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.

Sometimes You Just Need A Pizza.

After several unfortunate and ill-conceived meals, I wanted something comforting and familiar. (AACCKKK. I'm frustrated with the way these links work. Just scroll down past the above post to get to where I wanted to link to.) Pizza seemed to be calling me.

I sprinkled one package of yeast over about 1/2 cup water, then sprinkled sugar over top of the yeast.

Left it to "proof," so you know the yeast is active.

Then I added a bit of olive oil - maybe 2 tablespoons.

One egg went in.

Then I started adding flour and a teaspoon of salt.

Enough flour until the ball starts pulling away from the side.

Plop the shaggy mess on a floured board and start kneading.

Until you get a nice smooth elastic dough.

Roll the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and put in a warm place to rise. Meanwhile, we started on the sauce.

First, I chopped an onion and a few cloves of garlic and picked a handful of basil.

Then I sauted the onions in a bit of oil, and added a can of chopped tomatoes.

Garlic went in next.

Then the basil went in.

I found some dehydrated mushrooms in the back of the fridge, so those went in, and Mr. Hawthorne decided to slice some jalapenos into the mix.

About an hour and a half of rising, and wallah.

My favorite part - the punch down.

Knead a bit more.

Then I sliced the dough in half.

One half, I wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for later use.

The other half I slathered with pesto.

I kneaded the dough to evenly distribute the pesto.

The secret to spreading out pizza dough is to take your time. Spread a little bit, starting from the center, then let the dough rest a while.

Spread and rest.

And the dough is ready for browning.

Just slightly brown the crust.

Next, Mr. Hawthorne likes to grate a layer of cheese over top of the crust.

Then the sauce went on.

Peppers next.

Sliced black olives.

Onions.

Cheese on top.

Oregano.

Heat through.

And it's done.

I needed this pizza. Really needed this pizza. Especially after the two disappointing meals I could barely swallow. And the pesto was a really nice addition to the crust. I'm thinking pesto breadsticks would be really nice too. I still have the other half of dough in the fridge, so I may go in that direction. If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment.