Benson & Hedges Entertaining With Style: Crab Imperial Chesapeake (1980)

This is a continuation of my last post, in which I featured  Crab Imperial from Maryland Seafood Contemporary Cuisine (1982) . Here’s an alternate recipe from Benson & Hedges Presents Entertaining With Style: Recipes from Great American Restaurants.

I chose this recipe because it is from the famous  Cheseapeake Restaurant in Baltimore.

HISTORY LESSON!

The original Chesapeake Restaurant was a Baltimore dining institution for more than 50 years until it closed in 1989.

I knew of it as a burnt-out, empty shell of a building. My first apartment in Baltimore wasn’t far from the old Chesapeake, so I walked past it on the regular. I always imagined how fabulous it must have been in its heyday.

All these pics are from 2010:

They tried to resurrect it in 2013, but it was–sorry to say–not very good. They closed and reopened again in 2014. and became Pen & Quill. (IMO, it still wasn’t very good). They ended up closing again this year, a casualty of coronavirus. Who knows if it will come back!

Onto the Crab Imperial Chesapeake!

I always like to see if the dish is/was indeed on the menu. I found this 1984 menu through the New York Public Library:

There it is!

And here is the recipe from the cookbook:

Sorry for the omission of the tomato rose. I didn’t have a crab to stuff, so I just went with a little ramekin:

OK, so I made this the same time as the other Crab Imperial, so let’s take a look at the side by side:

They pretty much look the same. Although one was baked in ceramic and one was baked in glass.

These were extremely similar, but between the two, the Maryland Seafood one was the superior recipe because it just had more FLAVOR. I initially thought that Chesapeake would be better because of the green pepper and pimentos; but the Worcestershire and seafood seasoning (A.K.A. OLD BAY) made the Maryland Seafood dish the winner.

I will say that there is a condiment that elevated both versions:

Outerbridge’s Original Sherry Peppers Sauce  It’s Bermudan. It’s a hot sauce. And it does indeed taste like sherry. Because it’s sherry that has been peppered.

I like it with seafood and with collard greens. It is good.

Just for fun, here is a 1955 Chesapeake Restaurant menu. 

I think you should be able to double click the image to open a larger version. If not, try HERE.

I know I would have loved this restaurant just because of the menu.

I mean, the Chesapeake’s official slogan was:

Cut your steak with a fork…else tear up the check and walk out!

The box in the lower left hand corner reads:

Not responsible for well-done steaks. Please do not ask us to broil our beautiful steaks “well-done.” It’s like displaying a rare orchid in a dark room.

In the upper right corner:

COCKTAIL of the week…
VODKA MARTINI The new cocktail that is the “rage” in Hollywood and New York’s Park Avenue. Made with Smirnoff Vodka. “It leaves you breathless.”

OYSTERS “R” in season

Phenomenal. I wish I could go back in time.