COOKLORE


Seafood



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Lobster Mince





1896



Two lobsters (boiled)

One good-sized cucumber

1/4 lb butter

1 teacupful milk

1 glass white wine

Pinch of mace

Pepper and salt to taste

1 teaspoonful chopped, scalded parsley


Cut cucumber in half, boil until rather soft. When done, remove from water and set aside until cold, then peel carefully and dice.

Remove all meat from lobsters and cut into small pieces.

Put milk, butter, mace, and parsley in saucepan and heat until melted. Add lobster and stir until thoroughly mixed. Let simmer five minutes, then add cucumber. Add wine just before serving. Pour mince into a hot dish to serve. Eat with brown bread and butter, garnished with mustard, cress, and sliced hard-boiled eggs.



Baked Halibut a la Creole





1897



Take 2 pounds halibut, cut as a steak, lay in a baking dish and sprinkle with finely chopped garlic. Cover with a layer of stewed tomatoes, then a layer of dried bread crumbs, some bits of butter, and salt and pepper; top with another layer of tomatoes. Bake 20 minutes and serve hot.


Oyster omelet





1897



Beat 6 eggs to a light froth, add 1/2 cup cream, salt and pepper. Pour into a frying pan with 1 Tbsp butter and drop in a dozen large oysters. Fry a light brown. Double over and send to table immediately.



Oysters on Toast





1897



Cook 2 dozen oysters in their own liquor until they just begin to curl, season to taste with salt, pepper, butter and a little nutmeg. Beat the yolks of 2 eggs well with 1 tsp milk or cream, and stir this into oysters. Have ready half a dozen slices of buttered toast, pour on the oysters, and serve while hot.



Lobster a la Delmonico





1914



2-lb lobster

1/4 cup butter

3/4 Tbsp flour

1/2 tsp salt

Few grains cayenne

Slight grating of nutmeg

1 cup thin cream

Yolks of 2 eggs

2 Tbsp sherry wine


Remove lobster meat from shell and cut in small cubes. Melt butter, add flour, seasonings and cream gradually; add lobster, and when heated add egg yolks and wine.



Lobster a la Newburg





1914



2-lb lobster

1/4 cup butter

1/2 tsp salt

Few grains cayenne

Slight grating of nutmeg

1 Tbsp sherry

1 Tbsp brandy

1/2 cup thin cream

Yolks of 2 eggs


Remove lobster meat from shell and cut in slices. Melt butter, add lobster and cook 3 minutes. Add seasonings and wine, cook 1 minute, then add cream and egg yolks slightly beaten. Stir until thickened. Serve with toast or puff pastry points.



Baltimore Relish (for fish)





1914



2 cups cabbage, finely chopped

1 red pepper, finely chopped

1 1/2 tsp celery salt

2 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp mustard

1/4 cup vinegar


Mix celery salt, sugar and mustard and pour on slowly the vinegar. Add pepper to cabbage, then mix with first mixture.



Oyster Cocktail





1914



Eight small raw oysters

2 drops table sauce

1 Tbsp tomato catsup

1/2 tsp vinegar or lemon juice

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Salt

1 tsp celery, finely chopped.


Mix and chill, then serve in cocktail glasses.



Shrimp Wiggle





1942



1 lb cooked and cleaned shrimp

2 Tbsp butter

1 can tomato soup

2 medium onions, sliced

Cornstarch or flour

Baking soda

Soda crackers


Dice the shrimp. Heat butter in frying pan and fry onions until golden brown. Add tomato soup and an equal quantity of water. Heat and thicken with cornstarch or flour. When mixture is simmering, add the shrimp. Just before serving, stir in a good pinch of baking soda and serve on toasted crackers.



Shrimp Newburg





1942



1/4 cup butter

2 Tbsp flour

1 cup rich milk

1 can tomato soup

2 cans shrimp

1 cup American cheese

1 green pepper, chopped fine

Salt to taste


Melt butter, add flour, than add milk and tomato soup, and the rest. Cook about ten minutes. Before serving add 1 beaten egg. Serve on crackers.



Stuffed Crab





1946



Boil 1 dozen large crabs according to usual method. Remove claws and uneatable portions; pick out all meat from body. Melt 1 Tbsp butter in deep frying pan, add 1 small onion, chopped, and sauté gently, careful not to burn. Add to a separate dish the crabmeat, 2 chopped hard-cooked eggs, thyme, parsley and 1 bay leaf, and if desired 1 very small clove of garlic. Season highly with pepper, cayenne and salt to taste. Add this to fried onion and let this fry 5 minutes, blending thoroughly, and do not burn. Stuff crab shells or ramekins, cover with very fine buttered breadcrumbs, dust with paprika and bake in quick oven 5 minutes or until nicely browned. (Canned or frozen crabmeat may be used.)



Williamsburg Inn Seafood Newburg





1950



1 pint shelled fresh oysters

1/2 lb canned crabmeat

1/2 lb cooked, shelled shrimp

1/2 lb butter

2 Tbsp flour

1/2 pint milk

1/2 pint 30% cream

1/4 tsp paprika

1/2 cup sherry


To make sauce, place 1/4 Tbsp butter in a double boiler. Add flour and blend well. Add milk and cream and stir until thick. Remove from heat. Place remainder of butter in a saucepan and allow to become very hot. Add seafood and sauté five minutes. Add sauce and wine to seafood.



Baked Chesapeake Oysters Homestead





1950



Take 12 large fresh open oysters and poach five minutes. Dry the deepest shells in oven. Cream 1/2 pint fresh crabmeat with 1/4 lb of white mushrooms and 2 green peppers (already fried in butter), and add some of the broth from the oysters to thin. Place crabmeat in the bottom of the shell and the poached oysters on top. Cover the whole oyster with a rich cream sauce and sprinkle with grated cheese and chopped lean Virginia ham. Bake 10 minutes in a fast oven.



Oyster-Pepper Pan Roast





1950



Cook 1/2 cup each of chopped onion and green pepper in 1/4 cup butter until soft. Add 1 Tbsp chopped parsley, 1 cup catsup, and 1 pint oysters. Cook until oysters are plump. Serve at once on toast.


Barbecued Crab





1950



1 large, dry onion

3 cloves garlic

4 stalks celery

4 Tbsp salad oil

2 cups consommé

1 bay leaf

1 cup tomato juice

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

4 peppercorns

1 sprig parsley, minced

4 Tbsp soy sauce

3 cups shredded crab meat


Cut onion, garlic and celery fine and cook in salad oil until tender but not brown. Add remaining ingredients, except soy sauce and crab meat, and simmer 30 minutes. Strain and add soy sauce. Cook crab meat in sauce 20 minutes. Serve with garlic bread.



Crab Meat Cavalier on Clam Shells





1950



8 lbs backfin lump crabmeat

1 cup cream sauce

6 egg yolks

3 pimientos

1 Tbsp French mustard

1 Tbsp English mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Chives, chopped fine


Mix all ingredients together and place on clam shells. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan and bake 350-degrees for 30 minutes. Serve hot with small biscuit.



Williamsburg Lodge Deviled Crabs





1950



8 boiled crabs

4 large slices of bread, crumbled

1/4 cup butter

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Milk to moisten

Dash of Tabasco sauce

Buttered crumbs


Remove meat from crabs and wash shells carefully. Combine crabmeat, bread, butter, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, and moisten with a little milk into which a dash of Tabasco has been stirred. The mixture should be rather soft. Pack loosely into shells, top with buttered crumbs, and bake in 350-degree oven until delicately browned.



Shrimp Fricassee, Cape Charles





1950



2 lbs fresh jumbo shrimp, peeled and cleaned

1 cup tomatoes, chopped and peeled

2 Tbsp onions, chopped

1/2 tsp garlic, chopped

1 sprig thyme

2 sprigs parsley

2 bay leaves

2 Tbsp green pepper, chopped

1 Tbsp celery, chopped

4 Tbsp flour

2 cups clam broth

3 Tbsp shortening

Salt and pepper to taste

6 ounces Sauterne wine


Make roux with shortening and flour. Fry onions, green peppers, and celery golden brown, then add to roux. Add tomatoes, shrimp, wine, clam broth, and seasonings. Simmer 20 minutes. Season again to taste. Serve on mold of baked rice.



Gulf Coast Shrimp Chowder





1951



For the fish, red snapper or black grouper is preferred, but redfish, mullet, or other fish will do. A 5- or 6-lb fish is best. Fillet and slice in 3-inch strips about an inch wide.


Dice two pieces of bacon very fine, brown in Dutch oven and add 1 1/2 cups chopped onion and a clove of minced garlic. Stir until onions are brown and pour in three small cans of tomato puree and three cups of hot water. Dice and add 5 medium potatoes, then add a medium can of small peas.


When to add the fish depends on which is used. Snapper and grouper take longer to cook; flounder or mullet soften easily and should be added only when the potatoes are nearly done. Redfish goes in when potatoes are half done.


To cooking ingredients, kept slowly stirred, drop in chunks of fish. Add 5 Tbsp catsup, the juice of 1 lemon, 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce, and 1 Tbsp butter. Continue to stir slowly as these are added, adding a little hot water whenever chowder becomes too thick. Add salt and pepper to taste.



Crab Enchilado





1951



2 dozen medium crabs, dressed

1 cup olive oil, more or less

6 medium onions, chopped

3 green peppers, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2-3 hot peppers (or more, up to 12), chopped

2 No. 2 cans tomatoes

2 cans tomato puree

2 cans tomato paste

Salt to taste


Slowly cook onions, peppers and garlic in olive oil, until soft and tender. Add tomatoes, puree and paste with salt. Simmer slowly, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, for two hours. (It’s the long, long cooking that brings out the flavor.)


Add the cleaned crabs (crack claws first with hammer) and cook 20-30 minutes. Serve with hot Cuban bread and butter, iced tea, or coffee. (J. C. Massey)



Broiled Shrimp





1952



2 lbs fresh unpeeled shrimp

1/2 cup olive oil

1 stick of butter, melted

Juice from one lemon

3 tsp chopped green onions

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup white wine


Clip the back of shrimp with scissors and remove dark line without peeling shrimp. Place shrimp in flat pan.


Combine olive oil, melted butter, lemon juice, green onions and garlic, mix well and pour over shrimp. Broil fast for 10 minutes, remove and flip shrimp over, salt and pepper to taste, then broil another 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove from broiler and add white wine. Serve with garlic bread.



Spanish Shrimp





1954



2 lbs fresh shrimp, cleaned and peeled

1 large onion, chopped

1 3-oz can mushrooms, sliced

1 pimiento, chopped

1/4 lb butter

1 8-oz can tomato sauce

1 Tbsp garlic salt

1 tsp pepper

1 Tbsp chopped parsley

1/2 cup chopped stuffed olives


Sauté onion, mushrooms, and pimiento in half of butter. Add tomato sauce. Fill tomato sauce can with water and stir into sauce. Add garlic salt, pepper, parsley and olives. Simmer for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. In a separate pan, sauté shrimp in remainder of butter. Add shrimp to sauce. Serve on hot cooked rice.



Flounder a la Florida





1956



3 lbs flounder

1 sprig sweet basil

1/2 tsp allspice

Salt and pepper

1 Tbsp butter

1/2 cup canned mushrooms

1 sprig thyme

1/2 cup water

2 Tbsp flour

2 sprigs parsley

1 bay leaf


Rub fish with salt and pepper. Bake with 1/2 cup water in 375-degree oven for 25 minutes. Remove from oven.


Melt butter, add flour and stir until smooth. Remove from heat, and add seasonings, mushrooms and liquid from fish. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until thickened. Cut top of fish in scored lines. Pour sauce over fish. Return to oven and bake 15 minutes.



Red Snapper Au Gratin





1956



2 lbs red snapper

3 chopped hard-cooked eggs

2 lbs chopped boiled shrimp

1 1/2 Tbsp flour

1 sliced onion

1/2 lb grated American cheese

1 cup cooked or canned mushrooms

2 Tbsp butter

1 cup cream

1 green pepper, chopped

Salt and pepper


Boil fish in salt water with onion. Skin and flake. Combine with egg, cheese and shrimp and place in greased baking dish. Melt butter, and when it bubbles, stir in flour. Remove from heat; stir in cream. Return to heat and continue cooking over low heat until smooth and thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour over fish flakes and add mushrooms and green pepper. Bake 350-degrees for 45 minutes.



Baked Scallops Amandine





1956



3 lbs frozen scallops

1 1/2 cups canned or cooked peas

2 4-oz cans mushrooms

4 Tbsp margarine

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup almond slivers

1/2 cup sherry or 1 cup milk

4 Tbsp parsley, chopped


Thaw scallops and cut large ones into smaller pieces. Add peas and mushrooms. Sauté 10 minutes in margarine with minced garlic. There should be about 2 or 2 1/4 cups liquid in pan, from thawing scallops, etc. Liquid from mushroom cans can be used to increase to 2 1/4 cups.


To make sauce, mix 4 Tbsp plus 1 tsp cornstarch with 1 cup milk (or 1/2 cup sherry) and add to juice in pan with 1 tsp saffron, 1 1/2 tsp prepared mustard, 1 tsp salt, 4 drops Tabasco and 1 Tbsp MSG. Cook, stirring constantly, until thick and bubbling.


Combine sauce and scallop mixture and add chopped parsley. Season to taste. Add to casserole. Sauté almond slivers in 2 Tbsp margarine in skillet, turning often. Drain on paper towels and dry thoroughly in slow oven. Sprinkle almonds over casserole and top with aluminum foil. Bake 400-degrees until bubbling.