Recipes By Craig Claiborne
282 recipes found

Cajun-Style Stuffed Rabbit Legs
John Folse, a chef and educator in Louisiana, shared this recipe for legs of rabbit boned and stuffed with crabmeat and served with a light red-wine sauce.

Tomato Sauce for Custard Pie

Brie and Artichoke Custard Pie

Burnt-Sugar Ice Cream With Butterscotch Sauce

Succotash With Hominy

Shad Stuffed With Shad Roe

Individual Pies With Wild Mushrooms

Grilled Quail With Oyster Sauce

Venison Sausage

Rabbit Sausage

Shrimp Remoulade
This is Craig Claiborne's 1985 recreation of the shrimp remoulade served at Arnaud's, the legendary restaurant in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Fiery with horseradish and Creole mustard -- Zatarain's was the brand Claiborne recommended -- the sauce also contains finely chopped heart of celery, green onion and a splash of good oil. Paprika adds a further touch of spice and a fine red color. Claiborne recommended allowing the dish to cure overnight in the refrigerator. This remains good advice. Arnaud's shrimp remoulade, he wrote at the time, "is a pleasure that endures." (The New York Times)

Classic Pralines

Creole Pralines

Craig Claiborne’s Thai Beef Salad
In 1986, Craig Claiborne wrote about “an exceptional sauce ‘borrowed’ from the cuisine of Thailand, where it is known as nam pla, and Vietnam, where it is known as nuoc mam.” This fish sauce is made with an essence of anchovies. Claiborne said one of its best uses was in the preparation of this salad.

Craig Claiborne’s Polenta

Fish Stock with Red Wine (Fumet de Poisson Au Vin Rouge)

Craig Claiborne's Fish Stock

Classic Stuffed Mushrooms
This classic hors d'oeuvres recipe first appeared in The Times in a February 1981 column by Craig Claiborne on the then-popular topic of no-salt cooking. Mushrooms, he said, are “the one basic ingredient best suited to a no-salt cookery,” noting a “depth of flavor” and “a meat-like consistency.” We may have relaxed our beliefs regarding our salt consumption, but this more than 30-year old recipe remains a reader favorite. It's also blessedly easy to make. After removing the stems from the mushrooms, you simply sauté the caps with a little butter, lemon juice and black pepper (we won't tell if you add a little salt). Make a simple stuffing of chopped mushroom stems, shallots, garlic, celery, thyme, egg, bread crumbs and shredded Gouda. Stuff the mushroom caps, drizzle with butter and bake for about 15 minutes. See? The 1980s weren't so bad.

Quiche Lorraine
The first quiche to come to the attention of the American public was the quiche Lorraine in the 1950s. Craig Claiborne, who started as food editor of The Times in 1957, created this classic recipe with bacon, onion and cheese to fill a pie dish. If you use a tart pan, expect to have extra custard. Keys to This Recipe What is quiche: In its most traditional French form, a quiche is composed of a buttery crust filled with a savory egg custard. The pastry is known as pâte brisée. Fillings can include any combination of cheese, herbs, vegetables and smoked meat or fish. How to Make Quiche: For any type of quiche, you start with homemade pastry dough or a store-bought pie crust and fit it into a 9- or 10-inch pie, tart or quiche pan. To prevent a soggy crust, par-bake the dough by baking it alone first, lined with parchment paper or foil and filled with pie weights, such as dried beans. Once the dough is golden, it can be filled with the custard and any other ingredients, then baked again until the custard is just set. Make-Ahead Tips for Quiche: Quiche tastes best when served after 20 to 30 minutes of cooling and within an hour of baking. It can be completely cooled, then covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days, but the crust will get soggy. It’s better to keep a fully baked quiche at room temperature for up to 6 hours and then reheat it, uncovered, in a 300-degree oven for 10 to 20 minutes. (If it has been in the refrigerator, add another 10 minutes or so.) You also can prepare the dough up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate it or par-bake the crust up to a day in advance and keep it at room temperature. Side Dishes to Serve With Quiche: Because quiche is quite rich, it tastes best with a sharp, light salad, such as arugula salad or green salad. Gluten-Free Options for Quiche: You can purchase a gluten-free crust or make your own by swapping a 1-to-1 flour blend for all-purpose flour. Or, you can make a crustless quiche. Why You Should Trust This Recipe This recipe was first published in the fall of 1958, when Craig Claiborne, a pre-eminent food journalist, reported that Gruyère cheese was not yet readily available in grocery stores. It is now, and his recipe for this classic quiche remains a favorite among home cooks.

Myra Waldo's Swedish Lamb
Craig Claiborne brought this marvelous dinner-party centerpiece to The Times in 1958, after securing it from Myra Waldo, a globetrotting food and travel writer who edited “The Complete Round-the-World Cookbook,” featuring recipes gathered by Pan American Airways. Mr. Claiborne recommended this one in a column in the newspaper four years later: a leg of lamb roasted above carrots and onions, broth, hot coffee, cream and a sprinkling of sugar. Really! The result on the plate is remarkable in the way the richness of the sauce mingles with the big taste of the lamb. All we needed to do to improve it was exchange the beef broth Claiborne used (too tinny in flavor) for some of the low-sodium chicken variety. (Sam Sifton)

Florentine Dip
A good dip transcends time — especially one with fresh herbs, which makes this 1959 recipe from Craig Claiborne stand out amid other recipes from the convenience food era of the 1940s and ’50s. Studded with capers, garlic and anchovies, the dip comes together quickly, then sits in the refrigerator, ready to buy you time should your guests arrive early while the rest of the meal runs late.

The court-bouillon

Deluxe Cheesecake
Craig Claiborne brought this version of the classic dessert to The Times in September 1963, and it quickly became one of the paper's most requested recipes. It makes an excellent backdrop for almost any ripe and sweet fruit. Feel free to play around with flavorings like vanilla, and spices like cinnamon or crystallized ginger.

Craig Claiborne's Beef Stew
It would be hard to find a simpler meal than Mr. Claiborne’s hearty beef stew, which goes beautifully with buttered noodles and a stout glass of red wine. (Or, for the children, a glass of milk.) A small scattering of cloves adds a floral note to the gravy, augmented by just a little thyme, and the combination pairs beautifully with the carrots you add near the end of the cooking process, to prevent them from going mushy in the heat. Sprinkle chopped parsley over the finished dish, of course, a nod to the past that rewards in beauty and flavor alike.