Spring Time Oysters

I have started implementing some of my menu planning ideas from my Magazine Recipe Book, and it has been a great week of eating in the Humble Home. After letting the salmon sausages cure for a bit in the fridge, we were excited to test them out, so we fried them up and served them over a fresh salad. I’m not going to lie- they were extremely good! I love finding new ways to bring more fish and protein into our diet, so I think we’ll be seeing more of these little beauties. Kyle had picked up some oysters at the often mentioned Anthony's Seafood, and I had flagged a recipe idea in Bon Appétit for an Irish style broiled oysters, and we had ourselves a little seafood supper. I altered the original oyster recipe to what we had on hand, and my only disappointment with the end result was that they ran out too fast! The robust nature of the blue cheese complimented the briny nature of the oysters, and the breadcrumbs brought the perfect amount of crunch and texture. The oysters were a perfect light first course, and would be great for a cocktail party, just make sure you have enough on hand!

Another great tip I had picked up while doing my magazine pillage was out of Cook’s Illustrated for making fresh breadcrumbs without a food processor: Freeze whatever bread you want to use until hard. Place a box grater over a large plastic bowl or plate (to ensure it won’t break under force- you can also use a kitchen towel to anchor the plate/bowl) and grate desired amount of breadcrumbs needed. It’s a really easy way to have the amount of fresh breadcrumbs that you need for your recipe (I’m big on using fresh as opposed to the store bought variety whenever possible), and not have to worry about using up or storing any leftover crumbs. The bread has a long life in the freezer, so you waste less in the long run, and don’t have to pull out a big piece of machinery every time you need breadcrumbs.

A few of my oyster got a little extra crispy under the broiler, but the breadcrumbs act as a great shield from the heat of the broiler, so the oyster remained juicy and fresh. If you’re not a blue cheese fan, smoked Gouda or fresh curls of parmesan would be a great substitution. I picked up the technique of preheating the oven before broiling from working in restaurant kitchens, and I think it helps to even the overall temperature of the final product, so that the oyster is just warmed and all the flavors come together without having to spend too much time under the broiler.

Broiled Oysters on the Half with Garlic Breadcrumbs & Blue Cheese

(modified from Bon Appétit’s Broiled Oysters w/ Garlic Breadcrumbs, March 2010)

-1 Dozen fresh oysters, shucked & in ½ shell w/ luquor
- ¾ Cup fresh breadcrumbs (I used whole wheat bread)

- 2 Good sized garlic cloves, minced finely

- 2 Tblspns flat leaf parsley, minced

- 2-3 Tblspns salted butter

- 1(ish) Tblspn dry white wine (Sauv Blanc)

- Sea salt
- Cracked black pepper
- 12 small slices of good blue cheese (Danish or Roquefort work well), cut to fit oysters

- Lemon wedges

Place oven rack about 3-4 inches from broiler and preheat oven to 450. Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat and sauté minced garlic until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Add in wine & cook another minute. Add in breadcrumbs, stirring to combine & crisp crumbs up, about 4-5 minutes. Add in parsley and season with salt & pepper to taste and remove from heat. Arrange oysters on a baking sheet and distribute breadcrumb mixture over oysters evenly. Top with a small slice of blue cheese. Once the oven has come to temp, switch off and heat the broiler to low. Place oysters under the broiler until cheese has had a chance to melt and breadcrumbs turn golden, approximately 3-5 minutes, depending on the intensity of your broiler. Serve immediately with a squeeze of lemon.

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.