Saturday, April 7, 2018

Rosie Loves Her Oysters. Part 2. Oysters Hollandaise!





Ahhhhhhh.
Oysters....
You know I love 'em.

I think we're on our 5th bushel this season.
And sadly, the last.

I like oysters any which way -
raw, steamed, stewed, topped -
you name it.

For our last batch,
Mr. Hawthorne made a quick Champagne Sauce
for our oysters.
 
Oysters and champagne just go together.


  Today, I have a hankerin' for Oysters Hollandaise.
And since my asparagus is coming up in the garden,
I'll be having asparagus with some Hollandaise sauce on them too.

For the oyster toppings,
I'm going with creamed spinach and onion,
with Hollandaise,
a grating of Parmesan,
and a sprinkling of panko breadcrumbs.
Mr. Hawthorne is quite the little shucker.


For the spinach topping:
Melt a tablespoon or so of unsalted butter
in a medium skillet over medium high heat.
Throw in some chopped onion - a small to medium one.
Sauté until translucent - about 2 minutes.
Add in a yepsen of chopped spinach.
What?
You don't know what a yepsen is?
It's a unit of measurement - two handfuls.
Cook, stirring, until spinach wilts.
About a minute.

For the Hollandaise Sauce:
Hollandaise Sauce is not something that should intimidate you.
That said, you're probably intimidated by it now.
Don't be.
Most recipes tell you to use a double boiler.
Prepare the Hollandaise in a small pan
inside a larger pan with simmering water.
The reason for this is you don't want the eggs
over direct hot heat because they'll scramble
and that just won't do.
I don't bother with that.
I prepare it in one pan, over direct heat.
But I HOVER over the heat.
I don't leave the pan on the flame itself.
The secret is in the hovering.

In a small saucepan, whisk one egg yolk
 with juice of half a lime.
(Usually, lemon is the citrus juice of choice,
sometimes vinegar for the acid,
but I'm going rogue with a lime.)
HOVER the pan over the flame,
whisking constantly, until yolk turns
a light, lemonish color and thickens.
Have 4 - 6 oz. unsalted butter on hand,
cut into 1/2 TB cubes, or thereabouts.
Start whisking in the butter,
one pat at a time, still hovering over the heat.
Whisk until butter is incorporated,
then add another pat of butter.
Continue until you use up all the butter
and you have a silky smooth emulsion.
Season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

For the oyster toppings:
a spoonful of the spinach mixture
a spoonful of Hollandaise
a grating of Parmesan
a sprinkling of panko breadcrumbs

Run under the broiler until lightly browned.
450° for 5-7 minutes

Sprinkle chopped parsley over top.


For the asparagus:
I picked fresh asparagus out of my garden.
Snap the ends off the spears.
Don't worry.
The asparagus knows where to snap.
Throw the end snaps into your compost pile.
Steam the asparagus until crisp-tender.
Pour some of the Hollandaise sauce over the asparagus
and sprinkle fresh parsley over top.


















Enjoy!

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