Oysters

The unknown and courageous soul who first ate a raw oyster was followed by such fanciers as Nero; Seneca; Casanova, who ate fifty a day; Henry IV, the "Evergreen Lover", who ate as many as three hundred at a sitting.  Louis XIV, who consumed nearly as many and had a royal preserve of them; Abraham Lincoln; and innumerable others.

In antiquity, oysters existed in a continuous band four thousand miles long from Scandinavia down past Britain and France, around into the Mediterranean, circling Italy; all the way to Greece.  That rich vein survives only in fragments today, and everywhere the abundance of oysters has diminished. 

 

It used to be a rule that raw oysters should be eaten only in months whose names included the letter r, that is, September through April.  Before the age of refrigeration, they could not be safely transported in hot weather.  Now;  however, they are safe year-round, though in May through August, oysters spawn and tend to be creamy rather than firm in texture.

 

Oysters are best when moderate size and from colder waters.  They are best eaten raw with only a squeeze of lemon or the vinaigrette and shallot mixture served in France.  Cold white wine makes them sacred.

 

Taken from "Life Is Meals" by James & Kay Salter.

 

This recipe is for my daughter-in-law, Jennifer, who loves oysters.  Me, not so much. Another friend asked me to make this recipe for him and he loved it.  So for you oyster lovers out there, happy cooking!

 

"Prairie Kitchen Sampler" by E. Mae Fritz, is a celebration of sixty-six years of a Midwestern Farm Kitchen.  So begins over 60 years of recipes and reminiscences from the life of Nebraska farm wife, Alice Mickish Hendrickson, as told to her daughter E. Mae Fritz.  Chronicling Midwestern farm life from the 1920's to the present.  It offers up over 375 melt-in-your-mouth recipes.  It records not only a bygone era of one family, but a part of our country's past.  The book tells of a time we all feel nostalgic about even if it was not part of our own roots.  It's a storybook as much as a cookbook.

 

This book is available on my Amazon storefront: www.amazon.com/shops/oneofakindcookbooks .

 

Deluxe Scalloped Oysters

 

3 8-ounce cans of oysters

1/2 cup margarine

2 tbsp. minced green pepper

2 tsp. minced onion

2 tbsp. flour

Half a clove of garlic, pressed

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 1/4 cups coarsely crushed cracker crumbs

Milk, enough to measure 3/4 cup when combined with oyster liquid

2 tbsp. margarine

 

Preheat oven to 375F.  Butter a deep two-quart casserole.  Drain oysters; reserve liquid.  In a small saucepan, melt 1/2 cup margarine and saute green pepper and onion until lightly limp but not browned.  Add flour, garlic, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper; blend thoroughly.  Place one-third of oysters in prepared casserole.  Sprinkle with one-third of seasonings and one-third of crumbs.  Continue to layer ingredients; end with a layer of crumbs.  Combine oyster liquid and milk; pour over layered ingredients in casserole.  Dot with 2 tbsp. margarine.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes.

 

Serves 6

 

Happy Cooking!