Poet Anne Sexton saw the dozen oysters before her arranged on the plate like numbers on a clock, like time, and she looked from her father's satisfaction with his "clear as tears" martini and platter of oysters to her own plate of "twelve eyes...running with lemon and Tabasco." Like all difficult experiences, the first swallow was disconcerting, "a large pudding" going down. But by the time that 'one o'clock' and two were eaten, there was laughter and "I was fifteen/and eating oysters/and the child was defeated./The woman won."Anne Sexton, "Oysters", from The Book of Folly
The absolute best part of fall is that we get into the "R" months and my favoritest food in the whole world, oysters (any way), are in season. Oyster recipes will become a reoccurring theme here and to kick things off I thought I'd start with a short tutorial on proper shucking. My Nana always had a raw bar at family gatherings with her faithful helper Rosie shucking for us but, I'm not so spoiled that I can't hold my own with the best of them at any oyster roast. Time to sharpen the ole skills cuz the Urbanna Oyster Festival in Virginia is November 6 and 7 and I have BIG plans for a weekend of oyster gluttony...
I never turn my nose up at any oyster cookery, being the ardent oyster lover that I am, but I prefer my raw oysters (Chincoteague please!) on the half shell naked in all their salty glory, minus a generous squeeze of fresh lemon and a dollop of cocktail sauce. For those less inclined to the briny taste of sea I shall suggest an accompaniment of Mignonette Sauce and a glass of Pouilly-Fumé. If you are of the same school of thought as Prescott here, at least go for the glass of Pouilly-Fumé...Mignonette Sauce
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
1 cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons freshly ground white pepper
Mix thoroughly and serve well chilled
Kindness of fellow oyster aficionado and friend Alexandra Lee Small for alerting me to the "must attend" annual mollusk event...
The more I get to know you, the more I realize just how much we have in common! I adore oysters in months with R! Can Summer be far with the mollusks, and crustacean....a must to eat them while sporting pearls....right!
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oh darling, i know just what you mean! we're having an oyster roast here for a work event in just over 2 weeks and i can barely contain myself. bon appetit!!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more. I love osysters-especially when raw on a saltine with horseradish and cocktail sauce. I also really love a good oyster roast- which we have every year for Christmas. Yum!
ReplyDeleteI have always loved oysters- my father has never been so proud as when I was three and consuming a dozen on the half shell. Several people approached us, asking if that little blonde girl was really eating raw oysters with such gusto. My daddy just beamed and nodded.
ReplyDeleteSamma's story is the BEST. Some of my fondest memories include having dinner at the bar at Kinkead's here in D.C. ... starting with a dozen oysters while listening to the Jazz Pianist Hilton Felten.
ReplyDeleteIt's all good.
Can't eat oysters because of my shellfish allergy, but I enjoyed this post anyway - for me, it's educational about something I can't actually experience ever... but I do love a Pouilly-Fumé!!!
ReplyDeleteI used to work near Urbanna in the summers and I never made it back in the fall for the Oyster Festival...so sad. And now I am out of state and it may never happen...
ReplyDeleteI love them raw, but also enjoy a good oyster stew, which is a Christmas Eve staple in my parent's home.
Now you have me hungry for oysters and other seafood in the mollusk family. Yum! I do love Pouilly-Fume, as well.
ReplyDeleteI spotted your black Burberry peacoat last night in Nordstrom in person, and I completely understand why you're so taken with it.
I don't think the season is open yet here :-(
ReplyDeleteI'll have to live vicariously through you and wait for the Wellfleet Oyster Festival at the end of October.
It is only 10:30 am and my mouth is already watering for oysters, raw please with a bit of horseradish in that dollop.
ReplyDeleteI did my first two years of college at St. Mary's and they had their own oyster beds. We'd have regattas with other colleges and then have a huge oyster roast.
ReplyDeleteIn Baltimore, Fort McHenry sponsors a oyster fundraiser at Cross Street Market. About $40 for all of te oysters you can eat (and I can eat a lot!).
that's the way we eat oysters here in Britanny with this sauce even if we didn't call mignonette... AND WITH riesling ...
ReplyDeleteI too went to St. Mary's, my college boyfriend won the county oyster eating contest 2 years in a row. We lived in a house off campus on the St. Mary's River with an oyster bed -one roommate had scuba gear so we had a winter of free oysters. It was wonderful...I wish I still had that house and my own private oyster source.
ReplyDeleteOyster roasts, private oyster beds, Pouilly- Fumé, Riesling...I want to crawl into my own post! XXOO
ReplyDeleteI feel left out. I don't like seafood of any kind whatsoever. And I grew up going to the beach every summer. Hmmmm...
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