Beginning of a beautiful friendship

FOOD & DRINK > FEATURES

Let the flick ‘Casablanca’ inspire your Valentine’s Day menu — but don’t forget to surprise your sweetheart with other romantic classics, like oysters.

By Phyllis Stein-Novack

Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted Feb. 11, 2010

Sunday is Valentine’s Day. Edward and I always dine in and splurge on the ingredients for one fine meal. We usually enjoy dinner on our coffee table beside a roaring fire.

More often than not, we watch a movie. At 8 on Valentine’s evening, Turner Classic Movies will air “Casablanca,” one of my favorite films. Ingrid Bergman is luminous, Bogey is Bogey and Paul Henreid orders “two Cointreaus, please,” as he and Bergman take their seats near Sam the piano player at Rick’s.

I’ve seen “Casablanca” so many times I know the script by heart. I don’t wish to give away the ending because I know at least one person who has never seen this masterpiece.

Since it’s set in Morocco, I’m thinking about preparing a Lamb Tagine. A tagine, which I think of as the national dish of Morocco, is a stew prepared in a cone-shaped earthenware vessel. I don’t own one, but Le Creuset manufactures them. You can prepare a tagine in a pot. Couscous serves as a nest for the stew.

Dinner will begin with cool, salty Oysters with Mignonette Sauce. Your fishmonger will open them for you if you are not up to the task. Just make sure he or she retains the liquid and the shells.

Gravlax, the marvelous Scandinavian cured salmon, must stay in the refrigerator for at least 48 hours. Buy a nice, fatty side of wild salmon for this appetizer.

I found a number of recipes for tagines in Claudia Roden’s “The New Book of Middle Eastern Food.” If you are not familiar with her work, go to the store and purchase her books. Roden was born in Cairo and has lived in Paris and London. Her “The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York” is, to me, the definitive book on Jewish cooking. It was nominated Cookbook of the Year by the James Beard Foundation.

Champagne or a crisp Pinot Gris drinks beautifully with oysters and gravlax and a rich Cabernet Sauvignon will hold up to the lamb.

■ Oysters with Mignonette Sauce ■

Ingredients:
24 oysters, shucked
1/2 cup of sherry vinegar
1 small shallot, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Place the oysters on a large platter filled with crushed ice or kosher salt.

Whisk the remaining ingredients in a small bowl well.

Keep the oysters and sauce refrigerated until ready to serve.

Serves two to four.

■ Gravlax ■

Ingredients:
1 3-pound center-cut wild salmon, halved lengthwise
2 large bunches of fresh dill
1/4 cup each of kosher salt and sugar
Lemon wedges, for garnish
Pumpernickel
Softened butter

Page: 1 2 |Next