Wednesday, April 16, 2014

N is for Nap and Newburg


N is for Nap and Newburg

Short entry today. Both N words are pretty straightforward. There are harder N words I could have chosen, but I decided not to, so nectar will show up in blog post later this year. But I do have an N recipe for you at the end of the post!

Nap is a verb in the food world. Its etymology, however, is from the French (naturellement!) noun, nappe, meaning “tablecloth.” In keeping with its etymology when you nap a food, you completely cover it with a thin, even sauce layer. You could nap ice cream with chocolate sauce or cover your chicken piccata with caper sauce. To nap means the food is totally covered.


If you’re lucky enough to have dined on lobster Newburg, you’re lucky enough! (To paraphrase an expression)

Newburg is a sauce that got named a style of food. Traditionally, Newburg is dish of chopped shellfish (crab, shrimp, or lobster) in a white sauce with a butter, cream, egg yolks, sherry, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper emulsion. This one is not for already-high cholesterol folks! Again, traditionally, Newburg is served over buttered toast.

There are variations--there are always variations--of Newburg sauce, but try the classic version before others. It is still my favorite.

As a caution, when making your Newburg sauce, add the sherry right before serving so the full flavor comes through. Oh, and do you like Eggs Benedict? Try it à la Newburg sauce instead of your Hollandaise. Bet you won’t go back!

Here’s the N recipe! Just created these for DH, and he loves them. Two-bite desserts are a big favorite in my home!


Nutty Caramel Chocolate Cream Cheese Pielets (about 2½ dozen)
2 pie crusts
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
¼ cup caramel sauce
¼ cup mini chocolate chips
¼ cup pecans, chopped fine

Preheat oven to 375°.

Cut pie crusts into 30 circles. (I use my Pampered Chef Cut-and-Seal)
Blend cream cheese, caramel sauce, chocolate chips, and nuts thoroughly.

Place a heaping teaspoon of cream cheese mixture down the middle of the pastry circles. Fold over to make half circles. Crimp with the edge of the crescent.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for about 16-18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and eat. Refrigerate leftovers.

2 comments:

  1. I love the way you are doing your a-z blogging, a word and a recipe. I've always wanted to try Lobster Newburg. (http://www.reflectionsenroute.com)

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  2. I don't include a recipe each post, Corinne, but if you check out the entire blog, you will find tons of recipes! Each February, for example, I post at least one recipe a day in a category (this year was appetizers; others were chicken and soup). Lots of cooking ideas here! Thanks for coming by and commenting!

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