Bear Cuisine

Oyster Po-Boy

I adore oysters and whenever we have them it is a celebration. The Christmas season isn't truly complete for us until we have had some of these fabulous bivalves. This year we opted for a movie on Christmas Day--It's Complicated, a light-hearted bit of froth which we quite enjoyed. When we returned home, we treated ourselves to this New Orleans' classic and dreamt of the next time we would be eating oysters in the Big Easy.

OYSTER PO-BOY

(6 servings)

1. vegetable oil for frying
   
2. 1 large egg, beaten
   
3. 1 cup milk
   
4. 1 cup water
   
5. 2 tablespoons Creole mustard
   
6. 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
   
7. 3 cups corn flour
   
8. 2 tablespoons granulated garlic
   
9. Salt
   
10. Cracked Black pepper
    
11. 3 loaves French bread, cut in half
    
12. 3 dozen freshly shucked and drained oysters 
    
13. 6 tablespoons tartar sauce
    
14. 6 tablespoons ketchup
    
15. 2 cups shredded lettuce
    

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. heat the oil to 350 degrees F in a large heavy pot.

In a shallow bowl, whisk together the beaten egg, milk, water and mustards. In a mixing bowl, combine the corn flour, garlic, and the salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Slice the o-boy bread lengthwise and place on a large cookie sheet, crust-down. Put the bread in the oven and turn off the heat to allow it to become crispy and warm while you fry the seafood.

Dip the oysters in the egg batter and then the corn flour mixture. Fry in 2 or 3 batches, 3 minutes per batch until the oysters float on the surface of the oil. Drain and keep warm until all the seafood has been fried.

Remove the bread from the oven and top one side of each loaf with tartar sauce and the second side with ketchup. Place oysters and lettuce on bread and put together for the sandwich. Slice in half and serve hot.

(adapted from Cooking Up A Storm)

Another take on Welsh Rabbit

Jennifer McLagen in her new book, Fat, offers some more insight into the Rarebit/Rabbit discussion.

  "Should it be 'Welsh rabbit' or 'Welsh rarebit'? Most of us would use the latter term, but 'Welsh rabbit' was the original name for the dish, first recorded in 1725. The term 'Welsh rarebit' wasn't coined until 1785, perhaps in an attempt to distinguished this dish based on cheese from one made with the animal. But what does it have to do with the Welsh?

"While the Welsh are notoriously fond of cheese, there is no evidence that they invented this dish. Variations on this dish, English-rabbit and Scotch-rabbit, date from 1747. and today there is also one called Buck Rabbit to confuse the issue even more.  The French are also fond of Welsh rabbit, and it appears on menus and in cookbooks in France as Le Welsch (thus avoiding the rabbit/rarebit controversy).

"While rabbit might be more correct, whatever you call this dish it is a delicious snack. This simple buttery Welsh version was inspired by Jane Grigson. You could also serve it for lunch with a green salad...."

WELSH RABBIT

(serves 2)

• 4 ounces Gloucester or Cheshire cheese
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, diced
• 1 tablespoon dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• Pinch of cayenne
• 1 egg
• 4 thick slices of toast

Crumble the cheese into small pieces and place in a saucepan. Add the butter and wine to the pan. In a small bowl, whisk together the cream, mustard powder, and cayenne and pour over the cheese mixture.

Place the pan over very low heat and stir constantly until the mixture is smooth and hot.

Remove the pan from the heat, whisk the egg, and stir it into the cheese mixture. Pour the cheese over the toast and serve immediately.

from Jennifer McLagan. Fat. An Appreciation of Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes.(Berkely: Ten Speed Press, 2008.)

Philly Cheesesteak

Sometimes a girl just craves her native foods. This happened to me over the holidays when I thought nothing would taste as good as a Philly Cheesesteak. Now these are hard to reproduce outside of the Philadelphia area. Why? The bread's the thing. Amorosos's Bakery supplies the bread for this local "delicacy" and there isn't another bread like it that I've been able to find in other parts of the country.

What was I to do? 

I turned to David Rosengarten's It's All American Food where he provides recipes for the sandwich and the bread to make them. First, the bread.

PHILADELPHIA CHEESESTEAK LOAF

(makes about 8 rolls)

• 5 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  
• 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon water
  
• 1 tablespoon rapid-rise yeast
  
• 2 tablespoons sugar
  
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• Cornmeal for dusting
  
• Handful of ice cubes
  

1. Place the 5 3/4 cups flour, water, east, sugar, salt and the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with dough hook attachment.

2. Mix the ingredients on very low speed until they are well combined. Increase the mixer sped to medium-high and mix the dough until thoroughly kneaded, about 8 minutes more.

3. Lightly grease a large bowl with olive oil. Remove the ball of dough from the mixer and place in oiled bowl. cover the bowl and place it in a warm spot until the dough ball has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

4. Lightly flour a rolling pin and a counter-top with extra flour. Remove the risen dough to the counter. Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough to expel all the gases that have developed inside.

5. Using a knife, divide the large dough ball into smaller dough pieces that are each a little larger than a baseball. You should have about 8 pieces total Pace the pieces on the countertop so that they are not touching each other. cover them with a damp cloth and let them rest for 15 minutes.

6. Sprinkle another section of the counter-top with flour. Dust your hands with flour and roll your palms over the pieces of dough with a bak-and-forth motion to shape the dough pieces into 6-inch-long cylinders. Continue until all the rolls are shaped. Place the shaped rolls on a cornmeal-dusted baking sheet, separated by several inches of space, and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the rolls to double in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

7. Place a baking stone in the oven on the center rack. Place an ovenproof baking pan on the bottom of the oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

8. Dust a pizza peel with cornmeal. Place 4 of the rolls on the pizza peel at a time. Using a razor blade or a serrated knife, score each roll in a straight line down the center lengthwise, cutting them approximately 1/2 inch deep. Spray the loves with water using a spray bottle. Carefully toss some of the ice cubes into the ovenproof pan at the bottom of the oven. Slide the loaves onto the baking stone from the peel and immediately close the oven door. Repeat these steps until all the rolls are in the oven.

9. Bake until the rolls are a light golden brown and completely cooked on the inside (200 degrees internal temperature). use the pizza peel to remove the bread from the oven. allow rolls to cool completely.

Now, the sandwich.

PHILLY CHEESESTEAK

(4 sandwiches)

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or more
  
• 2 medium onions, peeled and sliced
  
• 1 cup Cheez Whiz
  
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless rib eye steak, sliced paper thin(ask your butcher to do this for you)
  
• 4 Philadelphia Cheesesteak loaves
  

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a medium-size skillet over medium heat Add oionns and cook over medium heat until onion is softened and golden, about 15 minutes. Set aside,but keep warm.

2. Place Cheez Whiz in a small nonmetal bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and microwave until bubbly. Keep warm and covered. (If you don't have a microwave, heat on stove.)

3. Heat one or more large cast-iron skillets over lowest heat. Season steak with salt and pepper. Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil to each skillet and add the beef slices in a single layer. Cook, flattening with a metal spatula, about 5 minutes, flipping once or twice with the spatula. Meat should turn gray, not brown, and remain soft, not crusty. When one quarter of the beef is ready approximately 6 ounces, you're ready to make a sandwich. (Continue cooking the remaining meat in one or more skillets, adding a tablespoon of vegetable oil each tie before adding meat, until all meat is cooked.)

It's not traditional, but I like the Cheez Whiz mixed in with the meat. So, I add it to the meat for the last few moments of cooking.

4. To make one sandwich, cut a bread loaf down the middle but do not cut through completely.Stuff with 6 ounces of the meat, then one-forth of the onions, then drizzle with one-fourth of the Cheez Whiz. Serve immediately. Continue until 4 sandwiches are made.

Here it is--the Philly Cheesesteak. This one is actually made with a roll from Amoroso's. They do ship.

Purists will tell you that adding anything other than the onions and Cheez Whiz is a desecration. Fortunately, I do not live with a Cheesesteak purist so I took the liberty of adding pickles and a few peppers. New Mexico comes to Philadelphia.

Hot Brown

I first became acquainted with the Hot Brown Sandwich on a trip to Louisville, KY a few years ago. Then I started making them at home when I was trying to find new ways to use left-over turkey. It was a hit and we've been enjoying them ever since. The sandwich is said to have originated at the Brown Hotel in Louisville. Here is their story of how it came to be.

In 1923, The Brown Hotel drew over 1200 guests each evening for its dinner dance. In the wee hours of the morning, the guest would grow tired of dancing and retire to the restaurant for a bite to eat. Guests were growing rapidly tired of the traditional ham and eggs, so Chef Fred Schmidt set out to create something new to tempt his guests' palates. Thus, the Hot Brown was born, an open-face turkey sandwich with bacon, pimento and a delicate mornay sauce. Who could have guessed that this chef's dedication to service would start such an enduring and well-loved Louisville tradition, the Hot Brown.

(Jane and Michael Stern. Roadfood Sandwiches)

  THE HOT BROWN 

This is an adaptation of the traditional two-sauce recipe which is simpler and quicker.

 4 Tablespoons butter 

1 small onion chopped 

3 tablespoons flour 

2 cups milk 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/4 teaspoon pepper 

1/4 cup shredded Cheddar 

1/4 cup grated Parmesan 

8 slices trimmed toast (we prefer slices of pan de mie. see April 15, 2008 post on Sandwiches) 

Slices of cooked chicken or turkey breast 

Crisp-fried bacon 

Mushroom slices, sauteed 

Saute onion in butter until transparent, add flour and combine. Add milk, salt and pepper and whisk until smooth. Cook on medium heat until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally. Add cheeses and continue heating until they blend. Remove from heat. Put one slice of toast in each of four oven-proof individual serving dishes. Top each piece of toast with slices of chicken or turkey. Cut remaining toast slices diagonally and place on sides of sandwiches. Ladle cheese sauce over sandwiches. Place sandwiches under broiler until sauce begins to bubble. Garnish with crumbled bacon and sauteed mushroom slice and serve immediately.

 The adults here like to to serve Henry Bain sauce with their Hot Browns. 

HENRY BAIN SAUCE. 

Henry Bain went to work for the Pendennis Club in 1881 and he was head waiter when he created his famous sauce. 

1 [12 ounce] bottle chili sauce 

1 [14 ounce] bottle catsup 

1 [11 ounce] bottle A-1 sauce 

1 [10 ounce] bottle Worcestershire 

1 [1 pound, 1 ounce] bottle chutney 

Tabasco or hot pepper sauce 

Mix together and add the hot sauce according to taste. It takes more than you think. If the chutney comes with large pieces of mangoes or other chutney fruit in it, chop finely. The sauce will keep indefinitely refrigerated, and it has many uses. Any left may be used for French fried potatoes. Think with oil and herb vinegar, it snuggles up to Bibb lettuce. (both recipes from Best of the Best from Kentucky Cookbook)

Catcher on the Rye

When Kay picked up Hallie from school yesterday, she complained that she wasn't liking the book they were reading in her English class, Catcher on[sic] the Rye. Learning the correct title didn't improve her opinion of the book, but she reminded me of one of my favorite sandwiches.

PASTRAMI MELT

Dijon mustard
2 slices caraway rye bread
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 slices lean pastrami
3 slices ripe tomato
2 thin slices red onion
2 slices Swiss cheese

1.Spread the mustard on 1 slice of the bread and a teaspoon of the butter on the other.

2. Layer the pastrami, tomato, onion and cheese on 1 slice and cover with the second. Melt the remaining butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the sandwich,weighting it down with a small plate. Cook on both sides until the cheese melts and bread browns. (from the Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook)

Here is a very serviceable recipe for rye bread.

SCANDINAVIAN LIGHT RYE

makes a 1 1/2 pound loaf

1 1/8 cups water
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil

1 7/8 cups bed flour
1 1/8 cups medium rye flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon gluten
1 1/2 tablespoons caraway seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 1/2 teaspoons SAF yeast or 1 tablespoon bread machine yeast

1.Place all the ingredients in the pan according to the order in the manufacturer's instructions. Set crust on medium and program for the Basic cycle; press Start. The dough ball will be soft and spring.

2. When the baking cycle ends, immediately remove the bread from the pan and place it on a rack. let cook to room temperature before slicing.

(from The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook)

A bread machine is a great boon in our kitchen; making bread has never been so easy.