Janet Wilder wrote:
> Dora wrote:
>
>> I love this recipe for appetizers. If you like oysters, go for it!
>> They'll vanish in a flash.
>>
>> OYSTERS CASINO
>>
>> 3 slices bacon, chopped
>> 1 small onion, chopped
>> 1 small stalk celery, chopped
>> 1 teaspoon lemon juice
>> 1 teaspoon salt
>> 1/8 teaspoon pepper
>> 6 drops Worcestershire sauce
>> 4 drops hot sauce
>> 1/4 teaspoon seafood seasoning (Old Bay!!)
>> 1 pint oysters, drained
>>
>> Fry bacon until partially cooked. Add onion and celery and cook until
>> tender. Add lemon juice and seasonings.
>>
>> Arrange oysters in a single layer in a foil-lined shallow baking pan.
>> Spread bacon mixture over oysters. Bake at 400°F. until edges of
>> oysters begin to curl, about 10 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen
>> appetizers, or serve on toast, with liquid, as an entrée.
>>
>> Source: State of Maryland Seafood Cookbook #1
>>
>>
>>
>>
> Sounds like something I've made with clams. I think good oysters have
> such a delicate and lovely taste that I would, personally, hate to put
> anything on them. Even when I eat them raw, I just use a tad of lemon
> juice and a couple of shreds of horseradish. YMMV
>
Oyster a la Rockefeller is probly too well known to surprise or intrigue
anyone, but i just happen to have this old version of the recipe, from a
collection dated to the early 1900's.
"Lo! and behold, ye gourmets one and all, far and wide, here at last is
one of the sacred recipes that have lured discriminating palates to New
Orleans, where far famed alchemists of the kitchen prepare comestibles
that are beyond criticism.
Proceeding in alphabetical order, I confer the cordon bleu upon the
chefs of Antoine, Arnaud, Brussard, Galatoire, Kolb, La Louisiane Maylie
- and upon the composite genius who assembled that mysterious triumph,
Oysters a la Rockefeller.
Be it know that Monsieur Alciatore, the living descendent of the wizard
who first brought this delectable dish to the attention of the Christian
world, extracted on his deathbed a promise that the exact proportions of
the ingredients be kept forever a secret, adding; "They must be mixed
with brains to achieve perfection." To all those who comprehend the
subtle suggestion embodied in the quoted line - to those who put mind
into matter, this legacy is laid bare.
Take selected oyster, open them and leave them on the deep half shell.
Place the shells containing the oysters on a bed of rock salt in a pie
pan. The sauce for the oyster is compounded as follows:
Take the tail and tips of small green onions. Take celery, take
chervil, take tarragon leaves and the crumbs of stale bread. Take
Tabasco sauce and the best of butter obtainable. Pound all these into a
mixture in a mortar, so that all the fragrant flavorings are blended.
Add a dash of absinthe.
Force the mixture through a fine meshed sieve. Place 1 spoonful on each
oyster as it rests on its own shell and in its own juice on the crushed
rock salt, the purpose of which is to keep they oyster piping hot. Then
place them in an oven with overhead heat and cook until brown. Serve
immediately. Thus spoke Monsieur Alciatore to your humble servant.
Tom, whom to day no noise stirs,
Lies buried in these cloisters;
If at the last trump
He does not quickly jump,
Only cry, "OYSTERS."
--Epitaph on a Colcheter (England) Man's Grave"
For the sake of comparison here is a googled version with suggestions
for a substitute for the absinthe.
http://www.gumbopages.com/food/app/erstas-rock.html
--
Mr. Joseph Littleshoes Esq.
Domine, dirige nos.
Let the games begin!
http://fredeeky.typepad.com/fredeeky.../sf_anthem.mp3