the crab's home, this

is impracticable, but under no circumstances should you buy anything but live crabs. They

should be cleaned either by the chef in the kitchen just before cooking; or by the fishmonger

at the time of purchase, taken to the stove swiftly, and sautéed forthwith. (If you do not know

the technique of cleaning soft crabs, a demonstration is almost mandatory. Once seen and

explained, it is simple, messy, but very rewarding in the feeling of accomplishment it gives.)

There is one way and one way only to cook the soft crab so as to preserve its delicate flavour.

It must be sautéed unadorned and quickly in butter, and seasoned with salt and pepper when

it is about half done. To dip it in batter or in bread crumbs is a blasphemy; to serve it with

tartar or any sauce other than its own juices mixed with butter is a heresy worse than that of

the Albigenses.

1/8 POUND BUTTER

6 SOFT CRABS

SALT

PEPPER

4 SPRIGS PARSLEY

Melt the butter in a skillet large enough to accommodate all the crabs flat on their fronts. Use

two skillets if necessary. The crabs will shrink a little in cooking; they will also splatter, so

wear an apron. When the butter is hot—it should not brown before the crabs go in—add the

crabs and sauté rapidly for about five minutes. Turn each crab with a spatula or cake turner,

and cook rapidly on their backs for five minutes. Season with salt and pepper, turn crabs

over, and season again. Continue cooking for another five minutes.

Remove to a hot platter, pour over them the juices from the skillet, garnish with parsley, and

serve. The only possible additional flavouring might be a dash of juice squeezed from a

freshly cut lemon.

The perfect accompaniment to soft crabs is corn on the cob, fresh corn on the cob with lots of

butter, salt, and freshly ground pepper. That and a raw Spinach Salad (qv) make an almost

perfect meal, whether it be luncheon, dinner, or supper. If you want another vegetable try

baby carrots. For beverage you may serve a Piesporter or even a Graves, but the ideal drink

with soft crabs is beer, cold and in quantity. And for dessert, be festive and serve Cherries

Jubilee (qv). There is no truth in the rumour that crabs and ice cream are incompatible.

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LOBSTER CANTONESE SERVES 4

One of the great cuisines of the world is Chinese, of which there are two rival schools:

Cantonese and Mandarin. To argue their respective merits is feckless, but to draw on them for

culinary lore makes sense. This recipe derives from the Cantonese school. Much of its merit

comes from the inclusion of bamboo shoots and water chestnuts. These two comestibles are

not always available, and I have substituted for them celery and carrots respectively. If you

can procure the two Chinese items, use them; if not, the more homely American vegetables

will do admirably. Use freshly cooked lobster if possible; otherwise tinned Canadian lobster

will suffice. This is a splendid luncheon or supper dish and will give you an opportunity to

use those chopsticks which Uncle Fred brought back from his trip around the world.

3 STALKS CELERY

1 LARGE CARROT

4 SPRING ONIONS

3 TABLESPOONS WESSON—OR OTHER BLAND—OIL

6 RASHERS BACON

3 CUPS CHICKEN BROTH

½ CUP WATER

3 TEASPOONS SOY SAUCE

3 TABLESPOONS CORNSTARCH

4 CUPS COOKED LOBSTER MEAT, COARSELY CHOPPED

2 EGGS

1 TEASPOON GARLIC POWDER

½ TEASPOON PEPPER

1 TEASPOON M0N0S0DIUM GLUTAMATE

Dice the celery and the carrot, and slice the spring onions, including the green tops, all very

fine. Heat the oil very hot in a skillet, put in the diced onion, celery, and carrot; and cook,

stirring frequently, over a moderate flame for about twelve minutes. Meanwhile, in another

skillet, fry the bacon until crisp, discard the grease, drain the bacon, and mince it. Heat the

chicken broth. Mix the water, the soy sauce, and the cornstarch until smooth. Place the

chopped lobster in the skillet with the celery, carrot, and onion mixture. Add the bacon, and

pour the chicken broth over it. Beat the eggs lightly, and pour in. Do all this over a low fire,

stirring constantly. Let cook for about five minutes, and then gradually add the water-

soysauce-cornstarch mixture. Season the whole with garlic powder, black pepper, and mono-

sodium glutamate. Let cook another five minutes, continuing to stir. Serve hot.

I have tried this dish over toast and it was very good, but it really should be served over

steamed or boiled rice, with, perhaps, a few peas, chopped broccoli, or bok toy. It goes well

with tea, better with beer, even better with white wine. But by borrowing an idea from the

Japanese, you may get an almost perfect combination. Serve hot Sake or, failing that, pour a

bottle of Sauterne into a saucepan and heat it, without letting it boil. Remove to a covered

pitcher with a spout, and serve warm in after-dinner coffee cups. I think no salad is necessary

or desirable. The dessert will be, of course, Ginger Ching (qv).

Photo owned by Matthew

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LOBSTER STEW MERCEDES-BENZ SERVES 2

This quick lobster stew is a rich, colourful, and useful contribution to luncheon, supper, and

late party menus. Like Clam Stew Barney Oldfield it is simple and very fast to make, and can

be put together in the kitchen or in a chafing dish with equal celerity. For some reason,

probably because of Lobster Lil, it has always seemed a little more formal than the Clam

Stew and could well be the basis for a proper dinner. The recipe makes just about enough for

two moderately hungry souls; so you may wish to increase the quantity if you and your guest

want more than a "short order" meal. However or whenever you have it, you will find it a

rewarding dish.

1 TIN AU GOURMET CANADIAN LOBSTER

1 TIN JACK AUGUST'S LOBSTER STEW

½ CUP CREAM

1 TABLESPOON BUTTER

2 TABLESPOONS SHERRY

¼ TEASPOON POWDERED SAFFRON

SALT

PEPPER

Remove the gristle from the lobster claws, and cut the lobster into generous pieces. Put the

Jack August stew into a saucepan or the top pan of a chafing dish, thin with cream, and add

the butter. When the butter has melted, stir in the sherry and the saffron. Season to taste with

salt and pepper. Add the lobster meat and heat thoroughly over a low flame. Serve in hot

soup plates.

Trenton oyster crackers or buttered French bread should be served with the stew. It is

delicious, too, over boiled rice. With lobster I like a Piesporter. To follow I would suggest

Salade Belgique (qv) with a mustard dressing. Like Oyster Stew Harford, this is no dish for

calorie counters. Eve's Dessert (qv) would end the meal pleasantly and not too richly.

▼▼▼

BAKED SHRIMP RAPIDE SERVES 4

These shrimp are similar to what is known in the Chesapeake Bay country as Shrimp

Norfolk, but are quicker and will not dry up as Shrimp Norfolk have been known to do. The

wine and dill combine to impart a very delicate taste to this dish; yet a man was once so

callous as to pour ketchup on it. His wife left him. Starting with already cooked shrimp, the

recipe takes about fifteen minutes; with green shrimp, double the time.

Green shrimp are much better and less expensive than commercially cooked shrimp, and little

trouble to prepare (see below). As given, the recipe will feed four moderately hungry people.

It would do better, probably, for three, as a half-pound of shrimp per person is not

unreasonable. Two pounds of raw shrimp will yield about a pound and a half of cooked.

To cook green shrimp: half fill a large saucepan with water and add the juice of a lemon and

a tablespoon of salt. Bring the water to a boil, toss in the unshelled shrimp, and boil them for

five minutes—no longer. Drain in a colander, run cold water over them, or place in a

refrigerator until they are cool enough to handle. Remove the shells and devein them.

l½ POUNDS COOKED SHRIMP

6 TABLESPOONS BUTTER

3 TEASPOONS FINELY CHOPPED FRESH DILL

1 TEASPOON SALT

¼ TEASPOON BLACK PEPPER

½ CUP DRY WHITE WINE

4 SPRIGS WATER CRESS

Grease four ovenproof individual serving dishes lightly with butter. Put in the shrimp, dot

with butter, sprinkle with dill (dried dill or dill seed may be substituted for fresh), salt, and

pepper. Pour the wine overall and place in an oven pre-heated to 350 degrees. Ten minutes

will suffice to heat thoroughly, but baste twice during that time. Remove from the oven,

garnish with water cress, and serve very hot. Almost any green vegetable goes well with

these shrimp. Serve them with salt sticks and hot artichokes with melted butter, and follow

with Beet Daishe (qv). Better yet, substitute Avocado Salad (qv) for the vegetables and the

Daishe. The wine should be light, a Riesling or a Niersteiner. One dessert might be Green

Mint Glacé (qv).

▼▼▼

SHRIMP CREOLE SERVES 4

This is a quick version of a famous Louisiana shrimp dish and belongs in that group of

recipes which use tinned, concentrated soups for sauces. Thus made, it has the additional

merit of being qualitatively elastic, as you may always add rice—the rice in the soup is

enough for four normal servings—and thus make the recipe stretch to feed an additional

mouth. The same sauce may be used to equally good advantage with cooked chicken, either

cubed or in larger pieces, such as breasts or legs. If, therefore, your larder contains a few tins

of condensed gumbo Creole soup, and a tin or two of either shrimp—fresh shrimp are

better—or boned chicken you have quickly available an excellent means of coping with

unexpected diners and can urge them to stay with a good conscience, or, at least, and it comes

to the same thing, secure in the knowledge that you can feed them well and fully.

Photo owned by Cayenne Man

2 RASHERS BACON

4 STALKS CELERY

1 MEDIUM ONION

2 TABLESPOONS BUTTER

2 TINS CONDENSED GUMBO CREOLE SOUP

4 TABLESPOONS CONDENSED CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP

½ CUP WHITE WINE

SALT

PEPPER

TABASCO

l½ POUNDS COOKED SHRIMP

Sauté the bacon until crisp, and chop it, not too fine. Dice the celery and the onion. Melt the

butter in a small skillet and sauté the celery and onion dice until soft. Empty the gumbo

Creole soup into a large saucepan, add the cooked bacon, the celery, onion, tomato soup, and

white wine. Season with salt and pepper and a dash or two of Tabasco. Stir the mixture well

and put in the shrimp. Cook over a low flame until thoroughly hot. Serve very hot.

Cold artichokes with Hollandaise (qv) may serve as both salad and green vegetable, as may

an Avocado Salad (qv), but without bacon in the dressing. An excellent wine would be

Liebfraumilch, while Chocolate Cheese (qv) would be a good dessert.

▼▼▼

SHRIMP ORLEANS SERVES 4

Shrimp Orleans could be said to stand in loco parentis to this book. It, like a Rasputini (qv), a

noble drink, was born of the same necessity: making too little do for too many. Or, to be

exact, stretching the quantity of available food and drink to nourish a couple of extra guests

who arrived after the shops had closed and when I was low on both gin and shrimp.

The success of the cocktail, but more especially of the shrimp, spurred a search for other

exciting recipes which could be prepared quickly with ingredients easily stored in the larder.

Because it was partly to help meet similar emergencies that this book was written, Shrimp

Orleans merits appreciation; its taste merits acclaim.

A short note on the ingredients may be helpful. The recipe calls for freshly cooked shrimp

and a specific kind of concentrated crayfish bisque, a product of New Orleans. Frozen,

tinned, or jarred shrimp may be substituted, but in that case the sauce should be allowed to

simmer alone until you are almost ready to serve, the shrimp then added and cooked only

long enough to heat through. The method of cooking green shrimp appears under Baked

Shrimp Rapide (qv). Now for the crayfish bisque.

The recipe was first made with a variety called "Laugh Eat", a dreadful pun on the name of

the famous Louisiana freebooter. This is the best soup I have found for the purpose. "Vieux

Carre" another variety, obviously from New Orleans, will serve almost as well. If neither is

available, try a good tinned shrimp or lobster bisque. I have used both successfully. They are

not concentrated as a rule, and you should omit the cream. The end result differs somewhat

from the original Shrimp Orleans, but it is still a good dish.

l¼ CUPS UNCOOKED RICE

3 TABLESPOONS CHOPPED PARSLEY

2 TINS "LAUGH EAT" CRAYFISH BISQUE

½ PINT CREAM

1 TEASPOON CURRY POWDER

1 TEASPOON SALT

¼ TEASPOON PEPPER

l½ POUNDS COOKED FRESH SHRIMP

While the rice is boiling, chop the parsley very fine. Put the soup into a large saucepan or

skillet and gradually dilute with cream, while heating slowly. Stirring constantly, make a

fairly thick sauce. When the sauce is smooth and the consistency desired, add the parsley,

curry powder, salt, and pepper. Put in the shrimp, and let the dish simmer for about fifteen

minutes. Serve over hot rice, which should be just about ready to eat by the time the shrimp

are cooked.

Served with a dry white wine such as Pouilly Fuissé, and followed by Mixed Green Salad I

(qv) containing plenty of spring onions, radishes, and raw carrots, Shrimp Orleans will give

you a memorable dinner. If you want to add a green vegetable, peas or baby carrots are

recommended. To make the evening more memorable, substitute for the white wine a type of

French vin rose called Sainte Roseline. It is superb. One fine dessert would be Cherries

Jubilee (qv).

▼▼▼

SHRIMP RISOTTO SERVES 4

A risotto is a stew made with rice. The other chief ingredient can be ham—an example

follows later—or chicken, or lamb, or any number of seafoods. This one happens to be made

with shrimp. It is essentially an informal dish for dinner or supper, but can prove useful, too,

at luncheon. You may add to the recipe chopped onions, or peas, or garlic, without harm or

much improvement. As it stands, the recipe is quick and simple but provides adequate

provender. If you wish to cut a corner—some of these recipes can be streamlined further—

you may substitute tinned mushrooms for fresh but will lose in flavour noticeably if you do.

In a pinch, too, you could use plain steamed rather than wild rice without serious damage.

l½ POUNDS COOKED SHRIMP

½ POUND FRESH MUSHROOMS

1 TIN (TWELVE OUNCES) COOKED WILD RICE

5 TABLESPOONS BUTTER

1 LARGE DICED GREEN PEPPER

1 SMALL JAR (THREE) DICED PIMIENTOS

SALT

PEPPER

TABASCO

6 TABLESPOONS WHITE WINE

If the shrimp are large, cut into thirds; if small, into halves. Wash the mushrooms, remove

stems, and slice both caps and stems not too fine. Wash the rice in running warm water in a

colander for two minutes. Melt two tablespoons of the butter in a large, heavy saucepan, and

sauté over a moderate flame the diced green pepper until soft. Add the mushrooms and two

more tablespoons butter, and continue to sauté the mixture, turning frequently, for about five

minutes. Reduce the flame. Add the wild rice, the diced pimiento, and the chopped shrimp;

season with salt, pepper, and two dashes of Tabasco. Pour in the white wine, and thoroughly

stir the mixture. Place the remaining tablespoon of butter on top of the risotto, and let cook

over a low fire for about ten minutes more. Serve on hot plates.

The best possible green vegetables with this shrimp are peas or green beans, served

separately or cooked and added to the risotto just before you put in the wine. If you want an

unforgettable risotto dish, include exotic ingredients like shiitake mushrooms and truffle oil.

Follow it with a Greenbrier Salad (qv) and drink with it a good Niersteiner or a Tavel. For

dessert, Chocolate Whiffle (qv) might be amusing.

▼▼▼

SCALLOPS MARINARA SERVES 4

You will find, as you go through this cookbook, a number of uses for Marinara Sauce, but

none of them will be more apposite than its combination with scallops. Thus dressed, scallops

make a fine appearance and a quick one too, at luncheon or supper or, in smaller quantity, as

a fish course at a formal dinner. Whether you cook this recipe in the kitchen or at the table in

a chafing dish, take care not to overcook the scallops lest they become tough.

Photo owned by Archon

3 TABLESPOONS BUTTER

3 TABLESPOONS DRY WHITE WINE

2 FOUNDS SCALLOPS

½ TEASPOON SALT

½ TEASPOON PEPPER

6 TABLESPOONS MARINARA SAUCE

Melt the butter in a skillet or the blazer of a chafing dish. Add the white wine. When the

mixture is hot, put in the scallops and season with salt and pepper. Cook over low heat,

turning frequently, until almost done, about four minutes. Drain the scallops, return them to

the skillet, and add the Marinara Sauce. Stir well, and cook for about three minutes more.

Serve at once on hot plates. Serve the scallops on toast triangles, or accompany them with

French bread, or julienne potatoes. Any green vegetable should be quite plain: peas, baby

carrots, or carrots julienne sautéed in a little butter with a hint of sugar, or simple spinach—

all are possibilities. Follow with an equally simple salad, such as Covent Garden (qv). The

wine should be white, but can be either dry or a little, but very little, on the sweet side. A

Barsac would be ideal. Try Raspberry Fluff (qv) for dessert.

▼▼▼

SCALLOPS MENTON SERVES 4

In some restaurants this method of cooking scallops is listed on the menu as "Scallops

Provencal." Normally, Sauce Provencal contains tomatoes, which have always been

extensively grown in the area around Avignon and in Provence generally. But the most

obvious ingredient of this sauce is garlic—a condiment not exactly unknown in France but

better known in Italy. Menton lies on the border between the two countries; what better name

could there be?

Whether you serve it for luncheon, or supper, or as an informal dinner, it takes only a few

minutes to prepare and will gladden the heart and stomach, not to mention the tongue, of any

gourmet. But before you serve it be sure your guests like garlic.

2 POUNDS SCALLOPS

3 LARGE CLOVES GARLIC

8 TABLESPOONS BUTTER

1 TEASPOON FLOUR

3 TABLESPOONS CHOPPED PARSLEY

½ TEASPOON SALT

¼ TEASPOON PEPPER

1 TEASPOON PAPRIKA

2 TABLESPOONS WHITE WINE

1 LEMON, QUARTERED

Drain the scallops. Mince the garlic very fine, or, better yet, put it through a garlic press. In a

large skillet, brown four tablespoons of butter. Sauté the scallops in the butter, carefully

turning them, for approximately five minutes over a moderate fire. Cooking them longer will

make them tough. Brown remainder of the butter in a small saucepan, thicken it slightly with

the flour, lower the heat, and add the chopped parsley, salt, pepper, and paprika. About a

minute and a half before you are ready to serve, add the garlic. It is likely to turn brown if

added sooner.

Remove the scallops to a hot platter, discarding the juices in which they have cooked. Add

the white wine to the sauce, heat for a few seconds longer, and pour the sauce over the

scallops. Garnish with lemon quarters.

French bread is ideal with this, or homemade baking-powder biscuits. Chopped broccoli au

naturel and/or baby beets can be added for vegetables. Or perhaps creamed spinach with a

mere hint of onion. The salad should be bland, Salade Belgique (qv), for example, with a

light vinegar and oil dressing. Oddly enough, these scallops do extremely well with a good

Graves. Fragole Marsala (qv) would make an appropriate and good dessert.

▼▼▼

BAKED SALMON DORIA SERVES 4

One advantage of this recipe is that it may be used to cook either a whole salmon or salmon

steaks. If the latter, have them cut about an inch and a half thick. The first time I tried this

recipe, but before sampling the result, I was not too happy about combining cream and

cucumber. It reminded me too vividly of a motion picture in which Wallace Beery, dressed in

armour, sat on a castle wall and made an horrendous lunch from a gigantic dill pickle and a

quart bottle of milk. The combination here, I assure you, is quite different. The cucumber

imparts a very delicate and pleasant flavour to the sauce. It is an excellent dinner dish and, if

you cook a whole salmon, noble in appearance. Fresh minced garlic may be substituted for

the garlic powder, of course.

Photo owned by Marlith

2 CUCUMBERS

1 TEASPOON SALT

½ TEASPOON BLACK PEPPER

4 TEASPOONS THYME

1 TABLESPOON MINCED PARSLEY

1 TEASPOON GARLIC POWDER

¼ POUND BUTTER

1 SALMON, ABOUT FIVE POUNDS

½ PINT CREAM

½ PINT MILK

¼ LARGE CARROT, SLICED VERY THIN

4 SPRIGS PARSLEY

Peel the cucumbers and slice them coarsely. Mix the salt, pepper, thyme, parsley, and garlic

powder well in a small bowl. Melt the butter in a large baking pan with a cover. Rub the herb

and seasoning mixture well into the fish on both sides. Place the fish in the melted butter and

baste it well. Pour in the cream and milk, and place the cucumber slices around the fish.

Cover and bake in a hot oven (450 degrees) for about fifty minutes—less for salmon steaks—

or until fish is done. Transfer it to a serving platter. Discard the cucumber, and pour the sauce

over the fish. Garnish with carrot slices and sprigs of parsley, and serve.

Not whim but habit has accustomed me to eating homemade biscuits with fish, and I see no

reason to make an exception in this case; but if you do not like biscuits, try French-fried or

julienne potatoes instead. Carrot slices sautéed in butter and a touch of sugar make an

appropriate vegetable and one which will "pick up" the decor of the fish itself. Cole Slaw

Mabel (qv) or Tomato Daishe (qv) would be good salad choices. For wine I would select a

Piesporter, and for dessert Peaches Tiberius (qv).

▼▼▼

SOLE VERMOUTH SERVES 4

I am indebted to a widely travelled friend for this splendid and unusual recipe, which makes a

fine fish course for a formal dinner or a fine main course for that matter. The vermouth

imparts an intriguing flavour, but be sure that the type you use is very dry. Any other kind

will bring ruin. The recipe calls for sole, but fillet of flounder makes a most acceptable

substitute in this case.

1/8 POUND BUTTER

½ CUP ONION, CHOPPED FINE

½ POUND SLICED MUSHROOMS

SALT

PEPPER

l½ POUNDS FILLET OF SOLE

¾ CUP DRY VERMOUTH

1 PINT CREAM

4 SPRIGS PARSLEY

Melt the butter in a shallow pan large enough to take the fish. Cook the chopped onion until

soft over a low fire, and add the sliced mushrooms; continue to cook slowly, stirring from

time to time, until the mushrooms are brown. Season well with salt and pepper. Remove from

the fire. Place the fillets of fish on the bed of mushrooms and onions; pour the vermouth and

cream over it. Place the pan in a moderate oven (350 degrees) and poach until done, about

thirty minutes. Transfer the fish to a hot platter; pour the contents of the pan over it. Garnish

with sprigs of parsley and serve.

Hot biscuits or baby new potatoes with butter and chopped parsley, and boiled, unpeeled

zucchini or plain spinach go well with this sole, which should be followed by Cole Slaw

Mabel (qv) or Beet Daishe (qv). The wine should be light and dry—Riesling or Niersteiner.

Bananas Senegalese (qv) will do well as a final course.

▼▼▼

SHAD ROE MACHIAVELLI SERVES 4

Shad roe is to fish—Dover sole excepted—what soft crabs are to crustaceans, and filet

mignon is to steak. Shad roe baked or broiled with a little butter, salt, and pepper, is

magnificent, and the following recipe gilds the lily in a way, but the way is subtle, which

explains, or should, the name of this dish. Both soft crabs and a filet mignon should be

cooked as simply as possible; so, in general, should shad roe. Yet like a great piano concerto,

and like other really great basic foods, it lends itself to an impromptu cadenza now and again,

and it is such a variation you may play in this recipe. Unfortunately, like soft crabs, shad roe

has a season, and out of that season it is senseless to attempt it, despite deep freezes and the

tinning industry. Shad roe must be fresh. I would as soon cook soft crabs in the middle of

winter as I would shad roe in the fall. This recipe will give you a superior dinner dish. It may

be waste-fully used at luncheon or supper; with the quantity cut in half it will serve

beautifully as a fish course at a formal dinner.

4 SETS FRESH SHAD ROE

3 TABLESPOONS BUTTER

1 TEASPOON FRESH PEPPER

1 TEASPOON DILL, CHOPPED FINE

2 CUPS WHITE WINE

1 BAY LEAF

8 RASHERS BACON

8 SLICES LEMON, VERY THIN

Wash the shad roe in softly running cold water. Grease a large baking dish well with butter.

Lay the roe in it. Dot the roe with butter, and sprinkle it with freshly ground pepper and the

chopped dill. Gently pour on the white wine. Break up the bay leaf and toss it in. Place in a

pre-heated, hot oven (450 degrees), and bake for thirty minutes, basting each five minutes

and turning once. Meanwhile fry the bacon over a low flame until crisp; drain and mince.

When the roe has finished cooking, transfer to a large hot platter or individual plates, pour a

little of the wine over it, and sprinkle with the minced bacon. Garnish with the lemon slices,

and serve hot.

A dish like this deserves the best. Serve with it artichokes or fresh asparagus with melted

butter. Follow it with Salade Belgique (qv) and give your guests either a Montrachet or one

of the better Piesporters. Zabaglione (qv) would be a subtle choice of dessert.

▼▼▼

FLOUNDER FORMAGGIO SERVES 4

Fish and chips sounds fine in London, fish and cheese sounds doubtful anywhere, but when

the combination includes almonds, the recipe has to be given very high marks indeed. Dover

sole should be substituted for flounder if you can get it, which is unlikely. But sole or

flounder, you will have a very fine fish course for dinner or a good main course for that meal.

The dish is a little elaborate for luncheon or supper. The best broth, of course, is fish stock,

but if that is unavailable, chicken stock or even veal broth will serve admirably. Blanched

almonds are essential.

1 LARGE ONION

½ CUP BLANCHED ALMONDS

4 TABLESPOONS BUTTER

2 POUNDS FILLET OF FLOUNDER

2 TABLESPOONS FLOUR

4 CUPS BROTH

½ PINT WHIPPING CREAM

SALT

PEPPER

½ CUP GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE

Chop the onion fine and the almonds not too fine. Melt two tablespoons butter in a skillet,

and sauté the chopped onion until soft. Add the broth. Roll the flounder fillets and fasten

them with toothpicks. Poach them in the skillet, covered and over a low fire, until done, about

twelve minutes. Remove the toothpicks, and transfer the fish to individual baking dishes.

Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan, make a roux with the flour, and cook it, stirring

constantly, over a low flame for five minutes. Strain the broth and gradually add to the roux

to make a fairly thick sauce. Cook it for about ten minutes, stirring all the time. Add the

whipping cream, the salt and pepper, and over the: same low flame stir in the Parmesan

cheese slowly until the sauce thickens again. Pour it over the fish. Sprinkle the chopped

almonds over the top. Place the baking dishes in the broiler under a high flame (500 degrees)

for five minutes. Garnish with a sprig of parsley each, and serve at once.

Baby new potatoes, boiled, and dressed with butter and chopped parsley, are perfect here. I

would serve cold asparagus spears with Hollandaise (qv), as both green vegetable and salad,

and a Lachryma Christi. The dessert should be fresh fruit.

▼▼▼

SEAFOOD ET AL SERVES 6

If you like variety in your seafood, this is your dish. The recipe contains four different kinds,

but there is no reason why you should not include also: cooked lobster, clams, several other

types of filleted fish, or perhaps octopus. Crab meat should be avoided, as it tends to

disintegrate and lose its flavour when combined with more robust ingredients. The grapes

give a very interesting tang to the sauce without making it too sweet, and are an essential part

of the recipe. Omit them, and you have an entirely different dish. And the grapes should be

fresh; tinned ones lack sparkle and detract from, rather than add to, the taste. Unless fresh

ones are available it would be better to eschew the recipe. The dramatis personae may look

formidable, but are easy to meld into a most interesting production and one which will

provide an attractive, nourishing, and tasteful main course for a formal or an informal dinner.

Seafood et Al, I need hardly add, will obviously make a feast day out of a fast day.

Photo owned by He Wikipedia

1 PINT LARGE OYSTERS

1 CUP CLAM JUICE

l½ POUNDS FILLET OF FLOUNDER

2 TABLESPOONS BUTTER

½ TEASPOON TARRAGON

1 TEASPOON MARJORAM

2 TINS CONDENSED CREAM OF CELERY SOUP

½ CUP DRY WHITE WINE

PINCH CAYENNE

SALT

PEPPER

3 DOZEN FRESH, SEEDLESS GRAPES

1 FOUR-OUNCE TIN BUTTON MUSHROOMS

1 POUND SCALLOPS

1 POUND COOKED SHRIMP

6 SPRIGS PARSLEY

Drain the oysters and mix the liquor with the clam juice. Use a deep baking dish or casserole

from which you will serve at table. Grease the baking dish with butter, and lay the fish fillets

on the bottom. Dot with butter and sprinkle the tarragon and marjoram over them. Bake in a

moderately hot oven (450 degrees) fifteen minutes. While the flounder is baking, make the

sauce. Empty the condensed celery soup into a saucepan, and over a low heat, thin it with the

clam juice mixture and the white wine, stirring all the time with a wire whisk to make it

smooth. Add a pinch of cayenne, and salt and pepper to taste. The sauce must not be too

thick, as it should seep through the contents of the dish to cover all the ingredients. It must,

however, be thick enough to hold them together. When the sauce has reached the proper

consistency, and you are satisfied with the seasoning, add to it the grapes and drained

mushrooms, and remove from the fire. Remove the casserole from the oven, and pour off

most of the liquid which has formed. Now, in layers, put in the oysters, the scallops, and the

shrimp. If you are using cooked lobster, add it last. Pour the sauce over the food, and return

the casserole to the oven long enough to cook the oysters and scallops, from five to ten

minutes. Remove, garnish with parsley, and serve.

Broccoli and rissole potatoes are attractive and complementary with this dish. Follow with

Cole Slaw Mabel (qv) or Greenbrier Salad (qv). Because the grapes in the recipe add a

slightly sweet taste, the wine might well be a Barsac or even a Sauterne. Cheese is a good

final course for this meal, and if you want a sweet to end it all, Chocolate Cheese (qv) would

be a good selection.

▼▼▼

SEA BASS WINTHROP SERVES 2

Caesar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Cromwell, and Massachusetts its Winthrop; and

in the Winthrop House on Massachusetts Avenue in Washington this dish first saw the light

of day, or first appeared, at least, on any table. It is a baked fish, and while baking is a longer

process than frying—heaven save the word, I mean sautéing—it requires less attention from

the cook, who is left free to: prepare other parts of the meal, drink with his guests, or pursue

any other whim his fancy dictates. Baking, too, preserves the flavor of the fish and allows

time for the herbs to impregnate it more deeply. The recipe calls for sea bass or rockfish, but

it may be applied to any other fish of similar size and type. This is basically a dish for dinner,

but could be used at supper or even luncheon, or as a fish course at a formal evening meal.

1 CLOVE GARLIC OLIVE OIL

1 SEA BASS, ABOUT TWO AND A HALF POUNDS

¼ CUP DRY WHITE WINE

2 TEASPOONS MINCED PARSLEY

½ TEASPOON TARRAGON

1 MEDIUM ONION, CHOPPED FINE

2 TEASPOONS MINCED CELERY LEAVES

1 TEASPOON PAPRIKA

SALT

PEPPER

1 LEMON, QUARTERED

Rub a shallow pan with garlic, and grease with olive oil. Remove the head and tail of the fish,

clean well, and split it, or have your fishmonger do it for you. Rub the fish inside and out

with olive oil. Open it up, and lay it, skin side down, in the greased pan. Cut the garlic in half

and place the pieces in corners of the pan. Pour the wine over the fish, and sprinkle it with the

chopped parsley, tarragon, onion, celery leaves, and paprika.

Season with salt and pepper. Place in a hot oven (450 degrees), and bake, basting

occasionally, for about forty minutes, depending on the size of the fish. Serve on a hot platter,

garnished with lemon quarters. Hot biscuits, baby lima beans, and Cole Slaw Mabel (qv) will

make a rewarding dinner. Add a bottle of well-chilled Liebfraumilch and the reward will be

even greater. Eve's Dessert (qv) would come in handily here.

This reproduction is made possible by Susan Alexander Truffles. Contact us if you’re looking

for the finest truffles in the market.