OYSTERS!!!

I love love love LOVE oysters. Seriously. Like a lot (keep your aphrodisiac comments to yourself, thank you), and in any presentation. The restaurant I worked in for years used to offer them in what I consider the Holy Trinity: raw on the half, Rockefeller and a simple Po'Boy. Yum. Most of the time, I prefer mine raw on the half, as I think it's the best way to showcase their natural flavor. I've been lucky enough to have had oysters all over the Northern Hemisphere, and I am pretty confident that I will still contest my all time favorites to be from Glidden Point Oyster Sea Farm in Edgecomb, Maine (http://www.oysterfarm.com). They're briny, rich, and succulent to a point of perfection. As a bonus, you can drive right over to the farm itself and pick your own oysters out of their small retail shack and talk directly to the farmers. Being someone who loves to support the local farmers and purveyors, I don't think it gets any better! With that in mind, I wanted to get out a couple of my favorite sauces for oysters on the half as well as what I consider to be a perfect oyster stew (and honestly, does anyone else's opinion really matter? Certainly not on here!). Cheers!

Shallot- Rice Wine Mignonette

-2 Shallots, minced uniformly

-3/4 Cup good quality rice wine

-Juice of 1/4 of a lemon

-Ground white pepper, to taste

-Pinch of sugar

Combine all ingredients in a small dish, cover tightly and place in fridge to allow flavors to meld. Usually best if left overnight in fridge to let come to full flavor potential. Spoon over freshly shucked oysters. Shoot. Repeat until desired level of happiness is reached.

Creamy Dill Raw Bar Dip

-2-3 Tablespoons of fresh minced dill

-1 Small clove of garlic mashed (broken down w/ the back of a knife and a little salt to make a paste)

- 80z. sour cream or greek yogurt, depending on your preference

-Fresh cracked black pepper

-Sea salt

-Squeeze of lemon

-Dash of hot sauce

Follow same directions as for other sauce (both seem to develop a more robust flavors if left overnight!). These are insanely easy to make, and add a little more interest to a raw platter than the standard cocktail sauce. I like to serve 1/2 shells on a good sized chilled platter on either a bed of crushed ice (which can get messy) or rock salt. If you keep the rock salt in the freezer for a couple of hours before serving, it'll hold some of the cold, and not cause the meltdown that crushed ice will.

Simple Oyster Stew

-1 Pint shucked oysters in their liquor

-1 Large shallot, minced

-1/4 stick of butter

-3-4 Cans evaporated milk

-Hearty dash of sherry (2 tblspn or so)

-Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

-Salt & pepper to taste

Melt butter in the bottom of a a large pot (I usually use my almighty dutch oven) over medium-ish heat. Add in minced shallots, cook until they being to turn opaque. Add in oysters with liquor and sherry and cook until the edges of the oysters just begin to curl. Add in evaporated milk (adjust amount depending on how "meaty" you want the stew to be), season with salt & pepper and heat through, but do not boil. Serve immediately topped with fresh chopped parsley, and congratulate yourself on an elegant stew.

*It is worth noting that this same base can be used to make an incredible lobster stew as well, just replace the oysters with picked lobster meat.