Dish it out.

My wife and I eat often at the Castle Restaurant at Dunleith Plantation in Natchez. All of their food is delicious, but we particularly like the crabcakes.

Joe Fortunato 

Natchez

CRABCAKES


8 pieces white bread
1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat
2 tablespoons parsley
1 shallot, finely diced
1 egg
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup mayonnaise
Salt (to taste)
Cayenne pepper (to taste)

Dice the bread into one-inch cubes, then add the crabmeat, parsley, shallot, egg, lemon juice, and mayonnaise. Add your seasoning, and mix carefully so as not to break up the crabmeat. Let sit for 30 minutes, then form into 6-ounce patties. Sear on one side, turn over and finish in the oven.

John Martin Terranova, chef at the Castle at Dunleith Plantation, was pleased to share his recipe for crabcakes. The Castle is located in the restored 1790s carriage house at the stately, white-columned mansion, often called the most photographed house in America. Majestic Dunleith was the backdrop for the films "Huckleberry Finn" and "Showboat." A bed and breakfast inn, it is open for tours seven days a week from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.

A meal at the Castle, with its exposed brick walls and elegantly upholstered chairs, is a journey into the ambiance of the Old South.

Located at 84 Homochitto Street, the restaurant is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.; dinner, 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. On Saturday and Sunday, dinner only from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. For reservations for dinner or accommodations, call 800/433-2445 or 601/446-8500.

We all love to eat at Broad Street Baking Company in Jackson. Everything on the menu is great! But there's just something about those grits--could you find out exactly what makes the so mouth-watering?

Missy Stedman Massey

Jackson

BROAD STREET CHEESE GRITS


1 quart hot water
1/2 pint half and half cream
2 tablespoons margarine
6 cups grits--Quaker Instant is fine!
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups shredded cheese (we use a blend
  of 1/3 Havarti, 1/3 white cheddar,
  and 1/3 American)

Bring water, cream, and butter to a boil. At a low boil, add grits and salt. Cook until almost done (grits will start to thicken to a firm consistency) on medium to low heat

Add cheese, and finish on low. Yield: 12-15 servings.

Chef Dan Blumenthal delights customers at Broad Street Baking Company with this creamy breakfast dish laced with a blend of Havarti, white cheddar, and American cheeses. Coupled with a croissant or some real San Francisco sourdough toast and a cup of their award-winning French Roast House Brew coffee, the lip-smacking grits make a soul-satisfying morning meal.

Broad Street Baking Company and Cafe is Jackson's only artisan bakery/deli/cafe and operates under a seven-day-a-week breakfast-lunch-dinner format. European-style pastries and breads are baked fresh daily, and gourmet olive oils and other products are sold.

The restaurant is open Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m.-8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 7 a.m.-9 p.m.; and Sunday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Take-out is available, as well as catering services. 101 Banner Hall, Jackson; phone [phone].

I think Keegan's Santa Fe Tortilla is one of the best dishes available in the Jackson area. It is listed as an appetizer but is large enough to make a delicious lunch. I would really like the recipe.

Shirley Tate Jackson

SANTA FE TORTILLA


1 cup butter sauce
1 teaspoon fresh chile paste
5 flour tortillas
1/2 cup peanut oil
1 tablespoon minced, pickled jalapeno
  peppers
10 ounces fresh lump crabmeat, picked
2 teaspoons unsalted butter

BUTTER SAUCE:
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons dry white wine
1/2 pound unsalted butter
1 teaspoon fresh chile paste

Combine eggs and wine in a bowl over boiling water. Whip egg mixture until thick and pale in color. Add 1/2 pound cold butter, one tablespoon at a time, whisking constantly. Keep whisking the sauce until all butter has been incorporated. Set aside in a warm place until ready to use. Cut tortillas into 1/8-inch strips, and toss to separate. Heat oil in a 10-inch skillet to 350 degrees. Drop one strip of tortilla to test temperature of oil. Strip should turn golden brown within 20 seconds. Fry strips until golden; drain on a paper towel.

Melt 2 teaspoons butter in 10-inch skillet. Add jalapeno peppers and crabmeat. Saute over medium heat until crabmeat is thoroughly heated. Stir chile paste into butter sauce, then divide evenly on 4 separate plates. Mound tortilla strips in the center of the plate over the sauce. Top each mound of tortilla strips with an equal amount of crabmeat. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Note: Tortillas can be made ahead of time and then reheated in oven. Butter Sauce may be made ahead of time and kept warm. If made 2 hours or more before serving, place in small Thermos, and shake vigorously every half hour.

Tom Lambing's Santa Fe Tortillas are receiving raves at Keegan's, a new restaurant opened and managed by Chris Jacobs, formerly with the Amerigo Corporation. Jacobs' concept was to open a mid-priced Irish/American steakhouse, but Keegan's offers more. Fresh fish is delivered from New Orleans daily, and a variety of salads, pastas, pork and chicken dishes are served as well. Lambing's flair is obvious in dishes like Southern-style lobster and roasted garlic soup.

Open seven days a week for lunch (11 a.m.-3 p.m.) and dinner (3 p.m.-11 p.m.), Keegan's is located at 7049 Old Canton Road, Ridgeland; phone [phone].

WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE RECIPES FROM YOUR FAVORITE MISSISSIPPI RESTAURANTS?

Send your requests to Food Editor Mary Leigh Furrh, and the recipe could appear in our Dish It Out column. Send requests via e-mail to [e-mail] or in writing to Dish It Out, 5 Lakeland Circle, Jackson, MS 39216. (Please note that recipes from chain restaurants may not be available.)