Something Old, Something New: Oysters Rockefeller, Walnut Souffle, and Other Classic Recipes Revisited

by Tamar Adler, Mindy Dubin (Illustrator)

Overview

The award-winning, bestselling author of An Everlasting Meal “revitalizes classics and long-forgotten dishes, bringing them into this century with verve and ease” (Bon Appetit) in this “lovely and literary” (Vogue.com) cookbook.

Many dishes that once excited our palates—like oysters Rockefeller, steak Diane, cheese and walnut soufflés—have disappeared from our tables and, in some cases, from our memories. Creating a unique culinary history, Tamar Adler, a Vogue and New York Times writer and Chez Panisse alum, has collected more than a hundred recipes from old cookbooks and menus and enlivened, updated, and simplified them.

Adler’s approach to these dishes involves ample use of acid and herbs, pared down techniques, and contemporary ways of serving. Seasonal menus, wine pairings suggested by sommelier Juliette Pope, gorgeous watercolor drawings by artist Mindy Dubin, and a foreword by influential food critic Mimi Sheraton add to this “personal, nostalgic journey...as much about the writing as it is about the cooking” (The New York Times Book Review). Adler has created a unique culinary history, filled with delicious recipes and smart, witty prose. It is destined to become a modern classic.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781982113995
Publisher:	Scribner
Publication date:	08/06/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Tamar Adler is the James Beard and IACP Award–winning author of An Everlasting Meal; Something Old, Something New; and An Everlasting Meal Cookbook. She is a contributing editor at Vogue, has been a New York Times Magazine columnist, and the host of the Luminary podcast, Food Actually. She has cooked at Chez Panisse, and lives in Hudson, New York.

Read an Excerpt

Something Old, Something New

Table of Contents

Introduction xv

Menu for a Simple Spring Lunch

When You Are Famished (Hors d'œuvres)

Crudités 5

Lime sauce 7

Ravigote sauce 8

Vegetables à la grecque 10

Aubergines en hors d'œuvre 11

Gildas 13

Pickled eggs 14

Deviled eggs 16

Eggs Pierre de Lune-Nosrat 16

Pâté d'oeuf 17

Chicken liver à la Toscane 18

Shrimp pâté 20

Pickled shrimp 21

Gelatina di pomodoro 23

Oeufs en gelée 25

Caviar-leek pots de crème 28

Roast oysters with pepper sauce 31

Oysters Rockefeller 33

Clams Casino 34

Filet mignon on toast 36

Braised lettuce on toast 38

Foie gras sandwiches 40

Menu for a Fancy Spring Dinner

La Bonne Soupe (Soups)

Herb soup 47

Watercress soup 49

Cold cream of tomato soup (salmorejo) 51

Cream of lettuce soup 54

Potage Esau 55

Clam chowder 56

Oyster stew 58

Shrimp bisque 60

Potage Billy By 62

Clam bouillon for 8 people 63

Egg drop soup 64

Georgette's consommé (or something like it) 67

Menu for a Summer Lunch

A Growing Love (Salads)

Herb salad 75

Watercress salad 76

A plain green salad vinaigrette 77

Green Goddess salad 79

Buttermilk dressing 81

Blue cheese salad 82

Home cook's salad 84

Crab Louis Dashiell 87

Waldorf salad, in pieces 89

Anything and pickle salad 90

Alligator pear salad 91

Avocat en vinaigrette 93

Menu for a Fancy Summer Dinner

In Vegetable Veritas (Vegetables)

Gâteaux de courgettes 99

Stuffed zucchini 101

Buttered zucchini 102

Turnip gratin 105

Parsleyed potatoes 108

Fried potatoes 109

Potatoes Delmonico 110

Everyone's cabbage 112

Limas and eggplants à la crème 113

Fresh bean succotash 115

Italian creamed spinach 117

Four-day spinach 118

Garlicky green beans amandine 119

Petits pois à la française 120

Herbed tomatoes 122

Buttered tomatoes on toast 123

Sweet-and-spicy cucumbers 124

Menu for an Autumn Lunch

To Rise Like Rice (Starches and Eggs)

Riz au fromage 132

Riz à la Georgienne 134

My mother's rice pilaf 135

Crisp rice croquettes 136

Macaronade 138

Macaroni à la à la Godard 140

Herbed crêpes with mushrooms 143

Buckwheat crêpes 144

Crêpes farcies 145

Cheese soufflé 147

Leek pudding soufflé 150

Corn pudding 151

A respectful omelet 153

Oeufs en meurette 154

Prairie oyster 156

Menu for a Fast Autumn Dinner

A Good Effect (Meat)

Not-chicken fricassee 162

Chicken in leftover wine 164

Chicken à la Montmorency 166

Chicken Kiev, of a kind 167

Cold deviled chicken 169

Poached chicken mayonnaise 170

Suprêmes de volaille aux champignons 173

Duck confit à l'orange 175

Grilled quails on canapés 177

Steak tartare 180

Mon Pierre's steak haché 182

Steak Diane hallelujah! 184

Beef bouilli 185

Boeuf à la mode with gremolata 187

Daube Provençal 189

Garbure in three courses 192

Menu for an Early Winter Dinner

On Poverty And Oysters (Seafood)

Crisp fish meunière 199

Fish à la Basque 201

Cod à la pil pil 202

Mussel croquettes 203

Salt cod croquettes 205

Steamed clams 207

Coquilles St-Jacques 209

Lobster with beurre blanc 212

Shrimp scampi 214

French creamed oysters 215

Menu for a Late-Winter Dinner

Crying For Cream (Desserts)

Walnut soufflé 222

Ratafia cream 223

Hazelnut-cardamom blancmange 224

Chilled flower blossom pudding 226

Honey flummery 227

Chocolate mousse 228

Frozen honey mousse for a crowd 229

Charlotte Russe 230

Tipsy cake 232

Baked Alaska 233

Orange blossom meringues 234

Plum cake 235

Peaches Melba 236

Crêpes Suzette 237

Shortbread 238

Diplomate au kirsch à la manière de PAPAZI 2018 239

Crème anglaise 240

Alcoholic Appendix (A Few Drinks) 243

Acknowledgments 251

Index 253

Editorial Reviews

"Tamar Adler is a curious magpie, skillfully collecting culinary ephemera from across the ages and weaving them into an unimaginably beautiful nest. Step inside. You'll find yourself comforted and inspired by the writing and the food, both equally sensible and elegant."
—Samin Nosrat, author of Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat

"Adler is a peaceable cook, and a pragmatic one... Her economizing ethos shines in her new book."
—The Washington Post

“Tamar Adler is more than a wonderful food writer—she is a wonderful writer. She delves into these past and forgotten recipes with the spirit of an adventurer and a sleuth, and while writing about food, she is always secretly writing about something else—a love of life, eternal values, industry, thrift, friendship, the unknown. Her books—written with a charmingly loose confidence and care—feel timeless. Even those of us who never cook, or don’t give meals much thought, will find enduring literary pleasure in Something Old, Something New.”
—Sheila Heti, author of How Should a Person Be?

"Home cooks looking to adventure into the past will find much to enjoy with these refound recipes."
—Library Journal, (starred review)

"Revitalizes fusty classics and long-forgotten dishes, bringing them into this century with verve and ease... it’s bookery meets cookery."
—Christine Muhlke, Bon Appetit

"A personal, nostalgic journey inspiring the rediscovery of classics... as much about the writing as it is about the cooking... lyrical."
—Jenny Rosenstrach, The New York Times Book Review

"Adler has a curious intelligence and technical command to back up a thoughtful approach to classic French dishes, which reimagines what might be produced out of a home kitchen... Any cook looking to exercise and enhance creativity will find in Adler a worthy muse."
—Booklist

"What a delight this book is. It reminded me of half-forgotten treats and made me nostalgic for things I've never actually tasted. But most of all, I treasure Something Old, Something New for the writing, which is as suave and fun to read as M.F.K. Fisher. Adler is the best kind of kitchen companion, someone whose warm and witty voice I want to carry with me as I cook."
—Bee Wilson, author of Consider the Fork

"Her writing is lyrical and lovely—and thorough and authoritative."
—Food 52

"A lovely and literary cookbook... handsome and witty and personal, full of glimpses into Adler's life." —Vogue.com

From the Publisher