Saturday, January 16, 2016

Rosie Makes Oyster Pot Pies.

I found this post hidden from the other week when we got "snowed in."

Schools are closed.  Milk and bread - off the shelves at grocery stores.  Personally, I have a wine cellar, so I'm good to go.  A mere dusting will do that to us.

The fire is toasty; the day is gray;  every now and then I spy the tiniest of flakes drift by, so small I wouldn't even call it a flake, I would just call it a fla... And Rosie must cook.

I'm thinking I need something comforting.  Something soupy.  Something with oysters.  Something with phyllo.  Yes, I always have store-bought frozen phyllo on hand.  The only time I make my own phyllo is when I make baklava.

Then I'm thinking bacon, 'cause bacon makes everything better.  And then my brain goes to pot pies.
And that, my friends, is how I'm pulling our meal together today.  I went to the fridge to scrounge around and I came up with buttah, celery, lemon, bacon, baby bellas, cream.  Then I grabbed garlic, some red onion, jalapeno, and a potato.  Oh look!  I have white wine!  We have dinner!

 Oyster Pot Pies





Oyster Pot Pies 
2 dozen oysters shucked, with likker reserved
6 pieces bacon, cooked and crumbled, 1 TB bacon grease reserved in pan
1 TB unsalted butter
1 stalk celery, chopped
4 baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 medium potato, small dice

1 jalapeno, minced
2 TB red onion, chopped
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 TB butter

1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup dry white wine
 juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup skim milk
1/4 tsp grating of fresh nutmeg
1/2 tsp red pepper
phyllo sheets
melted butter

 In a medium stock pan, cook bacon.  Drain on paper towels and leave a tablespoon of grease in the pan.  Add a tablespoon of butter and melt.  Add in celery, shrooms, potato, jalapeno and sauté 5 minutes.  Add in garlic and red onion and sauté one more minute. Add the tablespoon of butter, stir until melted, the add flour and whisk constantly for 2 minutes to get the raw taste out of the flour.  Add in lemon juice, white wine, cream, and skim.  (You could use whole milk instead of 1/2 cream and 1/2 skim, but I never have whole milk and I always have skim and cream on hand.) Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until thickened and potatoes are tender.  Add in oysters and their likker and heat through.

 If your soup is too thick, add in milk until you get the consistency you like.

If your soup isn't thick enough for your tastes, you can use what is called a beurre manié, or kneaded butter.  Take equal parts of butter and flour (start with a tablespoon of each) and combine completely.  Add by teaspoons into your soup, stirring, to thicken it.

Season with kosher salt and crushed black pepper, nutmeg, and red pepper.

Ladle into ramekins and sprinkle bacon over top.  Carefully cut a phyllo sheet in half, double it over, place on top of soup, and brush with melted butter.  Repeat with another sheet.

Bake in a 400° oven for about 25 minutes until browned and bubbling.


Starting to look like soup!

Bacon on top.

Brush the phyllo with melted butter.

And cook until beautiful.


The Hawthornes are happy.

And then I made snow cream ...


 ...So I am even happier now.


Pour a little leftover morning coffee on your snow cream

Now that hit the spot.


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