Tag: seafood

Jerri’s Oyster Stew

My mother made oyster stew in the winter, and I think that we had it almost every year on New Year’s Eve. My oldest sister tells me that Mom made it only on New Year’s Eve and then only because my father liked it. She added that he was the only one who ate it. She does not like oysters.

My youngest sister says that Mom made oyster stew at least three or four times a month in the winter because, first, my father loved it and, second, because it was cheap. My memory supports my youngest sister’s recollection. I ate oyster stew at home, so Dad wasn’t the only one eating it.

I don’t really think of oysters as being cheap, but my mother used canned oysters, which, according to my sister, Mom picked up at three cans for a dollar when they were on sale. Her oyster stew was a simple dish of oysters, milk, salt, pepper and butter. We ate it with saltines or oyster crackers. Maybe at first it was the novelty of the oyster crackers, but I have always liked this stew.

We began eating oyster stew for our Christmas Eve supper in the 1970’s when we lived in Kentucky, and we have never missed a year since then. Like my mother, Jerri is attentive to the food budget, so she usually uses a combination of freshly shucked and canned oysters. The result is wonderful.

Jerri’s recipe is almost as simple as Mom’s. Jerri adds flour and Worcestershire sauce and replaces the pepper with hot sauce. The result is a surprisingly rich, velvety soup that is a perfect light Christmas Eve supper. This recipe makes enough for six or eight servings, but any leftovers hold well to enjoy for supper on Christmas day or even a day or two later.

INGREDIENTS:

3 T all-purpose flour
3 T cold water
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp. hot sauce
1 pint shucked oysters with liquid
3 8 oz. cans oysters
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 quarts whole milk

PROCEDURE:

Mix the flour and salt with three tablespoons of cold water in a three quart saucepan. Put over moderate heat and add the butter, stirring frequently until the butter is melted. Then add the shucked and canned oysters with their liquid along with the Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Bring just barely to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer for three or four minutes

While the oysters are cooking, heat the milk until it is steaming. When the edges of the shucked oysters begin to curl, stir in the hot milk. Cover the pan and remove it from the heat. Let the stew sit for ten to fifteen minutes to blend the flavors. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Reheat and ladle into bowls. Garnish with a small pat of salted butter. Serve with oyster crackers and good bread.

Seafood Divan

When Jerri first made this casserole I thought that it was called Seafood Divine because it tasted heavenly.   However, it is actually a takeoff of Chicken Divan, a casserole made with poached chicken, broccoli and Mornay Sauce–a classic French cheese sauce made with white sauce, Parmesan and Gruyère cheese.    Chicken Divan was invented and named by an anonymous chef at the Divan Parisien Restaurant in New York City sometime early in the twentieth century.

The meaning of divan is unclear.  One explanation is that “divan” is a French word for a meeting place.  Another is that the word actually refers to the privy council of the Ottoman Empire and by association with the council chamber itself.  My guess is that the Divan Parisien  Restaurant and its signature dish were given the name because it sounded elegant.

The strategy worked and the restaurant flourished for many years just a short distance north of Grand Central Terminal.   The recipe spawned dozens, if not hundreds, of variations and takeoffs, many of which seem to use “Divan” in the name just because it sounds good.

Thus, there are leftover turkey divans, ham divans, pork divans, fish divans, lobster and shrimp divans, hamburger divans, vegetarian divans and even spam divans.  I kid you not.  The one thing these recipes have in common besides the name is some kind of cheese.

Here is our recipe for “a really elegant dish” (a divan!) made with canned and frozen ingredients that you can keep on hand to use when you don’t know what to make for dinner and don’t feel like going to the store to get inspired.  This recipe probably originated somewhere in the midwest fifty or sixty years ago.  Neither of us really knows where we got it.  Jerri even accuses me of first making it, but she is wrong.

INGREDIENTS:

For the casserole:

1/2 pound fresh or frozen codfish fillets
1 six ounce can of crabmeat
1 can of condensed Cream of Celery Soup
1 fourteen ounce can of cut asparagus
1 four ounce can of sliced mushrooms
1 two ounce jar diced pimientos
4 tsp. all purpose flour
1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
White or brown rice

For poaching the fish:

2 quarts water
1 bay leaf
1 small onion
4 peppercorns
4 whole cloves
2 T lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt

PROCEDURE:

If the fillets are frozen, thaw them before poaching and and grate the cheese.

Put the poaching ingredients into a three or four quart saucepan and bring the liquid to a boil.  Boil for five minutes, then remove the pan from the heat for a few minutes to allow the liquid to cool slightly.

Drop the fillets into the hot liquid and return the pan to low heat for five minutes or until the fish flakes but is not soft.  Do not boil or overcook the fish.  With a slotted spoon remove the fish from the poaching liquid to a mixing bowl.  Discard the liquid.  Add the crabmeat to the fish and mix them together, breaking the fillets into large flakes.

Preheat the oven to 325º.   Drain the asparagus and put it into a baking dish.  Drain the mushrooms and layer them on top.  Layer the pimientos on the mushrooms.  Sprinkle the vegetables with four teaspoons of all purpose flour.  Layer the fish and crab mixture on the vegetables.

Warm the soup with 2 or 3 tablespoons of water in a small saucepan and mix until smooth.  Pour the soup over the fish and vegetables.  Sprinkle with the grated cheese.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes.  Cook the rice according to your favorite method and make a salad while the casserole is baking.

Serve over rice accompanied by a garden salad and French bread.

NOTES:  You can substitute haddock, pollock or other firm-fleshed fish for the codfish fillets.  A glass of chilled white wine goes well with this dish.