After Getting Thrown, Rosie Gets Back On Her French Laundry Horse.

Despite my near brush with death with The French Laundry's Cauliflower Panna Cotta with Oyster Jelly (oyster jelly ... ewwwwwwww ... Excuse me while I try to suppress a dry heave. ... OK. All better now.), being the trooper I am, I decided to forge ahead. Last night I prepared Oysters and Pearls - Sabayon of Pearl Tapioca with Malpeque Oysters and Osetra Caviar. Except my oysters came from Englehard and there will be no Osetra Caviar in my future unless someone else is buying. Check out the prices on the above link.

The recipe called for small pearl tapioca and the only tapicoca I could find was this box from Harris Teeter.

I soaked the tapioca in milk for one hour in a warm place to speed up the rehydration of the tapioca.

Mr. Hawthorne and I shucked 16 oysters. And I wish we had shucked more.

Shucked oysters in large bowl at top left, oyster joos in small bowl, and trimmed muscles and outer ruffly edge of oysters in small pan.

Milk, cream, and oyster trimmings.

I poured the milk and cream over the trimmings and set the pan aside for a few minutes while I whipped some cream.

I whipped the cream until it was just set, then placed in the fridge.

After an hour, this tapioca had absorbed all the milk. The French Laundry says to drain the leftover milk and discard it, but as you can see, there is no leftover milk. Now, back to the oyster trimmings.

I brought the oyster trimmings, milk, and cream to a simmer.

Then strained the infused liquid onto the tapioca. The French Laundry says to discard the trimmings. Mr. Hawthorne and I discarded them in our stomachs. Next, I cooked the tapioca over medium heat, stirring constantly for about 10 minutes until the mixture got a bit sticky. I set the pot aside while I prepared the sabayon.

The oyster juice got added to the egg yolks.

I vigorously whisked the egg yolks and oyster juice in a metal bowl over hot water for about 3 minutes, to incorporate as much air as possible.

The finished sabayon is thickened and lightened.

I stirred the hot sabayon into the cooked tapioca.

I added in a generous amount of freshly ground pepper.

Creme fraiche went in next.

Then the whipped cream went in.

Mixed all together.

I spooned the tapioca mixture into ramekins and preheated the oven to 350 degrees while I prepared the final sauce.

Here are the ingredients for the sauce: Dry Vermouth White Vinegar White Wine One Stick Butter Shallots Chives Leftover Oyster Juice Oysters

I sliced the butter and chopped the chives and the shallots.

I combined the vermouth, wine, vinegar, oyster juice, and shallots in a small saucepan, brought it to a simmer until most of the liquid evaporated.

Butter, oysters, and chives waiting in the wings.

I added the butter, one piece at a time, whisking constantly.

Wait until one piece is almost incorporated before adding the next.

A lovely emulsification.

Finally, add in the oysters.

Requisite action shot.

Chives go in.

Just warm the oysters through. Isn't this pretty?

I cooked the tapioca dishes in the preheated oven for about 5 minutes, until they began to puff up.

I spooned the sauce over top.

And the verdict ? Drumroll please ...

This is my new favorite comfort food.

You've got the smooth, creamy texture of the tapioca, the rich buttery flavor of the sauce, the salty juiciness of the oysters, and the absolute deliciousity of the entire dish.

This is definitely a keeper.