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Antoine's Shrimp Remoulade*
Fish & Shellfish
Antoine's Shrimp RemouladeCompliments of Antoine's…
Ingredients
SHRIMP REMOULADE 1 ½ lb. boiled and peeled shrimp 8 oz. remoulade sauce ½ head of…
Method
Combine all ingredients, then chill in refrigerator. To serve, place lettuce on cold plates. Spoon ¼ of shrimp…
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Tuna Salad
Salads
I see nothing in the world wrong with the idea of eating a…
Ingredients
1 rib celery. leafy section cut off. coarsely chopped4 Tbs. mayonnaise1 tsp. yellow…
Method
1. Combine all the ingredients except the tuna. salt and pepper in a bowl.2. Drain the tuna. and add it to the sauce ingredients. With…
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Seafood Okra Gumbo*
Soups
From Gumbo Shop, Traditional and Contemporary Creole…
Ingredients
2 pounds fresh Louisiana shrimp (4150 count)2 small Louisiana blue crabs, cleaned3…
Method
Peel and de-vein the shrimp, and set aside, covered, in the refrigerator. Rinse the shrimpshells and heads, place in a non-reactive…
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BBQ Shrimp Po’Boy*
Fish & Shellfish
From Brent Applewhite. Courtesy of Louisiana Cookin'…
Ingredients
1/2 each French bread loaf2 tablespoons olive oil1 pound Louisiana shrimp, peeled…
Method
Slice two 8-inch sections from the French bread and core out the centers. Toast cored bread and set aside. Heat the olive oil over medium…
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Stuffed Artichokes
Side Dish
Stuffed artichokes. Italian style. are an old New Orleans…
Ingredients
4 fresh medium artichokesCrumbs from 1/2 loaf stale French bread1/4 cup olive oil4…
Method
1. Thoroughly wash artichokes. Carefully trim off top inch off each. Trim the stem so that the artichokes will sit straight up. With…
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Apple Chutney
Sauces/Condiments
Chutney is an Indian-style relish. but I'll bet they eat…
Ingredients
3 lbs. green tomatoes3 medium sweet red peppers4 medium onions4 medium red cooking…
Method
1. Peel the tomatoes by plunging them for a few seconds into boiling water. Remove seeds and pulp. Chop the tomatoes. peppers. and onions…
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White Chocolate Mousse
Desserts
To me. this has become a relic of the 1980s. Back then…
Ingredients
8 oz. white chocolate 2 oz. half-and-half cream 3 eggs, separated 2 Tbs. sugar …
Method
1. Melt chocolate in a double boiler (this can also be done in a microwave oven on.about 50 percent power; don't let it start bubbling).…
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As Executive Chef of Galatoire’s, Chef Brian Landry oversees the daily preservation and preparation of the restaurant’s traditional French-Creole dishes. (More Brian Landry)» View Complete List of Chefs
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Le Meritage Restaurant
| Friday, 14 August 2009 15:52
New Orleans Food
Since it opened in March, I have been dying to dine at Le Meritage Restaurant at the Maison Dupuy Hotel. The incredible culinary talents of Chef Michael Farrell had reached my ears from many sources and I knew experiencing his epicurean gifts would be a dining adventure to remember. God, I love it when I am right. After three weeks on my new healthy regime, I was down a total of 23 pounds, ready and raring for my third “Official Cheat ” and I was aiming to cheat big. I can hear you ask, ”Did Le Meritage deliver?” Did it ever… I have visited many fine dining establishments in places like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Napa Valley, Sonoma, Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, Paris and right here in New Orleans and I have had some truly incredible meals, but last night literally blew me away. Last night, my meal, my flavor explosion, pushed itself through the ranks and now sits as one of the top two best meals of my lifetime. Believe it or not, you won’t know until you try it for yourself.Before I go into detail about my transcendent dining experience, I must mention my love for the Maison Dupuy Hotel. Before I became a New Orleans transplant, the Maison Dupuy was my “hotel of choice” when visiting our fair city. The lush courtyard, the friendly staff, warmly decorated rooms and it’s excellent location made for the perfect stay. Whenever I have the opportunity, I recommend it to friends, co-workers, and even tourists who call NewOrleans.Com for advice on where to stay. Now I can add that one of the best restaurants in the city resides in my favorite hotel…
John (my boyfriend) and I arrived at Le Meritage Restaurant a few minutes before our 7:00pm reservation. We walked into the entrance of the quaint “French Quarter Bistro” which fronts Le Meritage. The Bistro was decorated with Toulouse-Lautrec murals, hardwood floors and a long bar running the length of the back wall. We were guided by one of the bartenders to the hostess of Le Meritage who graciously introduced herself as Kim and immediately sat us in the dining room. White linen draped the well-spaced tables and we luxuriated in the large, comfortable chairs, and although the décor was inviting, we could smell the food emanating from the tables of our fellow diners and were anxious to begin.
The menu features six categories of wine characteristics with dishes to compliment those flavor profiles. Even more convenient, every dish on their menu is available as small plates or large plates. I had already thoroughly perused their website menu and had formulated a plan of attack. In order to get a taste of as many dishes as possible in one evening, I figured that John and I could share five or six small plates. We selected our choices and the waitress brought the dishes out in groups, from the lighter fare (the sparklers) to start and the heavier (Robust Reds) at the end. Each dish was paired with a wine we selected from the left-hand side of the menu.
Initially we were served richly scented, warm dinner rolls. I immediately felt spoiled when I saw the tiny, silver-domed butter dish. We lifted the dome to see an elegant “M” emblazoned into the butter. I still regret not taking a picture, although the camera we used was not very effective anyhow (as you probably already noticed). Cool, stylish, yet small surprises like that just enrich the dining experience as a whole in my opinion, and being the silly girl I am, I just love things in miniature. We were also served an amuse-bouche served in a small ladle containing a few boiled crawfish tails in an aioli. It was a simple, yet tasty teaser for the dishes to come.
Our first dishes were a Jumbo Lump Crab Cake with crawfish and a Smoked Salmon Salad with Parmesan, spinach, pine nuts, a hard-boiled egg and red onions. Bot
h dishes were excellent, but truthfully, the crab cake was the star of the pair. I usually avoid ordering crab cakes because I often find them loaded with breadcrumbs and other fillers, leaving me wondering where the crab went. This crab cake was loaded with fresh, delicious lump crabmeat and scattered crawfish and it was absolutely mouth-watering…easily one of the finest dishes of the evening. I am still astounded as to how the cake managed to hold itself together. These dishes were paired with a ’07 Simi Chardonnay from Sonoma County, complimenting the flavors perfectly.Our next course was Paneed Rabbit wrapped in pancetta served with tagliatelle pasta, fresh peas and baby carrots. Although I do enjoy rabbit, my co-worker specifically requested I try this dish and report back to her. Meghan, if you’re reading this, the rabbit was tender and juicy, not too rich or heavily fried and I definitely recommend it. When it’s your turn to come to Le Meritage, you have to try the duck for me…if I don’t beat you to the punch!
John and I were steadily demolishing each dish as it was served and our voracity had hardly slackened for the next round, Grilled Quail with andouille corn meal stuffing and a Molasses Pork Tenderloin with braised beet greens and fingerling potatoes. The pork was juicy and sweet with the deep, rich molasses and the quail’s immense
flavor surprised and delighted me. John and I each had a different wine paired with these dishes. John had a 04 Frog’s Leap, Zinfandel from Napa Valley and I chose the 07 Coppola, Syrah from Sonoma County. Both wines were rich and full-bodied and combined with the flavors of the quail and pork, made for a virtual Mardi Gras in our mouths!I thought that the dishes couldn’t get any better until the lamb came out. The Savory Lamb Chops with sweet potato, apple and bacon hash was exquisite. If I had to choose between the Lamb and the Crab Cake, I would be in trouble. The lamb chops were crusted with savory seasoning a cooked medium rare and a careful bite arranged with the hash and a sip of the ‘05 Lonko, Malbec from Patagonia, Argentina made for an explosion my taste buds will not soon forget. I especially loved how the wine left the flavor of cocoa lingering on my tongue. It set me up for a tantalizing dessert.
Along with some strong coffee (mandatory after the heady wines), John ordered the Frozen Café Au Lait with mini-beignets and I selected the Blueberry Chocolate Panna Cotta served with chocolate sauce and fresh raspberries and blueberries. Both desserts were fresh and tasty and we couldn’t have had a better finale for our outstanding dining adventure.If you are interested in visiting Le Meritage to experience Chef Michael Farrell’s incredible creations, you couldn’t pick a better night than this Saturday, August 15th from 7 to 10 pm. Le Meritage, in association with Slow Food New Orleans, is hosting a Louisiana Wild Caught Shrimp Dinner to provide financial and emotional assistance to local shrimper Ray Brandhurst and his family. You can enjoy a delicious four-course dinner with wine pairings for $75 per person and the Maison Dupuy Hotel is offering rooms for $69 per night for guests who attend the dinner. Until next Thursday, I will be vigorously exercising and following the healthy regime again, hopefully working off my meal at Le Meritage in the process. I am already planning my next cheat and looking forward to the experience of crossing over yet another culinary horizon.
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Also, HOW CUTE is that tiny panna cotta?!
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