Yesterday on the seven year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Issac hit the city of New Orleans. Nowhere near the strenght of Katrina, Issac caused flooding and loss of electricity. One of the casualties of Issac was the building that once housed LeRuth’s restaurant. The building caught fire. The high winds prevented fire crews from putting out the blaze. So from my cookbook, here is my rendition of my favorite entree from LeRuth’s.
Veal Marie
This is my version of my favorite entrée from LeRuth’s restaurant.
Veal Marie was named after Chef Warren Leruth’s wife. This dish was
originally served with King Crab leg meat. I think the best crabmeat
comes from the Blue crab, which is native to the waters around New
Orleans. My recipe includes Jumbo lump Blue crabmeat. Whichever
crabmeat you use, you have a five-star dish.
8 3 ounce slices of Veal
½ cup Flour
1½ teaspoons Creole Seasoning Blend
Canola Oil
8 Crepes
Double White Sauce recipe substituting Heavy Cream for
the milk
1 pound Jumbo lump Crabmeat
Fresh Parsley chopped
Make the white sauce then add the crabmeat. Keep warm. Pound
the veal with a meat tenderizer between 2 pieces of plastic wrap until
each piece is doubled in size. Mix the flour and Creole seasoning
together. Lightly dust the veal in the flour. Add enough oil to a large
skillet to coat the bottom. Heat over medium heat. Saute’ the veal for
1½ minutes on each side or until golden brown. Do not over crowd
the pan. Cook the veal in multiple batches, adding oil to the pan
as needed. Keep veal warm. To serve, place two pieces of veal on
serving plate. Top with a crepe and spoon crabmeat sauce over the
crepe. Garnish with parsley.
White Sauce (Béchamel)
This is the most versatile of the mother sauces. By adding shredded
cheese, you have what is known as a Mornay Sauce. Because of the
lack of bold flavors, anything added to this sauce brings a new fl avor
to the sauce.
2 tablespoon Butter
2 tablespoons Flour
¼ teaspoon Salt
Dash White Pepper
Dash Nutmeg
1½ cups Milk
In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Stir in the
flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Cook until evenly combined. After the mixture
is combined with no lumps, slowly add the milk, stirring constantly
with a wire whisk until evenly blended. Stir sauce over medium heat
until the mixture bubbles across the entire surface. Cook and stir for
a couple more minutes to completely cook the flour into the sauce.
Crepe Batter
1¾ cups Flour
1 tablespoon Sugar
2 cups Milk
1 Egg
1/3 cup Canola Oil
5 tablespoons Butter melted plus extra for pan.
Place the flour and sugar in a medium-mixing bowl. Slowly whisk
in the milk, egg, oil, and butter. Heat a nonstick pan or crepe pan over
moderate heat. Pour ¼ cup of the crepe batter into the center of the
hot pan and tilt it in all directions. The batter should coat the pan in a
light covering. After about 30 seconds, the bottom side of the crepe
should be lightly browned and the crepe should be ready to be
flipped. Shake the pan in order to release the crepe, and then turn it by using
a spatula. Cook the crepe for an additional 15-20 seconds and then
remove it from the pan.
Enjoy!!!
