Mama Mulate's Oysters and Champagne - a weekend recipe

Mama Mulate, voodoo mambo and character in the mystery novel Big Easy, loves oysters. This is one of her favorite recipes whenever she’s not eating them on the half-shell.

Ingredients

·         24 oysters, in shells ·         1 c fresh cream ·         1 T butter ·         1 c champagne brut ·         3 shallots , finely chopped ·         ¼ lemon, juice only ·         3 egg yolks ·         1 sprig of dill , finely chopped ·         1 dash horseradish ·         1 pinch saffron ·         Pepper to taste

Directions

Place cheesecloth over a bowl. Open the oysters over the bowl and recover all liquid. Separate the oyster shells and reserve the oysters. Combine egg yolks, cream, ½ c champagne, chopped dill, horseradish, saffron and lemon juice. Mix well. Add pepper to taste.

Heat ½ T butter in skillet over medium heat. Add chopped shallots with ½ c of champagne. Reduce the mixture for 5 minutes, or until there is only a small amount of fluid in the pan. Add the cream mixture, egg and oyster liquid to the pan. Reduce by half for about 10 minutes over medium heat while stirring. Don’t let the mixture come to a boil.

Add oysters and poach for 3 minutes. Remove the oysters and place them in their shells. Stir ½ T butter into champagne sauce and whisk vigorously over the heat to combine. Coat each oyster, in its shell, with sauce. 

To stabilize oysters in the oven and keep them parallel with the cookie sheet while cooking, position them on about ¼” of coarse salt. Cook for 3 minutes in preheated oven at 250 °. The sauce should be nicely browned. Serve with toasted French bread.

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