Crawfish Stew Recipe

Cooking the Books: Choking Down History At José Andrés' America Eats Tavern

In the rarified world of restaurant criticism, it was once customary to wait a few months after a restaurant’s opening before reviewing the place—long enough to let staffers work out the kinks that critics will inevitably savage. By most rights, a heralded chef like José Andrés would be offered such a courtesy even today, in an age of blogs and Yelp and other venues for immediate feedback.

Alas, Andrés’ latest venture, America Eats Tavern , would be most of the way through its run before it got any attention from a critic from the old school: The pop-up restaurant is being operated in conjunction with a National Archives exhibition on U.S. culinary history . Instead of becoming a local fixture along the lines of Andrés’ Jaleo or Zaytinya , America Eats is currently slated to last only as long as the exhibition.

Which means I had little time to waste in ordering myself a $14 peanut butter and jelly sandwich. With foie gras, of course.

This precious little piece of Americana is a prime example of how Andrés’ temporary eatery, located in the former Café Atlántico space in Penn Quarter and featuring a menu culled from archival cookbooks, simultaneously delights, enlightens, and perplexes.

The sandwich is wistful! The artisanal peanut butter and blackberry jam, which ooze from inside, harken back to the days before Skippy and Smuckers dominated the sandwich-spread scene. And the bread, meanwhile, buttered and toasted to tasty effect, is sealed along the edges, recalling the childish practice of having the crusts cut off.

The sandwich is whimsical! For an added touch of nostalgia, the PB&J arrives with a small container of milk and a straw for easy sipping.

And the sandwich is wildly astronomical! You could buy an entire loaf of bread, a sizeable can of Jif, and a whole jar of jelly for the cost of one of Andres’ creations—and the resulting homemade sandwiches would at least be big enough to trade for something good on the elementary school playground.

True, Andrés’ version might not be the most expensive PB&J, and fattened goose liver in U.S. history: A New York restaurateur once charged $21 for a similar foie gras and nut butter sandwich. But, in this age of austerity, the kitchy aggrandizing of a third-graders’ lunch seems tone-deaf—even if it is quite tasty. Thankfully, more cost-conscious culinary history buffs can order a down-market version, sans the foie gras, for $10.

Seafood Soups | Healthy Foods

Seafood soups are generally made from a broth or a cream base and include various kinds of shellfish or fish. They are part of several different world cultures and are made in such places as France, China and the Eastern United States. Seafood soups and stews are also relatively easy to prepare and can be inexpensive as well, depending on the ingredients.

Almost any kind of seafood can be used in soup. Cooks who like freshwater fish can try making a soup with salmon, chopped broccoli and cream. Shellfish lovers can use shrimp in many different soup and stew recipes, such as Shrimp Bisque and Shrimp Gumbo. A popular seafood stew from California is Cioppino, which uses tomatoes and chicken broth to make a smooth base and adds shrimps, scallops, clams, mussels, crab and cod.

Chowder is a commonly made seafood soup. The kind of seafood used in the chowder depends on what is locally available in the area. In the northeastern United States, chowder may be made with clams and potatoes. In the southeastern United States, it may include she-crab meat and crawfish. Typically, chowders use a cream base, but some of them can also be adapted to work with a tomato broth base, such as Manhattan Clam Chowder.

If it can fit into the cook’s budget, lobster is popular seafood for use in soup. There are many kinds of lobster soup recipes, including Lobster Bisque, Lobster Soup, Lobster Gazpacho and Lobster Bouillabaisse. Those who need to stick with a low-cost meal can use canned fish, such as canned salmon, canned crab meat and even canned tuna to prepare a simple and affordable stew.

To serve a seafood soup as an appetizer, it is generally best to stick with a lighter soup, such as a Hot and Sour Shrimp Soup or a Creamy Crab Soup. If the stew will be the main course, however, heavier recipes that use bulky fish, potatoes or whole shellfish would be appropriate. This would include recipes such as Halibut Chowder, Corn and Crab Chowder or Oyster Stew. Served along with bread, rolls or crackers, seafood soup can serve as a complete meal.

Soup is true comfort food. We have put together a collection of delicious soup recipes that will satisfy the hearty appetite; and that can be served for holidays, special occasions and everyday dining. Find the perfect potato soup recipe from our growing selection of the world’s finest soups.

The Everything Soup, Stew, and Chili Cookbook

Soups and one-pot meals, the 100 best recipes from around the world

Cajun Quick

A Love Affair with Southern Cooking, Recipes and Recollections

Cooking