SUB SNACK

A collaboration and Q&A of some mine and your favorite dishes and recipes.

Recently subscriber Daniel Gremillon commented on my Substack piece called My Cousin Lizzie Borden. “Being a fan of your life and career and past publications… I think I shall sit and write down the best meals I ate in every city I ever lived in and visited. I think it would be fun. I will need to purchase a large diary style book. I think that my most memorable meals were at Le Grenouille, The French Laundry, Bofinger, Galatoires, and, of course, Stars.”

I was very happy to see restaurants on the list, restaurants that I have very fond, sometimes scandalous, memories. Jackie Kennedy’s mother at lunch in La Grenouille during its heyday laughing at why we had been asked to leave restaurant La Fayette. Or those 6-hour lunches at Galatoire’s with my New Orleans Auntie Mame and the 4 or 5 Sidecars that preceded them.

I will start on these reminiscences in the hope that all of you will as well, and that we can all start a shareable Substack Q&A. Even more food, recipes, travel, and events from Substack with your participation.

I will certainly answer all questions posed to me.

How to participate

1.     Become a paid subscriber

2.     Submit 1 to 3 of your favorite dishes and or recipes in the comments or the chat section.

I will publish your dishes and recipes as well as more of own, on Out Of The Oven reaching over 7,500 subscribers.

What are 1 to 3 of your favorite dishes you like to prepare?

So many, but I will start with these:

My favorite Crab Gratin

A winning dish. Simple to make and will wow your friends. It will take thirty minutes to prepare the white sauce (béchamel, which is another recipe in this collection), but that can be done the day before and kept refrigerated.

The whole thing can be cooked and reheated hours later or the next day, and it’s almost better that way. Some rinsed and soaked capers are a nice touch, but use the best quality cheeses you can find.

Serve it with sliced baguette for dipping, or even with potato chips.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

^½ cup           béchamel

^½ cup           heavy cream

^½ cup           grated gruyere cheese

^¼ cup           grated parmesan cheese

^¼ cup           grated mozzarella cheese

1lb              fresh jumbo lump crab meat

1 cup           fresh white breadcrumbs, no crusts, preferably fresh from white bread.

1 stick         unsalted butter

kosher salt

fresh ground black pepper

Directions

Heat the oven to 400°F. Put the béchamel, heavy cream, and the cheese in a small saucepan and heat only until the cheeses begin to melt, stirring until they are completely mixed. Remove from heat.

Put the crab meat in a mixing bowl, pour over the white sauce mix and fold in thoroughly but gently, not breaking up the crab meat. Season with salt and pepper. The cheeses may have enough salt by themselves.

Put the breadcrumbs in a little bowl, melt the butter, and pour over the crumbs. Mix thoroughly and salt lightly.

Put the crab into the gratin dish and spoon the breadcrumbs evenly over the top.

Put the gratin dish in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes until the white sauce begins to bubble and the breadcrumbs turn golden.

Remove from the oven. Let cool for a few minutes, then serve!

Atlantic Lobster with My Aunt’s Coleslaw

Photo Courtesy of Sam Hanna

Cooking Lobster

Put the lobsters in a pot and pour cold water over to cover them by 6 inches. Turn the heat on full and cook until just before the water boils. Turn off the heat and let sit as below. Remove the lobsters. For cold lobster meat, put in a sieve or colander, and cover with ice so they cool down and stop cooking. Otherwise, eat right away.

1        pound lobsters:             7 minutes

 2       pound lobsters:            12 minutes

 3       pound lobsters:            20 minutes

My Aunt’s Coleslaw

Photo Courtesy of Sam Hanna

The whole key to the success of this dish is to soak the cabbage  in ice water in the refrigerator for four hours and then, when all the ingredients are mixed, to keep the slaw in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to achieve perfect flavor and texture.

Serves 4 to 6

1 head                      white cabbage

4 large                     ripe tomatoes

1/2 cup                    mayonnaise (Helmann’s will do)

1/2 cup                    sour cream

1 tablespoon           finely chopped fresh ginger

1 teaspoon              powdered ginger

1 1/2 teaspoons      dry mustard

salt and freshly ground pepper

Discard any of the outer leaves of the cabbage that are wilted or discolored. Cut the cabbage in half from top to bottom and cut out the core. Put each half, cut side down, on the cutting board and cut into 1/2-inch slices. Put the cabbage in a large bowl, cover with cold water and ice cubs, and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Peel the tomatoes, cut in half around the circumference, squeeze out the seeds, and cut each tomato in half into 6 pieces. Mix the mayonnaise, sour cream, fresh and powdered ginger, and mustard in a bowl.

Drain the cabbage very well and mix thoroughly with the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, add the tomatoes, and toss lightly. Refrigerate covered for 2 hours, stirring twice. Serve very cold.

Meringue “Pavlova” with Berries, Crème Anglaise & Berry Sauces

If all the components are prepared ahead, this dessert can be assembled and served in under 10 minutes.

Serves 4 as a dessert.

Ingredients

1 large baked meringue cup

1 pint fresh blackberries

1 pint fresh raspberries

1 pint fresh blueberries

1 cup crème anglaise

¼ cup fresh blueberry sauce

¼ cup fresh raspberry sauce

¼ cup fresh strawberry sauce

1 handful rose petals, cut into strips with scissors

Directions

Place the meringue cup on a rimmed serving platter or rimmed dinner plate.

Place all the berries in a medium mixing bowl. Add a tablespoon of the fresh berry sauces and gently stir to coat the berries, taking care not to break the berries apart.

Place the berries in the large meringue cup. If they don't all fit, reserve the rest and serve it alongside the dessert.

Top the filled meringue with the crème anglaise, making sure to spoon some of it on the plate around the meringue.

Spoon a tablespoon or two of each fresh berry sauce over and around the meringue. If you have berry sauce leftover, serve it alongside the meringue (with any extra berries you may have).

Top the meringue with the rose petals cut into strips. Serve immediately.