Stuart Stone

Stuart came over on a Monday. We don't usually cook for company on a Monday, but Stuart isn't really company. He runs Freddy's — the wine bar in Birmingham — and they pour True's at the bar. When he asked what we were doing for dinner I said, well, we have oysters and we have crab. Come help us cook.

He brought wine. We made the mignonette with True's because that's what we make everything with, and the heat in the mustard reads like horseradish if you let it. Stuart already knew that — he's been doing it at the bar for a while.

The crab cakes I do the way Trueheart taught me. Mostly crab. The smallest amount of binder you can get away with. We started them in a 400° oven to set them through, then seared them off on the AGA at 600° for the crust. The aioli is what pulls the plate together — True's, lemon, a little garlic, oil whisked in slowly until it climbs up the spoon.

We sat at the long table and Stuart talked through the wines. He said the mignonette was the version he'd put on the Freddy's menu next week. I said he could have the recipe — but he still has to come over and cook it.