The Hawthornes Get Their Oyster Fix. Again.

Yes. We're having more oysters. One must strike while the iron's hot. We have a window of opportunity for oysters - the months that have "r's" - but we don't count September. That's still a little too early for them. So we feast on them when we can. And feast we do.

Tonight's oysters are fried

and served with three different sauces: my Pineapple Mango Habanero Salsa, the squiggle on the left, Rosie's Pig Shack Sauce (her quite accurate rendition of Boar & Castle), her squiggle in the middle and Mr. Hawthorne's Lemon Sriracha Aioli, the barely visible pool of sauce on the right.

As usual, we have company in the kitchen.

They seem quite comfortable.

Jonquils and hyacinths from my garden adorn my counter.

After you shuck your oysters leave them in the erster likker. Dredge the oysters individually in a mixture of 3 parts flour, 1 part fine cornmeal, and Old Bay seasoning. Or use your own flour mixture. Sometimes we use a mixture of flour and semolina flour. And of course you could use your own seasonings.

Into 350 - 375 degree oil.

Maybe 45 - 60 seconds. Touch with the spatula. If they feel crispy, take them out.

Drain on paper towels.

Oooooh! Lookie! Lookie! Rosie got a little crabbie!!

This is a delicacy.

Plate. Add sauces. Serve.

Too bad I have to shoot this under indoor lighting.

It would be so much prettier under natural light.

Hey, Zzzadig? We need to talk. Don't you have a friend traveling from the Outer Banks to your area some time soon? I'll send you a cooler care package.

Mr. Hawthorne Makes Dinner.

Mr. Hawthorne is making dinner tonight. For joy!

Apparently we're having stuffed peppers. Those are sweet, not hot, peppers, and I want to grow them in my garden this summer. They're the perfect size. Mr. Hawthorne sliced off the tops and cleaned out the seeds before stuffing.

Apparently, Mr. Hawthorne is Semi-Ho'ing dinner. Unbeknownst to me, he tossed in a few extra items in the basket while we were at Food Lion - Rice-A-Roni Spanish Rice and a package of shredded Mexican cheese. Usually, I'm on top of things in the supermarket, but somehow these items got past me. I could have whupped up some excellent Spanish rice and I'm perfectly capable of grating my own cheese, thankyouverymuch.

Mr. Hawthorne stuffed the peppers with the rice and cheese, then secured the tops with toothpicks.

Mr. Hawthorne is going to batter and deep fry these babies. At least he didn't Semi-Ho the tempura batter: 3/4 cup cornstarch 3 cups cake flour 2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp Kosher salt Mix 3 parts tempura mix with 2 parts sparkling water. And he used club soda. I'd have to have a side-by-side tasting to tell the difference.

I liked these glass beads on my counter top.

Mr. Hawthorne's fry station - stuffed peppers, tempura batter, hot oil. I'm going to clean the kitchen tomorrow. Really I am. That corner is killing me.

Just a few stuffed peppers at a time. You don't want to crowd the oil and decrease the temperature.

Drain on paper towels.

Fried stuffed peppers and fried sliced pickles.

What? You never had fried pickles? Try 'em!

The squiggle down the center is Rosie's Pig Shack Sauce, her excellent version of Boar and Castle Sauce. On the left is my Mango Habanero Pineapple Salsa. On the top right is Mr. Hawthorne's Tartar Sauce and the bottom right is a delicious Remoulade Sauce. I got the recipe from Mark, the owner of Lucky 12 Tavern in Nags Head.

Perfectly fried. Excellent. Good job, Mr. Hawthorne.