• 2 lbs. peeled and deveined shrimp or mixed seafood (frozen shrimp or seafood  may be substutited but it should be thoroughly thawed and drained)
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 ribs of celery, finely chopped
• 1 small green pepper, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp Creole Seasoning
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 2 Tbsp garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• Cayenne pepper to taste
• Kosher salt to taste
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 Tbsp dried thyme  (or 1 bunch fresh)
• 2 Tbsp Tabasco (to taste.  You may choose to use none at all)
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/8 Cup flat leaf parsley, minced

 Directions

1. Melt the butter in a deep pot with the vegetable oil over medium high heat. When the butter begins to froth add 1/2 cup of the onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden brown. Add the remaining onions, celery, and bell pepper, reduce the heat to medium and season with 1 Tbsp Creole Seasoning and a pinch of salt. Sweat the vegetables until soft.
2. Add the tomato paste mixing well, and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste begins to brown, then add the fresh tomatoes and another pinch of  salt to help the tomatoes break down.
3. When the tomatoes start to break down into liquid add the white wine and turn the heat to high until most of the alcohol burns off. Add the clam juice or stock, remaining Creole seasoning, garlic, bay leaves, black pepper, white pepper, cayenne (to taste), and thyme. Bring to a boil then reduce to a low simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes.
4. Add the Worcestershire Sauce and season to taste with salt. Last chance to re-season your sauce, remember that good cooking is all about proper seasoning.
5. To serve, bring the sauce to a boil then turn the heat off.  Add the seafood or shrimp ande cover.  Allow to sit for 20 minutes before serving over long grain or jasmine rice.

• 1 bunch kale, stemmed and washed in two changes of water
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 2/3 cups white beans (3/4 pound) or dried lima beans, picked over and soaked for at least four hours and drained
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste, dissolved in 1 cup water
• 3 cups additional water
• A bouquet garni consisting of 4 parsley sprigs, 2 thyme sprigs and a bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
• Salt and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously and add the kale. Blanch for two minutes, then transfer to a bowl of ice water. Drain, squeeze out water and cut into ribbons. Set aside. (I blanch the kale to extract some of the bitterness, but you can skip this step if you wish.)
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat in a large oven-proof casserole. Add the onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender, about five minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute. Add the dissolved tomato paste, and bring to a simmer.
3. Add the drained beans, the remaining water, the bouquet garni, herbes de Provence and salt and pepper.  Stir in the kale, bring to a simmer, cover and place in the oven. Bake three hours until the beans are tender and creamy. Taste and adjust salt.
4. Mix together the remaining olive oil and the bread crumbs. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the beans, and continue to bake another 30 minutes to an hour until the bread crumbs are lightly browned. Remove from the heat and serve; or allow to cool slightly and serve.

• 2-3 lbs fingerling potatoes
• 1/2 – 3/4 lbs sliced mushrooms (white, cremini, or a variety)
• 1 lb fresh spinach
• 1 medium onion, chopped (substitute one leek)
• 3 Tsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 4 cloves garlic (or 1 1/2 inches of grated garlic in the tube, available in the produce section of most grocery stores)
• 8 oz ricottta cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 lb gruyère cheese, grated

Directions

1. Wash potatoes and boil, unpeeled, until soft.  Drain and cool, then cut the potatoes into 1/3  to 1/2 inch slices.
2. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
3. Cook onions over medium heat until soft (about 5 minutes) in 2 Tbsp olive oil.  Add the sliced mushrooms, the garlic, and the remaining olive oil.  Sautee until the liquid evaporates, about another 5 minutes.  Stir in spinach and add salt and pepper.  Cover and cook until spinach wilts (about 4 minutes).  Uncover and allow all liquid to evaporate.  Remove the pot from heat.
4. Mix the beaten egg and ricotta.  Stir into the mushroom and spinach mix.
5. Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking pan.  Line the bottom of pan with 1/3 of potatoes.  Spoon 1/2 spinach mixture over layer of potatoes and  sprinkle with 1/3 of cheese.  Make another layer of potatoes, cover with remaining spinach mixture& another 1/3 of the cheese.  Lastly, cover with remaining potatoes and sprinkle the rest of the cheese.
6. Bake approximately 25 minutes.  Remove pan from oven and let settle for 5 minutes.

• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• 1 large pinch saffron
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, 1/3 thinly sliced, remaining finely chopped
• 1 lb. italian sausage made with turkey, bulk or casings removed
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1 handful fresh sage leaves
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Kosher salt
• 1 pound tubular pasta (elbows, penne, cavatappi)
• Freshly grated Parmesan
• Extra-virgin olive oil

Preparation

1. Heat the vegetable stock in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, add the saffron, and keep warm.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan. Saute the onions until soft. Add the sausages; stirring and sauteing while breaking the meat into small pieces.
3. When the meat starts to brown, add the rosemary and sage, and cook on medium-high heat until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Then add the white wine and stir well until the sharp smell of wine is cooked off, but the pan is not dry.
4. Add the saffron-infused vegetable stock. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes; make sure you do not over-cook or allow all the liquid to evaporate.
5. Remove the rosemary sprigs. Set aside.
6. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. Drain it about 1 minute before what is indicated on the box. Saute in the pan with the sauce over high heat for about a minute or so.
7. Serve with some freshly grated Parmesan. Drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil.

• 2½–3 lbs boneless chicken, cut up
• 3 teaspoons salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 lb. smoked sausage
• 1 cup rice
• 32 oz. stewed tomatoes
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder or crushed garlic
• ¼ teaspoon thyme
• cayenne pepper to taste (optional)

Preparation

1. Cover chicken with water (at least 2 cups). Add salt and pepper.  Bring to boil, reduce heat, and cover.  Simmer 30 minutes until done.
2. When done, remove chicken, dice into chunks.  Save 2 cups of broth.
3. Cut sausage into small medallions and fry in pot.
4. When ready, add 1 cup rice and sauté briefly (1 minute).
5. Add remaining ingredients and 2 cups of chicken broth. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes or until rice is ready

• 6 ripe red tomatoes
• Salt and pepper
• 2 cloves mashed garlic
• 3 Tablespoons shallots or green onions
• ½ cu grated parmesan cheese
• 4 Tablespoons fresh basil and parsley
• ⅛ teaspoon thyme
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Pepper to taste
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ cup bread crumbs

Preparation

• Heat oven to 400°F
• Cut the tomatoes in half.  Remove seeds.  Add salt and pepper to tomato halves
• Mix ingredients (other than tomatoes) in a bowl.
• Add 1 to 2 spoonfuls of mixture on top of each tomato half
• Sprinkle several drops of olive oil on top of each tomato half
• Place tomatoes with toppings in a shallow, oiled roasting pan
• Place pan with tomatoes in top of pre-heated oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until tomatoes are tender but hold their shape and the bread crumb filling has browned slightly.

• 2 stalks romaine lettuce, “broken” into bite-sized pieces
• ½ carton of grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 to 2 large avocados or 2 to 4 small ones… ask your grocer to select ripe ones… or buy unripe ones about 3 days ahead (see instructions below for preparing)
• Vinaigrette (see instructions below for preparing)

Avocados

To prepare avocados, first slice in half starting and ending at small end.  Then twist one half to separate.  Whack the seed with a knife to remove seed.  Slice the avocado while in peel 2 to 3 times to make bite-sized squares.  Scoop out squares from the peel with a tablespoon.

Vinaigrette

Prepare 2 to 3 hours ahead, but do not refrigerate.  Results in  ⅔ cup.

Vinaigrette Ingredients

•  
  •  
    • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
    • 1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
    • ½ to ⅔ Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
    • 2 teaspoons mayonnaise
    • Salt and pepper to taste

Vinaigrette Preparation

•  
  • Combine ingredients with whisk until creamy
  • Adjust tartness by adding lemon juice or white wine vinegar

Avocado and Tomato Salad Preparation

• Prepare vinaigrette as per above.
• Prepare avocados as per above. It is best to prepare avocados immediately before serving to avoid their turning dark.  If prepared earlier, toss lightly with a small amount of lemon juice.
• Toss romaine, grape tomatoes, and avocados separately with the vinaigrette, beginning with the romaine, and layer the remaining.

There were two primary ways we ventured from MIT to the House of Roy at 12a Tyler Street in east Boston.  Mostly, we went on the T, Boston’s subway system.  We walked across the MIT campus to Kendall Square, which at the time was at the border between the east campus of MIT and the slums of East Cambridge.  We took the Red Line from Kendall Square to Washington Street (now called Downtown Crossing) and then switched to the Orange Line.  (One of the denizens at Washington Street came up me and my MIT friends in the T station and interjected a famed phrase, “zip, zap, zoop”.) At other times, we arrived by car, whether Joel Berez’s or others.

The House of Roy was a weekly staple of this MIT crowd on weekends.  (Note that the MIT dining system in this time and era did not serve food to students on weekends!) Check out an advert by House of Roy on page 4 of the 13 November 1959 edition of The Tech!  Wow!  I started eating at House of Roy around 1972!

The usual question once we sat down (and we rarely needed to glance at the menu) was: “n or n minus 1?” To translate: do we want to order main course dishes for everyone, or one less?

House of Roy was located on Tyler Street, not far from the infamous (in its time) Combat Zone in downtown Boston.  Boston in the 1970s designated some areas as its red light district, for prostitutes and others, and it was called the Combat Zone.

Since many of our memories of House of Roy are just that, only memories, here are some other memories of House of Roy to help us out here:

• http://criticalpalate.blogspot.com/2008/03/house-of-roymmmm-special.html
• http://www.nesfa.org/History/HouseOfRoy.htm

All that said, this seems to only be a first step in the door to this history. Looking forward to more!

- Rick

This modern and fun French restaurant at 1201 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington DC was a favorite of many, not just us.  This location closed around November 2008 after 15 years.  Two Les Halles locations remain, both in New York City, though we’ve not been to either of them.  The current menu in New York is similar to the menu we enjoyed at the DC location, though some familiar dishes don’t seem to be on it.

Ah, but the memories.  We always looked forward to seeing Aisha and Mehti, waiters and sometimes sommeliers.  Celebrating New Year’s Eve and the new year through noisemakers, hats, and fine meals and drinks… plus the great desserts.  We even participated in one of the waiter’s races that they sponsored and conducted for many years.  We have many photographs to share.

We enjoyed the hanger steak (onglet à l’échalote), the merguez, the choucroute garnie, the pétatou de chèvre, the frisee lardons, and lots of other dishes.  Plus I remember having a special squab of pigeon.  And I always asked for a side of sautéed spinach (not on the menu).

Les Halles, a favorite restaurant where our memories will last forever.

Website: http://leshalles.net/brasserie/