Recipe - Crab Custard With Lemon Butter Sauce

1 Brocolli;bunch, medium
cut into small florets
One half pound Crab meat;fresh or frozen
trimmed of cartilege
3 Eggs
Three fourths cup Whipping cream
Three fourths cup Milk
salt & ground white pepper
1 pn Nutmeg, ground

LEMON BUTTER SAUCE
One half cup White wine
1 Shallot, dry;finely chopped
1 cup Butter; cut in pieces
One fourth cup Whipping cream
1 Lemon;juice of

In this recipe Quebec snow crab is combined with brocolli, ovenpoached
and served on a sauce, nouveau cuisine fashion. This appetizer is the
creation of Chef Denis Pelletier of Moulin de St. Laurent, a contemporary
French restaurant located in an old stone mill in the village of St.
Laurent on Ile d'Orleans. Ramekins can be filled ahead and oven poached at
the last minute, or you can reheat the cooked flan in a microwave oven for
about 2 minutes at Medium (50 percent).

Cook brocolli florets in boiling salted water just until tendercrisp;
drain. Generously brush 6 to 8 ramekin or custard cups with melted butter.
Divide crab meat with brocolli among the ramekins. In a bowl, whisk
together the eggs, cream and milk; season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Fill ramekins threequarters full with the custard and set in a shallow pan
of hot water. Oven poach for 1 hour at 325F or until set. (A knife inserted
in centre should come out clean.)
Make Lemon Butter Sauce and pour onto 6 to 8 serving plates. Run a knife
around the edge of each ramekin and unmold onto sauce.

Lemon Butter Sauce:
In small saucepan, heat wine and chopped shallot. Bring to a boil and
reduce over mediumhigh heat until only 2 tablespoons of liquid remain.
Reduce heat to low and whisk in butter, a few pieces at a time, until sauce
is smooth and all the butter is incorporated. Whisk in cream and lemon
juice. Keep warm in the top of a double boiler set over hot water until
serving time. MAKES: about 1 One half CUPS SAUCE

SERVES: 68 as an appetizer

SOURCE: _A Taste of Quebec_ by Julian Armstrong

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini