• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

SERVES 4 AS A SIDE DISH

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until its fat is rendered and it is crisp, 6 to 7 minutes. Transfer the bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel-lined plate, keeping the fat in the pan. Add the butter, shallots, and carrot. Sauté for 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. Add the lemon thyme, edamame, and corn, and sauté until the corn caramelizes, another 2 to 3 minutes.

Deglaze the pan with the oyster liquid and reduce until the mixture is dry. Add the oysters, lemon juice, and white wine vinegar. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and Tabasco. Sprinkle with the parsley.

PAIRING: A Chablis, such as Bouchard Aîné & Fils 2007, Burgundy, France, or a muscadet.

oysters on the half shell with cucumber sorbet

⅓ cup water

3 tablespoons sugar, plus

extra for dusting jalapeños

1 jalapeño, cut in half length-

wise, seeds removed, and

sliced into ⅛-inch half

moons

1½ tablespoons seasoned rice

wine vinegar

¼ teaspoon salt

14 ounces (about 1 medium)

cucumber, peeled and

chopped

24 oysters in the shell,

shucked11

Rock salt or crushed ice, for

serving

I love oysters as naked as the day they were born. It takes a special accompaniment to a raw oyster to turn my head; most of the time, it seems to diminish the oyster’s magnificence more than accent it. Until now. The combination of a slightly sweet, briny oyster with a refreshingly icy and vegetal cucumber sorbet would be special enough, but then you gild the lily by adding just a touch of candied jalapeño—another green note, but this time with a lingering fiery finish. After a few of these oysters, you can’t help but feel completely alive, your taste buds dancing on your tongue.

SERVES 2 TO 6, DEPENDING ON YOUR FRIENDS’ LOVE FOR OYSTERS

In a small saucepan over high heat, add the water and sugar. Cook, stirring, until the sugar completely dissolves, about 2 minutes. Add the jalapeño. Cook, simmering gently, for 5 minutes. Strain the jalapeño, saving the syrup. Lay the jalapeño out on a piece of parchment or wax paper to dry and dust lightly with sugar.

Add the syrup to a blender along with the rice wine vinegar, salt, and cucumber. Blend well and then strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Chill well and freeze according to your ice cream or sorbet maker’s instructions. Firm the sorbet in the freezer for at least 2 hours. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can place the mixture in a glass dish in the freezer and stir every 20 minutes until it is frozen.

Spread the rock salt on a platter and arrange the oysters carefully on the salt. Scoop tiny balls (I use a melon baller) of cucumber sorbet and place on the oysters. Quickly garnish each oyster with 1 piece of candied jalapeño and serve on the double, before the ice melts.

PAIRING: A sauvignon blanc, such as Matanzas Creek 2008, Sonoma, California, or a Muscadet Sèvre et Maine.

oyster, chorizo, and apple stuffing

For the bread cubes:

6 packed cups bread cubes, crusts on

For the chorizo:

12 ounces ground pork

shoulder

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1½ teaspoons smoked sweet or

bittersweet Spanish paprika

½ teaspoon ancho or New

Mexican chile powder12

½ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon cayenne

2 teaspoons sherry vinegar

For the stuffing:

4 tablespoons (½ stick)

unsalted butter, plus

additional for the casserole

1 rib celery, cut into small dice

1 cup small-diced onion

1 tart apple, unpeeled, cored,

cut into small dice

Pinch of salt

1 tablespoon high-heat

vegetable oil

½ packed cup minced fresh

Italian parsley

1 egg, beaten

1 tablespoon minced fresh

thyme

1 quart preshucked fresh

oysters or 2 dozen large

Pacific oysters in the shell,

shucked,13 roughly chopped

and liquid reserved

3 cups turkey or chicken stock

(include in this amount the

reserved oyster liquid)

I adapted this recipe from chef Mark Fuller of Spring Hill restaurant in West Seattle, one of my favorite spots to go for both brunch and dinner. Making your own chorizo is painfully easy, especially if you purchase preground pork