Veal Oscar

Place the wine, vinegar, tarragon, shallots, pepper and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cook rapidly over high heat until almost all the liquid has evaporated, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Heat the butter in another small saucepan until bubbly, but not browned.

Place the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt, white pepper and mustard in a blender container. Blend on low speed about 5 seconds.

With the blender running, add half the butter in a slow, steady stream until the blender blades are covered. Then increase the speed to high and slowly add the remaining butter and cooked wine mixture.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Season both sides of the cutlets with salt and pepper and add them to the skillet. Cook, turning to brown both sides, about 30 seconds a side. Add the wine, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until tender, turning the cutlets over halfway, 5 minutes.

Cook the crab meat in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a small skillet, 3 to 4 minutes, until heated through. Arrange the veal cutlets on serving dishes. Place equal portions of crab over the top.

Pour the veal cooking liquid into the crab skillet and boil rapidly until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 3 minutes. Spoon over the crab meat. Add 3 asparagus spears to each serving. Drizzle with sauce bearnaise and serve the remaining sauce on the side.