Recipes from Antoine's kitchen

              RECIPES
from ANT 0 I N E ' S
KITCHEN
T he secret riches of the famous century­old
restaurant in the Freflch Quarter
. of New Orleans
A THIS WEEK Magazine
/; e rv ice Boo k let
PRICE TWENTY-FIVE CENTS
CON TEN T S
Oysters Brochette 3
Oeufs Sardou 4
Hollandaise Sauce 5
Omelette Espagnole 6
Fresh Mushrooms SOliS Cloche 7
Pommes Soujflees 9
Shrimp M ariniere 11
French Pancakes a la Gelee 12
Cafe Britlot Diabolique 15
Chicken Creole 16
Pompano en Papillotte 19
Oysters a la Rockefeller 21
R Eel PES
from
ANT 0 I N E'S
KITCHEN
•
THIS WEEK MAGAZINE
COPYRIGHT 1948, UNITED NEWSPAPERS MAGAZINE CORPORATION
Nxt'to going to heaven to dine
on ambrosia is going to New Orleans to eat at Antoine's.
The fame of the foods of this century-old restaurant has
belted the globe. Recipes have been handed down word-of­mouth
from Founder Antoine Alciatore to his son Jules,
to Jules's son Roy, now maestro of the house.
Nowhere else in the world is eating so surrounded by
mystery, by legend; restaurant of a thousand dishes and
each a guarded secret-that is, until now.
Here are 10 of the famous Antoine's recipes chosen for
THIS WEEK readers to make in their own kitchens, chosen
by Roy Alciatore, dishes he thinks the average cook can
make to taste exactly the same as at Antoine's tables. But
have patience, take care. A majority of the Antoine's spe­cialties
require a ritual too involved to be practical for
home use. Home cooks lack the necessary seasonings, stock
pots and sauces to produce the masterpieces. "How many
women would want to make Sauce Marchand de Vin?"
Mr. Alciatore asked. "Not one," we agreed when we heard the
step-by-step procedure that takes a full day. And who
would want to make Bisque d'Ecrevisse Cardinale, a six­hour
routine? But it's different with the Oysters Brochette,
the Shrimp Marmiere; anyone can !!lake these specialties
and with gratifying results.
But the most famous oyster dish of the house, Oysters a
la Rockefeller, Mr. Alciatore isn't telling. The recipe we give
here is one of the excellent imitations from a New Orleans
kitchen. We add it to the 10 recipes for good measure.
2
10 bacon slices
36 shucked raw oysters
Seasoned flour
% cup buHer
% cup olive oil
12 toast triangles
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoon lemon iuice
Cut bacon in one-inch pieces; saute until partially cooked,
turning to cook both sides, and draining off fat as it accumu­lates
in skillet. On each of 6 skewers, string 6 pieces of
bacon, alternating with 6 oysters (sticking skewer through
eye of oyster). Roll in flour. Heat butter and olive oil; add
skewered food; saute, turning to cook all sides. Lay each
skewer on two toast triangles. Add parsley and lemon juice
to butter in skillet; pour a little over each portion. Yield:
6 portions.
Antoine's has 560 different
ways of cooking the egg. Favorite with New Orleaners for the
late breakfast is Oeufs Sardou-aristocratic cousin to Eggs
Benedict. And we give you also Omelette Espagnole, its
secret goodness hiding in the sauce which begins as the tried
and true Creole sauce but ends as something quite different
after the various vegetable additions. The recipe is a New
Orleans combination of French and Spanish cookery.
8 artichokes 1 tablespoon glace de viande
16 anchovy flilets or meat glaze
8 poached eggs 4 slices truffle
V2 cup chopped cooked ham 1 cup Antoine's Hollandaise Sauce
Cook artichokes in boiling salted water until tender. Re­move
petals and choke; reserve bottoms. Place bottoms on
baking pan; place two anchovy fillets on each. Run under
low broiler flame to keep warm. Have poached eggs ready
and warm on the side. Have a Hollandaise at hand, this
lukewarm. Now assemble the dish: on each artichoke, over
the anchovy fillets, place poached egg. Cover egg and arti­choke
with Hollandaise. Sprinkle chopped ham over, and
add a few drops glace de viande over ham and sauce. Place
one slice of truffle on the very top. Serve immediately.
Yield: 4 portions.
4
1 cup clarified buHer
2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon minced onion
3 peppercoms
4 egg yolks
Juice of y.. lemon
To clarify butter: slowly melt butter, let stand until clear
part can be skimmed off easily. In saucepan, place vinegar,
water, onion and peppercorns. Cook over very low heat to
reduce liquid to one teaspoon. Remove pepper~orns. Cool.
Add egg yolks; beat slightly. GraduallY 'add melted butter,
beating constantly. Add lemon juice. Serve immediately.
Yield: 4 portions.
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1 No.2 can tomatoes
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
Few grains pepper
Few grains cayenne
1 sprig thyme
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon flour
6 chopped shallots, or
~ cup minced onion
5 tablespoons chopped
green pepper
~ cup white wine
~ cup canned button
mushrooms
~ cup cooked peas
4 eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil
Combine tomatoes and one tablespoon butter, simmer 10
minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt, pepper and cay­enne;
cook 10 minutes. Add thyme, parsley, bay leaf, and
garlic. Cook 15 minutes, or until sauce is thick. Melt one
tablespoon butter, blend in flour; cook until brown. Add shal­lots,
green pepper, brown slightly. Add wine, stirring con­stantly
until slightly thickened. Add mushrooms and peas.
Beat eggs until well blended; add tomato mixture. Heat re­maining
butter and olive oil in skillet, pour in egg mixture.
Shake skillet un til eggs begin to set, lifting edges of omelette
to allow uncooked mixture to flow under omelette. When
cooked, fold over. If desired, garnish with chopped parsley.
Yield: 4 portions.
Mushrooms come to new glory
tender-cooked in white wine enriched with sweet butter,
served in a sauce made with heavy cream and egg yolks,
this to bake under bell glass. Or if you haven't a set of those
cooking dishes with the high bell-shaped covers, serve the
mixture on toast. It will taste the same but it looks less
elegant.
1 pound fresh mushrooms
1 cup water
~ cup white wine
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon flour
Juice of ~ lemon
1 egg yolk
Yo. cup light cream
Toast
Scrub mushrooms. Combine water, wine and I tablespoon
butter. Add mushrooms. Bring to boiling point; cover, sim­mer
IO minutes. Drain. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons bat­ter;
blend ~ in flour; add mushroom stock (stock in which
mushrooms were cooked) and cook, stirring constantly,
until slightly thickened. Thinly slice mushrooms; add to
sauce with lemon juice. Cook 5 minutes. Beat egg yolk. Add
cream. Gradually add mushroom mixture, mix well. Pour
into heated glass bell, seal bottom of bell with round piece
of toast cut to fit. Turn bell over into porcelain shirred-egg
dish. Serve immediately. Yield: 4 portions. And note: bell
is removed at the table, or the mixture may be served on
toast, omitting the bell.
7
nis' recipe for the Pommes
Souffiees is the most difficult of the set of 10, but included be­cause
99 per cent of all women visitors to the restaurant ask
the secret for making these puffed-up potatoes. In popular­ity,
Pommes Souffiees rate next to Pompano en Papillotte.
This lpotato trick was introduced to the western world by
young Antoine when he opened his boarding-house restau­ran
t in New Orleans in 1840.
The dish originally was the result of a king's tardiness.
I t was the year 1837, the occasion a banquet to celebrate
the initial run of France's first railroad from Paris to St.
Germain en Laye. King Louis Philippe was the guest of
honor and the great chef Collinet planned to serve the king's
favorite food-the French fried potatoes. The train arrived
on schedule, the sliced potatoes were tossed into the hot fat.
But the king was delayed; he was traveling by carriage
rather than risk his life in those new-fangled steam cars.
In desperation, Collinet dipped out the potatoes, their edges
already beginning to brown, and laid them aside. When the
royal rig drove into the courtyard, the cooked potatoes were
returned to the pot. A miracle-the slices puffed into crisp
hollow fingers, shaped like balloons, the King was delighted,
a new dish was born.
One of the few close friends to whom Collinet confided
his secret was Antoine Alciatore, then chef of the Hotel de
Noailles at Marseilles. It was the following year Antoine
emigrated to the States to surprise New Orleaners with
potato magic. The method of making is given foc those who
have patience in plenty and like to put on a little cooking
"side" now and then for the amazement of their guests.
8
Peel Burbank, California, potatoes. Cut in ?i-inch length­wise
slices, place in wire basket, run cold water over to
remove extra starch. Dry thoroughly. Have two frying
kettles of fat-one at moderate temperature, the other very
hot. Place several sliced potatoes (in frying basket) in mod­erately
hot fat and cook until they rise to the surface of the
fat, and the edges show faint signs of puffing. (If the puff
does not develop, that is just too bad, start over from
scratch). If the faint puffing appears, then immediately
transfer potatoes in basket to the very hot pot of fat; cook
until fully puffed and browned. Drain on absorbent paper.
Sprinkle with salt. Serve immediately. If desired, the po­tatoes
may be put aside after the second cooking and given
a final dip later in the very hot fat, then rushed to the table.
If this is to be done, do not fully brown potatoes in the
second fat pot. Finish them off in the third cooking.
New Orleans is shrimp capital
of the world. There shrimp is served in every imaginable
form for every possible occasion. It comes to breakfast in
omelette; it does yeoman duty as a main dish at luncheon,
as a cocktail at dinner. Shrimp serves as the backbone of
numerous sauces. Antoine's prepares the shrimp boiled,
baked and fried, it goes into pies, it appears au gratin.
Shrimp swims in golden mayonnaise cupped in a ruby aspic
of wine.
When Pr.esident William Howard Taft visited New
Orleans in 19°9, he was taken to An toine' s for a taste of de­licious
Louisiana River shrimp. He called for more shrimp
and more shrimp, virtually making a meal of shrimp in
tangy cocktail sauce.
But it's Shrimp Mariniere that has remained the general
favorite for the better part of a century, a first course as
served on the restaurant menu. We suggest the dish as a
main course for a luncheon, and give ingredients to provide
generous servings for six. Creole cooks fight shy of water­instead
they use oyster liquor or bouillon or tomato juice
or wine or meat stock. Shrimp Mariniere calls for oyster
water, but fish or chicken stock may be substituted.
10
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1 ~ pounds of raw shrimp
2 cups white wine
2 minced shallots or
y.. cup minced onion
1 cup oyster water, fish stock,
or chicken stock
2 tablespoons buHer
2 tablespoons flour
Juice of y.. lemon
2 egg yolks
~ cup light cream
Toast points
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Shell shrimp; remove black line. Combine wine,' shallots and
oyster water; bring to boiling point; add shrimp. Simmer
15 minutes. Melt butter; blend in flour, add % cup shrimp
stock (stock used in cooking shrimp). Cook, stirring con-
. stantly, until mixture thickens. Add shrimp, cook 10 min­utes.
Add lemon juice. Beat egg yolks; add cream. Add hot
shrimp mixture, stirring constantly. Serve in ramekins or
on toast points. Garnish with 'chopped parsley. Yield: 6
portions.
Master this French recIpe for
the lacy thin pancakes and you can use it in making in­numerable
desserts. It's the correct batter for the fancy
Cr@pes Suzette. Keep in mind that the paste must be about
the consistency ora thick olive oil. It's exactly right when a
spoonful, lifted a foot from the mixing bowl, pours back
silently; soft it should be as the finest of velvet.
~ cup sifted all­purpose
flour
1 egg
1 egg yolk
Va teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons milk (about)
3 tablespoons currant or red
raspberry jelly
Powdered sugar
Combine flour, egg, egg yolk, salt and milk. Beat with rotary
beater until smooth. If necessary, add more milk to make
batter the consistency of light cream. Cover, chill U hour in
refrigerator. Heat heavy iron skillet; wipe out with waxed
paper whidi has been dipped in butter. Pour in enough bat­ter
to barely cover bottom of skillet, tipping while adding
batter. Brown pancakes on both sides. Remove from skillet;
spread with jelly; roll up jelly-roll fashion. Sprinkle with a
little powdered sugar. Place under broiler to glaze. Serve
immediately. Yield: 12 to 15 five-inch pancakes.
12
Watching the preparation of
Cafe Brulot Diabolique by the practiced hands of Roy
Alciatore is an experience to remember forever. There in
the 1840 Room directly under the watchful eyes of Grand­father
Antoine and Father Jules looking down from their
paintings we saw this devil's brew in the making.
This ceremonial ri te, we were told, developed from the
custom of the French bons vivants of the olden days who
liked to poise a spoon holding a sugar lump drenched in
cognac over their demi tasse of dripped coffee. This was
-set alight and kept burning until just before the sugar be­gan
to caramelize, then it was lowered into the cup, stirred
an instant and the beverage sipped most gratefully.
It was Mr. Jules who conceived the idea of placing the
brandy in the dish with peel of lemon, lumps of sugar, and
spices, then the fireworks. But watch his son Roy make
magic with Rame: into the silver brulot bowl, a tall urn-like
affair, Mr. Roy placed the spices, the lemon peel, the lumps .
of sugar. The brandy was poured into the ladle. At this
point the lights were dimmed that the eyes might feast. The
brandy was ignited. Slowly it was poured into the bowl in
a Raming cascade. Slowly the ladle was lifted, again the
burning essence, blue and orange, spilled to the bowl, the
procedure was repeated until the sugar dissolved. Nothing
in the room was visible save the illuminated faces of the
party at our table.
Everywhere the sweet odor of spice. At the last, strong
14
freshly dripped coffee was added, but very gradually. The
brulot ladle dipped, lifted, dipped as the flames died, the air
was saturated with exotic odors, pungent, yet sweet.
Lights on! Immediately the beverage was ladled into the
tall narrow cups which had been designed especially for the
servIce.
A delicious melody, the flame bringing the various ingre­dients
into one harmony of taste. Serve this at your table
or by the fireside following dinner. Remember to flick out
the lights if you would make the most of the fiery display.
The late John Ringling of circus fame, on tasting the brew,
remarked, "What could be more sublime than to taste the
delights of heaven while beholding the terrors of hell?"
1 l-inch stick cinnamon
8 whole cloves
Peel of 1 lemon, cut thin
3 lumps sugar
3 iiggers of brandy
3 cups strong coffee
Place in a silver brulot bowl (or a chafing dish) cinnamon,
cloves, lemon peel and sugar. Place brandy in large ladle;
ignite brandy and pour over ingredients in bowl. Keep la­dling
brandy over ingredients until sugar is dissolved.
Gradually add coffee, ladling the mixture until the flames
fade. Serve immediately. Yield: 8 small cupS-4 portions.
15
Ingratiating dish this Chicken
Creole, so called because of the sauce in which the bird cooks.
The ingredients are available everywhere, but be careful,
follow the recipe steps exactly as given for a perfect blend­ing
of the herbs and spices. Remember, too, that the chicken
must be crisply sauteed before joining with the sauce for
the final period of tendering.
~nd frying chicken
y.. cup olive oil
1 No. 2 can tomatoes
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
Few grains pepper
Few grains cayenne
1 .prig thyme
1 tablespoon minced par.ley
1 bay leaf
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 table.poon flour
6 chopped shallots, or
~ cup minced onion
5 tablespoons chopped
green pepper
~ cup white wine
Disjoint chicken, wipe pieces with clean damp cloth. Saute
in olive oil, turning to brown both sides. Combine tomatoes
and one tablespoon butter, simmer 10 minutes, stirring
occasionally. Add salt, pepper and cayenne, cook 10 min-
16
utes. Add thyme, parsley, bay leaf and garlic. Cook 15 min­utes,
or until sauce is thick. Melt one tablespoon butter,
blend in flour, cook until brown. Add chopped shallots or
onion, green pepper; brown slightly. Add wine, stirring
constantly, until slightly thickened. Add chicken, cover,
simmer 45 minutes, or until chicken is tender. If desired,
place chicken on hot cooked rice, garnish with avocado
slices and parsley sprigs. Yield: 4 to 6 portions.
Pompano en Papillotte, fancy
talk for fish in "a paper sack, is one of the more intricate rec­ipes.
And one with a story to tell. Alberto Santos-Dumont,
the Brazilian balloonist, widely feted for his fancy stunts in
the air waves, visited New Orleans in the early 1900'S and
was to be entertained at Antoine's. The banquet committee
asked that a special dish be provided to sugge~t the dirigible
balloon. Mr. Jules pondered the idea, but nothing came of
his thinking until Mother Alciatore, then 80 years old, re­called
that' her husband had once cooked pompano fillets in
a paper bag with a rich sauce made of shrimp. Pompano
Montgolfier, Antoine had named this creation in honor of
the Montgolfier brothers who had invented the world's
first balloon in 1783.
That was tip enough for the great Jules. He set to work
with his wife's embroidery scissors and sheets of thick paper
and produced a bag affair, heart-shaped. When the heart
was filled, folded, sealed, its appearance was very like the
new balloon of the time.
The dish was an overnight hit. The very soul of the deli­cate
fish laved in the rich sauce was. held captive until the
moment the paper was split and its incense released. When
the dish was served to the late Franklin D. Roosevelt,
champagne was substituted for the white wine ordinarily
used in the sauce and the President was loud in praise.
Its making is tricky work, but with unflagging patience,
Mr. Roy assures us, anyone can turn out this specialty to
the delight of family and friends. Here substitution is al­lowed.
The pompano is a southern fish and a poor traveler.
Those who live beyond the pompano area are advised to use
fresh salmon or sea trout or the striped bass.
18
3 medium-sized pompano
3 cups water
1 chopped shallot or 2 table-spoons
chopped onion
6 tablespoons butter
2Y-. cups white wine
1 cup crabmeat
1 cup diced cooked shrimp
~ clove garlic, minced
8 chopped onions (1 ~ cups)
Pinch thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cups fish stock
2 tablespoons flour
2 egg yolks
Salt
Pepper
Clean pompano; cut into 6 fillets, removing head and back­bone.
Combine head, bones and water; simmer until there
are 2 cups stock. Saute shallot and fillets in 2 tablespoons
butter; add 2 cups wine. Cover; simmer gently until fillets
are tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. Saute crabmeat, shrimp
and }i garlic clove in one tablespoon butter. Add onion,
remaining}i garlic clove; cook 10 minutes. Add thyme, bay
leaf and add I X' cups fish stock; simmer 10 minutes. Blend
together 2 tablespoons butter and flour, gradually add re­maining
}i cup fish stock. Add to crabmeat mixture with
wine stock drained from fillets. Cook, stirring constantly,
until thickened. Beat egg yolks; add hot sauce and }i cup
wine. Mix thoroughly. Place in refrigerator to chill until
firm. Cut 6 parchment-paper hearts 8 inches long and 12
inches wide. Oil well, place spoonfuls of sauce on one side of
heart; lay poached fillet on sauce; fold over. Hand-seal
edges. Lay sealed hearts on an oiled baking sheet. Bake in
hot oven (450°F.) 15 minutes, or until paper hearts are
browned. Serve immediately in paper hearts. Yield: 6 por­tions.
Note: fresh salmon, sea trout or striped bass may be
used instead of pompano.
19
One recipe which will never be
told is for the Oysters a la Rockefeller which has met with
universal acclaim. More has been written and said about
this one dish than about all the other foods of the Antoine
kitchen. Each order goes to the table tagged with a card
bearing the number of serving-an idea borrowed from the
Tour d' Argent in Paris where a card with a serving number
accompanies each order of the pressed duck.
Oysters a la Rockefeller were invented by Mr. Jules, pat­terned
after Snails Bourguignon which Antoine had served
in the 1850's. As the years passed, the French city became
more Americanized and the local gulf oysters were in greater
demand than the snails imported from Burgundy. It was
then that a variation of the snail sauce was developed to
flatter the oysters, its name suggesting its golden flavor, its
richness. An instant success, for the dish was a novelty, the
oysters being served in their own shells resting in a pan of
rock salt to help retain the heat. The name, too, was
launched at a psychological moment, when the elder Rocke­feller
was the richest man in the country. Furthermore Mr.
Jules added to the dish's prestige by making a mystery of
its recipe, knowing the world loves a secret it can never
guess.
This much is told: the sauce is made with 18 ingredients, .
including chopped celery, minced shallots, minced fresh
chervil, minced fresh tarragon leaves, crumbs of dry bread,
a dash of Tabasco, a dash of herbsaint-in lieu of the illegal
absinthe. Herbsaint, in case you don't know, is a cordial
made in the deep South from various herbs but mostly of
amse.
The ingredients are pounded together in a mortar for
blending. Then the mixture is forced through a sieve and
20
one tablespoonful placed on each pair of oysters, resting two
by two a la half sheIl, cradled in their own juices, the shells
bedded on rock salt, which is filled into pie tins, six half
shells for each serving. Then into a hot oven until the
dish is piping.
The idea has been copied by great chefs, by cooks every­where.
New Orleaners claim in many private homes of the
city there is a recipe which in its final flavor is a dead ringer
for Antoine's. One of these copy-cat New Orleans concoc­tions,
as prepared by Caroline Weiss, the herbalist of Kiska­tom
Farm~ Mandeville, La., is given here as a good measure
gesture and for the fun you will have in trying to imitate
a dish kept secret since the 1890's. Mrs. Weiss's friends in­sist
her sauce has the same note of triumph, the same subtle
goodness of the one that blankets Antoine's oysters-Has
alike as one angel can be to another."
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons finely
minced spinach
2 tablespoons finely
minced onion
1 ~ tablespoons minced
cooked lettuce
2 teaspoons minced celery
3 tablespoons fine dry crumbs
y.. teaspoon herb blend (for fish)
y.. teaspoon anchovy paste
Few grains pepper
y.. teaspoon salt
24 oysters on half shells
Heat butter, add spinach, onion, lettuce, celery, dry crumbs,
herb blend, anchovy paste, pepper and salt. Mix well. Re­move
oysters from shell. Scrub oyster shells; boil to be sure
every particle of sand has been washed away. Set 6 shells
on each of 4 pie plates holding hot rock salt. Place oyster
in each shell. Broil slowly 5 minutes. Place spoonful of
spinach mixture on each oyster. Broil until thoroughly
heated. Serve immediately. Yield: 4 portions.
21
A THIS WEEK Magazine Ser'llite Booklet
Edited by Clementine Paddliford
Recipes tested by Gertrude Lynn
Printed in U.S.A.
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