Saturday, November 30, 2013

Oysters Mornay À La Hawthorne..

 I hope you're not getting tired of oysters,
because the Hawthornes aren't.
And we're only on our third bushel.
 
This "recipe" will top two dozen oysters.
Remember when you shuck the oysters
to keep the oyster likker in the shell.
More flavor!
2 big handfuls of spinach, chopped
1 big handful of "exotic" blend mushrooms
 
 I heated my skillet over medium high heat,
added two tablespoons butter,
then when the butter started sizzling,
added in the mushrooms.
Cook about 2 minutes.

 Add in the spinach and cook another minute.

 Add in 1 tablespoon flour
and cook, stirring, for a minute.
Cook out the raw in the flour.

 I added in 1/3 skim milk and 1/3 cup heavy cream.

 Cook over medium heat, stirring until thickened.
Remove from heat.
Taste test and add Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

 Grate 1/3 cup gruyere and 2 tablespoons Parmesan.

 Stir cheeses into spinach mixture and let melt.

 Each oyster gets some lemon love.

 A little dab'll do you.

Wow. 
 That just dated me.

 
 Panko sprinkling on top.

 Under a 300° broiler,
about 7-8" away,
3-4 minutes depending on the size of your oysters.
I always turn halfway through.





  
I found out something.
Sometimes you can teach an old dog new tricks.
I've never before salted my oysters.
Why would you?
They already taste like ocean.
But, I recently discovered Outer Banks SeaSalt,
hand harvested by Amy Huggins Gaw
of Outer Banks Epicurean.

It's a "finishing" salt.
And just a few flakes of this salt on an oyster
actually enhances the flavor of the oyster.

Try it.
Once more, I ask you to trust Rosie.
She knows of what she speaks.
!

Friday, November 29, 2013

Rosie Is Published.

Please check out Rosie's column in the Outer Banks Voice
for Turkey Moreover ideas.

 Turkey Pot Pie

 Curried Turkey Salad with Red Grapes

 Turkey Burrito

 Turkey Fiesta Bowl



Thursday, November 28, 2013

HAPPY
THANKSGIVING!

 

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Rosie Makes Tahini Paste And Hummus.

 I understand that some of you may be tired of oysters.
Too bad.

With that said,
let's go with the diversity of tahini and hummus.

While Sweet BeauBeau took a much-needed nap,
in MY bed,
Rosie made tahini paste and hummus.

For the tahini paste:
I started out with 1/2 cup lightly toasted sesame seeds.
You don't need to brown the seeds,
just heat until they get fragrant.

2 TB + 1 tsp vegetable oil
and some Kosher salt.


Process until smooth.
I now have tahini paste.

Let's start on the hummus.

I rinsed off one cup of dried garbanzo beans,
put them in a pot of water,
added 2-3 teaspoons of Kosher salt,
brought the water to a boil,
and simmered for ...  oh ... about 50 minutes.
Until tender.

This is the secret to smooth hummus.
You must peel the beans.

That's why I added the salt to the water.
Mr. Hawthorne heard on Food Network
that you never salt the water you cook beans in
because it causes the beans' skin to peel off.
That's what I want, so I salted the water.
I used a paper towel to help skin the beans.
Just squeeze the bean in the towel
and it shoots right out of the skin.
Worked like a charm.

"Oh...  What did you do Saturday afternoon?"
"I peeled garbanzo beans."

1 cup dried garbanzo beans = 11.5 ounces cooked beans

Hummus
11.5 ounces cooked garbanzo beans
1 large garlic clove
3/4 tsp Kosher salt
5 TB water
5 TB lemon juice
2 TB tahini paste
6 TB olive oil  (I used Bertolli extra light.)
Process until creamy smooth.






Serve on pita toasts with a little cayenne.
By the way,
the hummus was gone tout de suite.
I'm making a double batch now.

Monday, November 25, 2013

More Oysters.

It's time for more oysters.




I'm in somewhat of a festive mood,
so I'm going with Oysters Rancheras this afternoon.

My toppings are simple:
Mr. Hawthorne's Salsa Ranchera, which he canned.
Use your favorite salsa, preferably homemade.
Monterey Jack cheese, grated
Chipotle panko breadcrumbs

Just a dab of salsa.
You don't want to overwhelm the oyster.


A light grating of Monterey Jack cheese.

A dusting of chipotle panko breadcrumbs.


3-4 minutes under the broiler at 300°, 7-8 inches away.




Olé!




Sunday, November 24, 2013

Oysters On The Half Shell.

  Guess what we're having today.
Today, we are having oysters for a change.

Oysters on the half shell with crabmeat.

I do this oyster recipe a lot.
Or some variation of it.
But that's only because it's so good.
Sorry if it's a repeat for you,
but I do repeat what I make
in case someone new
 is just now dropping in on my meanderings.
And also because Its.So.Good.
In a small sauce pan,
Melt about 2-3 tablespoons each
unsalted butter, cream cheese, and brie cheese.
Stir in the juice of half a lemon.
Add in about 6 ounces crabmeat.
Stir in one tablespoon sherry.
Heat through.
Taste test.
And I added in two more tablespoons of sherry.
You decide.
A teaspoon at a time.

Melt a tablespoon of unsalted butter in a skillet
over medium high heat.
Add in chopped mushrooms.
I like the "exotic blend" of mushrooms.
A little bit of sherry in the shrooms is a nice touch.
A flambé always excites me!

And do NOT pour alcohol from an open bottle
into a hot pan over a flame.
Remove hot pan from heat,
pour in alcohol
(I use a small container of the sherry.),
then return pan to heat,
and dip the edge to ignite.

And be sure you don't have the fan on when you do this.

Should I have put that caveat at the beginning?

After the alcohol burns off,
add in another tablespoon of butter.

Add in spinach and cook for a minute or two to wilt.

Pour in about 1/4 cup heavy cream.

Stir to coat.

Mr. Hawthorne is quite the little shucker.


Place a small amount of the spinach mixture on each oyster.
Never overpower your oyster with the topping.


Add a little crabmeat mixture.
Or a lot.
I don't think you can overpower an oyster with crabmeat and butter.


Top with a sprinkling of parmesan
and a few drops of Texas Pete.


Quick run under the broiler to bubble and brown.
300° broil.
7-8 inches away from broiler.
2-3 minutes depending on size of oyster and topping.
You want lightly browned and/or bubbly.


Be sure you savor that lovely briny oyster likker.


Are these some beautiful oysters or not?






As good as these oysters are,
the flavor is enhanced by a few flakes
of Outer Banks SeaSalt.
I never thought I'd be salting an oyster.
It already tastes like ocean.
But it works.

That little white thingie
that looks like a star on the oyster
is an Outer Banks SeaSalt flake.

Now it tastes even more like ocean.

The ceramic salter in the background
is by Antoinette Gaskins Mattingly
of Kinnakeet Clay in Avon, NC.


I love my oysters!