Oysters Portia
Poach 6 freshly opened oysters for each serving and drain them well. Prepare 1 cup Mornay sauce (page 52) and add to it 2 tablespoons puree of spinach, 1 teaspoon finely chopped chives, and 1 tablespoon mixed finely chopped parsley, tarragon, and chervil. Put a little of this sauce in each deep shell, and add the oyster. Spread the remaining sauce over the oysters. Sprinkle with a little grated Parmesan and brown the topping under a hot broiler. Garnish with a sprig of parsley and a wedge of lemon.
Creamed Oysters
Poach 6 freshly opened oysters for each serving, put them in a bowl with a little of the juice, and reserve the remainder of the juice. For each 12 to 18 oysters make 1 cup bechamel sauce for fish (page 52). Reduce the oyster liquor to half its original quantity and add it to the bechamel. Correct the seasoning, combine the sauce with the oysters, and add a little cream, if necessary, to thin the sauce to the desired consistency. Heat again without boiling.
Huitres à la Madras (Curried Oysters)
Follow the recipe for creamed oysters adding 1 tablespoon curry powder to the reduced oyster liquor. Serve curried oysters with rice.
Scalloped Oysters
Sprinkle the bottom of a baking dish with cracker crumbs and pour a little cream over the crumbs. Arrange freshly opened oysters, 6 for each serving, side by side on the crumbs. Season with salt and pepper and a little grated nutmeg. Add more cream, cover the oysters with a thin layer of cracker crumbs, dot with bits of butter, and bake in a very hot oven (450° F.) just long enough to brown the top.
Oysters Newberg
Poach 3 dozen freshly opened oysters for 2 minutes and drain them, Brown 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan and toss the oysters over high heat for about 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and add 4 egg yolks beaten with 1 1/4 cups cream. Return the pan to the stove and heat the sauce, moving the pan constantly with a circular motion to roll the oysters in the egg and cream. Do not allow the sauce to boil. Add 2 tablespoons butter, cut in small pieces, and 1/4 cup dry Sherry. Serve immediately, on toast.
Oyster Panics
Prepare 2 cups thick Mornay sauce (page 52). Cook 10 mushrooms, sliced, for 5 minutes in a little water and lemon juice. Add 3 dozen freshly opened poached oysters and 2 truffles cut in dice. Add a little of the juice from the truffle can and some of the cooking liquor from the mushrooms to the Mornay sauce, to thin it to the consistency of a light cream sauce. Combine oysters, mushrooms, and truffles with the sauce and bring the mixture just to the boiling point, Serve in individual patty shells, in a vol-au-vent, or in a timbale case.
Fried oysters are very popular, and there are several ways to make them. You can coat them with egg and bread crumbs-what the French call à l'anglaise-and then sauté them in butter or fry them in deep fat. Or you can coat them with fritter batter or make them into beignets or combine them with a thick cream sauce to make croquettes. I give you recipes for all these preparations here.
Huitres à I'Anglaise (Breaded Fried Oysters)
Poach oysters lightly and drain them well on paper toweling. Dip them in beaten egg seasoned with a little salt and pepper, then in fine bread crumbs. In a shallow pan heat enough clarified butter to cover the bottom generously. Arrange the oysters side by side in the pan and cook them until they are golden brown. Turn them and cook them brown on the other side. Serve with a sprig of parsley, a wedge of lemon, and a dish of sauce tartare.
Or poach the oysters, drain them on paper towels, roll them in flour and then in an anglaise coating made by beating together well 2 eggs, 1/4 cup milk, I tablespoon salad oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Dip them into fine bread crumbs and cook them in deep hot fat for 2 or 3 minutes, or until they are golden. Serve with parsley, a lemon wedge, and a dish of tartare sauce.
Beignets d'Huitres (Oyster Beignets)
Poach 2 dozen freshly opened large oysters, drain them, and cut them in dice. Bring to a boil 1 cup milk (or 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 cup strained oyster liquor), 1/2 cup butter, 2 teaspoons salt, and ½ teaspoon sugar. Add 1 cup flour all at once and cook, stirring, until the mixture forms a smooth ball and dears the sides of the pan. Remove the batter from the heat and cool it slightly. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Drain the diced oysters on a towel and add them to the batter. Drop the mixture by spoonfuls into deep hot fat (375° F.) and fry the beignets until they are brown on both sides; they will turn in the fat as they cook. Drain on paper towels and serve very hot, with cocktail sauce or sauce Motility (page 52).
Fritofs d'Huitres
(Oyster Fritters) Poach 6 freshly opened oysters and drain them well. Place them on a plate and sprinkle them with lemon juice and finely chopped parsley. Coat the oysters with fritter batter and fry them golden brown in deep hot fat (375° F.). Drain them on paper toweling and serve them with fried parsley and any desired sauce.
Fritter Batter
Combine 1/4 cup flour, 1 teaspoon salad oil, and 5 tablespoons lukewarm water and mix the batter until it is smooth. Fold in 1 egg white beaten stiff.
Fried Parsley
Wash parsley thoroughly and dry it well. Drop it in very hot fat and cook it 1 or 2 minutes, until the parsley comes to the surface of the fat and becomes crisp. Drain the parsley on paper toweling and sprinkle it with a little salt.
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