Oysters With Spicy Garlic Butter

I’m trying to remember how I chose this oyster dish to start our Christmas Eve meal last week. There’s an entire chapter devoted to oysters in John Besh’s My New Orleans, and I wanted to make every single recipe. I believe I decided to try this one first just because it’s so incredibly easy and it wouldn’t keep me in the kitchen for long. The oyster gratin could also have been served as an hors d’oeuvre with the breadcrumb topping applied to each half shell, and it wouldn’t have taken much longer. The oyster and artichoke soup could have mostly been prepared in advance and would have been delicious. The crispy fried oyster salad was another option, but I’d love to get some Louisiana caviar to present that dish properly. And, that’s just some of the oyster chapter. The book is divided seasonally starting with crawfish and Mardi Gras dishes, moving on to feast days and shrimp season, then fish followed by summer vegetables and crab season. There’s a chapter for gumbos and one for Thanksgiving, one for pork since Chef Besh raises his own hogs, and a final chapter for Reveillon or the feast served on Christmas Eve. It’s a beautiful book, and I’m enjoying cooking from it.

For these oysters, the intention was to grill them to impart some smokiness, but I was too lazy for that. I broiled them instead. A compound butter was made with garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, chopped chives, thyme leaves, and lemon juice. Slices of that butter were placed on top of each shucked oyster in its half shell, and then the oysters were broiled for a few minutes until they started to curl. They went from broiler to plate to our mouths in minutes.

These were simply fresh, spicy, and garlicy, and I should have made a dozen or so more than I did. I can’t wait to taste them off the grill when I make this again. I’ve tried a couple of other things from the book including the fall greens salad with blue cheese and pumpkin seed brittle. The vinaigrette with sherry vinegar and walnut oil was nutty and lovely with the blue cheese and cayenne-spiced pepita brittle. Also, the green tomato and pepper jam was sweet, tart, spicy, and just what some goat cheese on crostini needed. I’m already looking forward to Mardi Gras and strawberry season and all the other reasons to use this book throughout the coming year.

Cornmeal-crusted Oyster and Black-eyed Pea Salad with Jalapeño Dressing

In addition to the tuna muffuletta, I also tried this oyster and black-eyed pea salad from Crescent City Cooking. I happen to really enjoy oysters on the rare occasions when I have them. Fresh from the water and served raw with a little vinegary sauce or hot pepper sauce or fried crisp with any kind of coating, they’re a delight. Mardi Gras weekend was a perfect time to bring some home and make them the highlight of a dish. Despite having said that, this salad is well worth making even if you’d prefer to omit the oysters. The black-eyed pea salad and jalapeño dressing worked beautifully together, and the dressing had me smiling long before it was all composed.

Even though it’s my preference to use fresh jalapeños, I followed the instructions here which called for the pickled variety. I assumed the pickledness would contribute to the acidity level of the dressing, which it did, and it all worked out well. Garlic, pickled jalapeños, and dijon were pureed together. Then, salt, hot sauce, Worcestershire, and apple cider vinegar were added. Finally, olive oil was slowly poured in as it emulified. Minced shallot and minced pickled jalapeño were stirred into this mixture which I will now be making for everything I can think to pair with it. Here, it was tossed with black-eyed peas with sliced scallions and diced red bell pepper. The center of the salad was a combination of julienned celery root, a task made much quicker and easier with a Benriner, and chiffonaded spinach leaves. The julienned celery root was first brought to a boil in salted water with some lemon juice. Once drained and cooled, it was tossed with the spinach.

Then, it was time to fry those lovely, fresh Gulf oysters. They were dusted with cornmeal seasoned with cayenne, thyme, parsley, and salt and pepper. Just a few minutes in the hot oil turned them into crunchy wonders. The assembly involved a mound of spinach and celery root circled about by the black-eyed pea salad all of which was crowned by the oysters and then drizzled with the remaining dressing. After this meal, I decided there need to be more holidays that inspire this kind of cooking, or I need to plan another visit to New Orleans.