Share your favorite old recipe with me!

May 21st, 2008

Posted in Talk

3 Responses to “Share your favorite old recipe with me!”

  1. 1 Alexis Neaman Roberts
    May 22nd, 2008 at 7:41 am

    This recipe comes from
    Cook, My Darling Daughter
    by Mildred O. Knopf
    (1959)

    Water Chestnuts Wrapped in Bacon

    Preheat broiler

    18 water chestnuts
    6 slices bacon
    maple syrup

    FIRST Drain water chestnuts of the water in the can. If they are large, cut in half, otherwise leave as they are. Cut 6 slices of bacon into 3 pieces each. Wrap each piece carefully around each water chestnut and fasten with a toothpick.

    SECOND Heat a small amount of maple syrup in a small skillet. While the syrup is warming place the water chestnuts on the grill of the broiler and, turning once, broil until the bacon loses its fatty appearance.

    THIRD Remove from broiler and, holding each by its toothpick, roll in the heated maple syrup until well coated. Serve as hot as possible. These do very well in a chafing dish, putting the syrup in first.

    NOTE Water chestnuts may be found at all the better markets, most delicatessens, and certainly at Chinese shops. How good they are!

    –I would add that I usually make a gloppy paste of dark brown sugar instead of the maple syrup, and also that the simplicity of the recipe belies the extraordinary taste. I don’t think 18 is nearly enough unless you are making them for yourself!

  2. 2 Alexis Neaman Roberts
    May 23rd, 2008 at 12:43 pm

    OK, I posted a recipe already, but the last one barely counts as a recipe at all, even though it is DELICIOUS!

    This recipe comes from MOM’S SECRET RECIPE FILE by Chris Styler
    This is what I would always order at “Le Shack,” a small French restaurant that I used to go to with my parents when I was a kid. At age 11, I thought that this was the height of sophistication–and I still think it is delicious.

    Coquilles St.-Jacques

    6 servings

    1 3/4 cups water
    3/4 cup dry white wine
    1 small onion, chopped
    Bouquet garni (To make a bouquet garni, wrap a sprig or two of parsley, two bay leaves, and a sprig of fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme leaves) in some cheesecloth. Tie into a neat bundle with thread or clean string.
    1 teaspoon lemon juice
    1 pound very fresh scallops
    8 ounces mushrooms, washed and chopped
    6 tablespoons butter
    4 tablespoons flour
    1/2 cup heavy cream
    Salt and freshly ground pepper
    Bread crumbs
    Grated Swiss or Gruyère cheese

    1. Heat the water, wine, onion, bouquet garni, and lemon juice to a boil in a saucepan. Add the scallops, cover, and simmer on very low heat until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove the scallops with a slotted spoon and set aside.

    2. Add the mushrooms to the scallop poaching liquid and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Strain, discarding the bouquet garni and reserving the liquid and mushrooms separately.

    3. Cut the scallops into 1/2-inch-thick slices. If too long, cut in half horizontally.

    4. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and whisk in the flour. Do not let it get dark. Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of the scallop liquid and mix until blended. Over very low heat, blend the flour mixture into the scallop liquid. Add the cream and simmer and stir until blended and thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the scallops and mushrooms, and stir.

    5. Fill 6 scallop shells or shallow 6-inch ramekins almost to the top with the scallop mixture. Dust the top lightly with bread crumbs and sprinkle with the grated cheese. (If you’re not ready to serve the scallops, cover them with plastic wrap and refrigerate.)

    6. Preheat the broiler. Broil the scallops until the mixture bubbles and the cheese melts and turns golden brown.

  3. 3 Alexis Neaman Roberts
    May 23rd, 2008 at 12:46 pm

    I forgot to say that the Coquilles St. Jacques recipe comes from Anthony Bourdain’s mother.

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