Dinner Appetizer: Frog's Legs

While shopping for fish at The Lobster Place in Chelsea Market, I stumbled upon frozen frog's legs - what a find. I had never cooked frog's legs, but have devoured them in many a french restaurant. Most recipes I found called for breading and deep frying, but I found one for sauteing.

Soak the frog's legs in milk (I used 2% milk) for about an hour. Remove the legs from the milk. Season them with salt and pepper and dredge in seasoned flour (salt, pepper, cayenne). Add butter to a saute pan over medium high heat and add the legs when the butter has melted. Brown the legs on both sides, reduce the heat, and cook until cooked through. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley and serve.

The meat was tenderest on one of the smaller legs, which means it was probably cooked through more than the other legs. The meat is sometimes described to be like chicken, but to me it is a cross between chicken and monk fish. This is a wonderful and easy appetizer.

I opened a bottle of Domaine de la Pepiere (Marc Ollivier) 2005 Muscadet. This is a more mellow and subtle Muscadet - it still has the minerals and citrus, but it is more mellow and rounded than the recent 2007 vintage.