Poached Oysters In Champagne With A Julienne Of Vegetables Leaf Spinach And Prosciutto Ham Recipes

OYSTERS IN CHAMPAGNE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, reduce 1 cup of champagne to approximately 1/4 cup of liquid. Add the cream and reduce mixture to 1 cup of liquid. Add butter and stir until butter melts and thickens the mixture. Toss in shucked oysters and remove from heat. Place one oyster and some sauce in each saved shell. Garnish with chives and serve immediately.

OYSTER-LEEK GRATINE WITH PONZU SABAYON KAFFIR LIME-SMOKED SALMON RILLETTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Lay the oysters on a bed of sea or rock salt on a sheet/baking tray. In a saute pan, melt butter on high heat and saute leeks until soft, about 3 to 4 minutes. Season. Deglaze with ponzu and reduce by 50 percent. Check again for seasoning. Remove from pan and let cool. Fill a small saucepan half way with water and bring to a boil. Place yolks in a small stainless bowl that will fit on top of the sauce pan (bain marie set up). Whisk the yolks and 1 teaspoon of ponzu over the hot water. Be careful not to overcook the yolks by removing the bowl periodically from the heat. Continue whisking until ribbons are formed in the yolks following the whisk. Season and check for flavor. Remove form heat and fold in the cooled leeks. Cool to room temperature. Top each oyster with the leek sabayon and place in oven and immediately switch the setting to broil. Bake for 3 to 5 minutes or until top is brown and bubbly.
• PLATING: Serve on a decorative plate lined with cold sea/rock salt.
• BEVERAGE Blanc de Blanc Champagne
• In small sauce pan, very lightly coat with oil and saute the shallots, kaffir and ginger until fragrant, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cream and bring to a simmer. Reduce by 30 percent then transfer to a small bowl and refrigerate until cold. (It is recommended to do this a day ahead of time for deeper infusion.) Strain the mixture. In a food processor, add the salmon and cream and puree until very smooth. Season with black pepper only and check for seasoning. (Smoked salmon is usually very salty.) Transfer to a small bowl and fold in the zest, juice and chives. Transfer into medium ramekins and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 to 3 hours.
• PLATING: Serve the ramekins on plates surrounded by the pita chips. Garnish with chives.
• BEVERAGE Bright California chardonnay

HAM AND VEGETABLES OVER MEDIUM SHELLS

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, 8 to 10 minutes or according to package directions.
• Heat oil in a large skillet. Add sliced onion and saute for 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and zucchini and saute a minute. Add white wine, cover and simmer 2 to 3 minutes or until tender. Remove lid, add tomatoes, pimentos, ham and simmer a couples of minutes just to heat through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and spoon over pasta. Garnish with sliced olives and parsley.

GREEN NOODLES AND HAM

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil then add salt, a generous grab from your salt dish, to season up the pasta as it cooks. Carefully add pasta to water and stir then cook to al dente or until pasta is tender but it still has a bite to it in the center - in other words, do not cook it until it is mushy.
• Cut ham into thin, short ribbon-like pieces and separate them into a loose pile. Kids not so good with knives can use kitchen scissors to cut the ham up.
• Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Add butter to the pan and melt it. Add 1 cup cream and warm it up a minute. Add about a cup of cheese, 4 big handfuls or so, and stir constantly for another minute then season the sauce with nutmeg (your SECRET ingredient) and pepper. Taste and add a little salt, if necessary.
• Turn off heat under sauce and add the peas to it. They will warm through in no time. Next, drain the pasta. Kids should have Grown Helpers drain pasta for them. Toss pasta with sauce in the skillet and use tongs to help you pull pasta through sauce until it is coated evenly. Sprinkle in the ham and toss the pasta again to combine it. You can even add a little more cheese, if you say so.
• Wow! Green noodles are even yummier than white ones when you add in the ham and cheese and peas! Yum-o!

OYSTERS WITH CHAMPAGNE-VINEGAR MIGNONETTE

Steps:

• Make mignonnette:
• Stir together vinegar, shallot, pepper, and sugar and let stand 30 minutes.
• Prepare oysters:
• Preheat broiler.
• Spread 3/4 cup salt in an 8- to 10-inch flameproof shallow baking dish or pan. Arrange oysters on their shells in salt, then top each with a piece of butter.
• Broil 4 to 6 inches from heat until butter is melted and sizzling and edges of oysters are beginning to curl, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Stir parsley into mignonnette. Divide remaining 3/4 cup salt between 2 plates and arrange 3 oysters on each. Spoon 1/4 teaspoon mignonnette over each oyster and sprinkle oysters with grapes. Serve warm.

FOUR SEASONS OYSTERS IN CHAMPAGNE VELOUTé

Steps:

• Remove the oysters from their shells and refrigerate. Reserve the oyster lIquid and the shells.
• Melt butter in a 2 1/2 quart saucepan and stir in the flour. Cook for 2 minutes with stirring while not letting the mixture brown. Add enough fish stock to the oyster juice to make 1 cup. Gradually beat the mixture into the flour mixture and when thickened and smooth, let the sauce simmer gently for about 20 minutes, whisking often to prevent the sauce from sticking to the pan.
• Stir in 1/4 cup of the champagne and the cream. Simmer the mixture until it has reduced to one cup.
• In a separate pan heat the remaining 1/4 cup champagne with the herbs and cook until the liquid has almost evaporated. Add the mixture to the sauce ane season with the pepper.
• Preheat your broiler. Line a pan large enough to hold all of the oysters with rock salt or crumpled foil to hold them in place. Rinse and dry the shells and place them in the pan.
• Put an oyster on each shell and spoon a heaping Tbs of the sauce over each. Glaze briefly under the broiler, transfer to individual plates and serve at once.

POACHED OYSTERS IN PERNOD CREAM

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix together creme fraiche, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Transfer mixture to a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl. Refrigerate, and let drain for 2 hours. Transfer solids to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.
• Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add heavy cream, 1 1/2 cups reserved oyster liquor, and the Pernod; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add 1 teaspoon salt and remaining teaspoon pepper; reduce heat to medium. Simmer until liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes; remove from heat. Add half of the spinach to saucepan and puree mixture using an immersion blender, or in batches in a blender or food processor. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a large skillet; keep warm.
• Heat oil in a deep, heavy-bottomed pot until it reaches 350 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer. Working in batches, fry remaining spinach until crispy, about 45 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, remove cooked spinach and drain on a paper-towel-lined plate; season with salt.
• Add oysters to cream sauce and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until the edges start to curl, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
• To serve, arrange six oysters in each of six shallow bowls. Spoon 1/2 cup cream sauce into each bowl; spoon a dollop of creme fraiche in the center, top with caviar, and garnish with fried spinach. Serve immediately.

AUSTRALIAN OYSTERS IN CHAMPAGNE SAUCE

Steps:

• Remove oysters from their shell. Set shells aside. Pour champagne into a small frying pan and bring to the boil. Add leek and oysters and stir for 30 seconds. Remove oysters.
• Add the cream to the pan and bring to the boil. Gradually add salt, pepper, lime juice and butter, stirring continously. Return the oysters to the pan until they are just heated through.
• Fill each oyster shell with one oyster and sauce. Serve with lime wedges and lettuce.