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Cooking with "Deep Run Roots" by Vivian Howard


blue_dolphin

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Oyster Fest!  

The other day, I was looking to see where I might have neglected this book.  The oyster chapter popped out because local Pacific oysters were an alternate selection for my fish share this week so I signed on and got my oysters yesterday.  I've only ever had oysters in restaurants so figuring out how to shuck them is a learning experience.  These guys, farmed off of Santa Barbara, are pretty big.  Definitely 2-or 3-biters, at least for me. 

First up was the most minimal. Oysters on the Half Shell with Mignonette-Marinated Orange p 112. Just a sliver of an icy cold orange supreme and a teaspoon of its mignonette marinade is added to the oyster and its liquor.  The marinade is orange juice, rice vinegar, lemon juice, grated shallot, tarragon and black pepper.

E89A6C25-C2B5-4600-9E4D-08AF4B002E51_1_201_a.thumb.jpeg.1fd939709428e2ee82247a51cb720996.jpeg

Quite nice but would be better with a smaller oyster. 

 

I also made the Apple and Scallion Oyster Ceviche p 115.  The cure starts with charred scallions and finely chopped cilantro stems and adds both lemon and lime juice and zest, garlic, hot sauce and diced, crisp apple. 

2AC12591-CAD3-4DA6-8CCC-7D6463D8EBF3_1_201_a.thumb.jpeg.46e7468946606849536700985f6d9262.jpeg

In the header notes, Vivian suggests small to medium oysters or cutting larger ones in half. I guess I should have done that but since it was just me, I could fork one up, take a bite, slurp half of the cure, then repeat.  Very good. 

 

Finally, I made the Roasted Oysters with Brown-Butter Hot Sauce and Bacon p 116 with the most added flavors.

7A0620BF-A71B-4C2E-9CFE-4A5F48FABE0A_1_201_a.thumb.jpeg.7f90fc001d2feaf65c75a4c4b68e8935.jpeg

This was excellent with tender oysters in a bath of browned butter, hot sauce, lemon juice and zest, topped with parsley and crispy bacon. Had some crusty toasts with this one. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by blue_dolphin
Punctuation (log)
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@blue_dolphin 

 

Wow .  lucky you .

 

Id like to make a suggestion :

 

if one shucks oysters @ home , or anywhere else 

 

please consider getting a steel mesh glove to wear .

 

even is its occasionally or just a few times..

 

it is an added expense  , but if you buy oysters , buy a few less, one time.

 

and get the  steel mesh glove .

 

why ?

 

shellfish have a peculiar ( ordinary to them ) biology of bacteria that are difficult to treat

 

if they contaminate even  a small wound . 

 

people have lost their arms from time to time to this sort of thing.

 

fiddled w the wound at home for a few days , and rarely , it becomes an amputation. 

 

everybody I know in this area of medicine uses steel mesh gloves .

 

because they have seen first hand , literally ,  what these wounds can cause.

 

this is no joke ,   I have a steel mesh glove .  used it twice.

 

Id wear it out if I got back into shucking at home 

 

my technique was shuck and swallow. 

 

not a particularly good investment you say ?

 

price out the value of one of your arms .

 

Easy Peasy .

 

the shellfish biome is which different than the one on land.

Edited by rotuts (log)
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Thanks for that suggestion, @rotuts!  I do have a pair of those cut resistant gloves and a rule that I must wear it when using the mandolin, even if I don’t think I’ll be coming close to the blade. It’s a fine idea to extend that rule to oyster shucking!

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@blue_dolphin 

 

good for you .

 

I have no idea if there are different grades of gloves

 

slicing vs puncturing .

 

A friend gave me a pair he uses for oysters .

 

if there was a difference between slicing and puncturing

 

these were the later 

 

not uncomfortable at all .

Edited by rotuts (log)
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8 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

Quite nice but would be better with a smaller oyster. 

 

Recently, there has been a fashion here for large oysters, with vendors battling to find the most humungous. I'm waiting to see which one loses! I agree; smaller ones are usually better.

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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

The Kitchen Scale Manifesto

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15 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

Oyster Fest!  

The other day, I was looking to see where I might have neglected this book.  The oyster chapter popped out because local Pacific oysters were an alternate selection for my fish share this week so I signed on and got my oysters yesterday.  I've only ever had oysters in restaurants so figuring out how to shuck them is a learning experience.  These guys, farmed off of Santa Barbara, are pretty big.  Definitely 2-or 3-biters, at least for me. 

First up was the most minimal. Oysters on the Half Shell with Mignonette-Marinated Orange p 112. Just a sliver of an icy cold orange supreme and a teaspoon of its mignonette marinade is added to the oyster and its liquor.  The marinade is orange juice, rice vinegar, lemon juice, grated shallot, tarragon and black pepper.

E89A6C25-C2B5-4600-9E4D-08AF4B002E51_1_201_a.thumb.jpeg.1fd939709428e2ee82247a51cb720996.jpeg

Quite nice but would be better with a smaller oyster. 

 

I also made the Apple and Scallion Oyster Ceviche p 115.  The cure starts with charred scallions and finely chopped cilantro stems and adds both lemon and lime juice and zest, garlic, hot sauce and diced, crisp apple. 

2AC12591-CAD3-4DA6-8CCC-7D6463D8EBF3_1_201_a.thumb.jpeg.46e7468946606849536700985f6d9262.jpeg

In the header notes, Vivian suggests small to medium oysters or cutting larger ones in half. I guess I should have done that but since it was just me, I could fork one up, take a bite, slurp half of the cure, then repeat.  Very good. 

 

Finally, I made the Roasted Oysters with Brown-Butter Hot Sauce and Bacon p 116 with the most added flavors.

7A0620BF-A71B-4C2E-9CFE-4A5F48FABE0A_1_201_a.thumb.jpeg.7f90fc001d2feaf65c75a4c4b68e8935.jpeg

This was excellent with tender oysters in a bath of browned butter, hot sauce, lemon juice and zest, topped with parsley and crispy bacon. Had some crusty toasts with this one. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful!  Those all made my mouth water.  

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Charred Carrots with Apple Brown-Butter Vinaigrette from the apple chapter in Deep Run Roots p 498.

The tart vinaigrette and earthy pine nuts make a nice contrast to the sweet carrots and apples. 

7B234DF9-8649-4D12-8AFC-B5ACE5DF18E4_1_201_a.thumb.jpeg.a99b8c85d565458258c57f4fb02f16f0.jpeg

I served this on a bed of arugula and added some goat cheese so I could call it lunch.  

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