Lundi: Recipes

An old favorite from the iconic Stork Club in New York, Crabmeat Remick began to be served at the Caribbean Room in the newly built Pontchartrain Hotel some time around 1923.  That is, according to the Times-Picayune which originally printed the recipe in the 1950s and included it in their 2008 publication Cooking Up a Storm. 

I remember a similar dish made by my grandmother using local Dungeness crab rather than the lump crabmeat that this recipe calls for.  Either way, it is easy to prepare, tasty and very rich.  Small portions are recommended.

1 ½ cups mayonnaise

1 tsp tarragon vinegar

½ cup chili sauce

1 tsp dry mustard

2 tbsps fresh lemon juice

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp Tabasco

Dash celery salt

1 pound lump crabmeat, picked for shells and cartilage

6 to 12 slices of bacon, fried until crisp

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small mixing bowl, combine mayo, vinegar, chili sauce, dry mustard, lemon juice, paprika, Tabasco and celery salt and mix well.

Divide the crabmeat evenly among six large or twelve small ramekins.  Spoon the sauce generously over the crabmeat and top each with a bacon slice.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the sauce bubbles.  Serve warm as an appetizer or small entree.  Bon appetite ~

Header: The Pontchartrain Hotel, elevation by the architectural firm of Weiss, Dreyfous and Seiferth c 1920 via KnowLA