Taste With The Eyes: Komo Gway Oysters Rockefeller

10.28.2009

Komo Gway Oysters Rockefeller

Oysters Rockefeller

With Komo Gway Oysters

The original Oysters Rockefeller recipe created by Jules Alciatore in 1899 at Antoine's Restaurant in New Orleans remains a secret to this day. Since no one outside of Antoine's knows the exact recipe, there are hundreds of variations. Fresh oysters, assorted greens, toasty breadcrumbs...it's hard to go wrong with any combination!

Komo Gway

Komo Gway Oysters are cultured in the clean, clear waters of Baynes Sound, British Columbia, Canada, using sustainable methods. Pentlatch Seafoods Ltd., a company wholly owned by the K’ómoks First Nation, produces Komo Gway Oysters within their traditional territory.

Komo Gway, “Ruler of the Undersea”

Pentlatch Seafoods Ltd. honors the Legend of Komo Gway by ensuring, above all, the sustainability of the sea and its creatures by seeding, annually, millions of Manila Clams and Pacific Oysters on their beaches. To further ensure the sustainability of the marine resources, they have also implemented an Environmental Stewardship Program that supports the continuation of clean marine waters within their traditional territory. The mission statement is “CLEAN WATER Our Responsibility, Our Legacy” which ensures sustainability of resources and their legacy to future generations.

I just recently discovered these oysters at the Ports O' Call fish market. They are heavenly! Plump, with a clean, crisp, slight cucumber flavor. And not too difficult to shuck either!

Taste With The Eyes'

Oysters Rockefeller

Blend baby spinach, fresh tarragon leaves, rough chopped scallions, and a small amount of panko bread crumbs in the small bowl of a food processor. (Other recipes include ingredients such as parsley, celery, celery leaves, chervil, watercress, and some omit the spinach).

Sauté the spinach mixture in butter for just a few minutes. Add a splash of Pastis, Paprika Piquant (hot paprika), and salt to taste. Set aside to cool.

Mix equal parts Parmesan and panko breadcrumbs together, add Paprika Piquant to taste. (Some recipes include cheese, others do not).

Fill the bottom of an ovenproof pan with Kosher or rock salt. Nestle fresh shucked oysters into the salt. Top each with the spinach mixture. (Some recipes add crumbled bacon atop the spinach mixture).

Then top with breadcrumb mixture. Bake at 450° for about 12-14 minutes until the breadcrumb mixture is golden brown.

The Rich Theme

For a little extra Rockefeller richness, I top each oyster with a small dollop of creme fraiche.

"We trust that you will be pleased with the riches from our lands."

K’ómoks First Nation

According to legend, it is said that an Antoine's customer exclaimed with delight after eating this dish, "Why, this is as rich as Rockefeller!"

John Davison Rockefeller (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American industrialist. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of modern philanthropy. In 1870, he founded the Standard Oil Company and aggressively ran it until he officially retired in 1897. As kerosene and gasoline grew in importance, Rockefeller's wealth soared, and he became the world's richest man and first American billionaire. (from wikipedia)

Julia Child Quotes - TOUJOURS BON APPETIT!

“You should never apologize at the table. People will think, ‘Yes, it’s really not so good.'"

"In France, cooking is a serious art form and a national sport."

"It's easy to get the feeling that you know the language just because when you order a beer they don't bring you oysters." Paul Child on speaking French

"I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate. "

"Life itself is the proper binge."

"It was a Morsel of Perfection."

"I was in pure, flavorful heaven at the Cordon Bleu."

Julia Child sees herself on TV, July 1962, she saw room for improvement, and still she can say it was fun : "There I was, in black and white, a large woman sloshing eggs too quickly here, too slowly there, gasping, looking at the wrong camera while talking too loudly and so on...But it had been fun."

She has her own opinions on kitchen equipment: "Clairborne sniffed at our use of a garlic press, 'a gadget considered in some circles to be only one cut above garlic salt or garlic powder.' I happened to like garlic presses..."

Understanding Julia's captivation by French food: "This is the kind of food that I have fallen in love with: not trendy souped-up fantasies, just something very good to eat. It was classic French cooking, where the ingredients have been carefully selected and beautifully and knowingly prepared. Or, in the words of the famous gastronome Curnonsky, 'Food that tastes of what it is.' "

"You never forget a beautiful thing that you have made. Even after you eat it, it stays with you - always." Julia's instructor, Chef Bugnard at Le Cordon Bleu

"Oh, 'crise de foie,' that French sole was so delicious!"

Julia's passion comes through loud and clear as she describes a fish dish: "La Truite's true glory was the Sole a la Normande, a poem of poached and flavored sole fillets surrounded by oysters, and mussels, and napped with a wonder-sauce of wine, cream, and butter, and topped with fluted mushrooms. 'Voluptuous' was the word. I had never imagined that fish could be taken so seriously, or taste so heavenly."

Julia's unique way with words, on Crepes Suzette: "The creature named Suzette may or may not have been the mistress of the Prince of Wales, but whoever she was, she long ago inspired a magnificent dessert that is still one of our favorites."

"I am probably one of the few people around who saw the real Caesar Cardini making his salad. I was about 9 when my parents took me to his restaurant in Tijuana. They were so excited when big jolly Caesar himself came to the table to make the salad. And it was dramatic: I remember most clearly the eggs going in, and how he tossed the leaves so it looked like a wave turning over."

"With a handsome package such as Jacques's, you can neatly cut the top open at the table with a pair of scissors..." Julia on Salmon en Papillote

"There's no reason to be intimidated by the idea of making pâté. You can just think of it as meat loaf."

From Julia's dear friend Jacques Pepin, "You are what you cook."

"Understanding egg yolks will make you a master of hollandaise sauce."

Julia encouraging us not to be intimidated: "When you know how to saute your meat so it browns rather than steams, you're cooking. What's difficult about that? You heat the pan, you dry the meat, you don't crowd it into the pan, and you're browning it. Is that difficult?"

Food Quotes

"Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch."

Orson Welles

"Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are."
Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

"Chefs, as a whole, say yes to any project, fundraiser, or tasting because they have such a generous spirit."
Charlie Trotter

"Once you understand the foundations of cooking - whatever kind you like, whether it's French or Italian or Japanese - you really don't need a cookbook anymore. "
Thomas Keller

"I love to make people happy."
Wolfgang Puck

"Fish sauce is to Vietnamese cooking as olive oil is to Italian."

The Little Saigon Cookbook by Ann Le

"I wish, I wish lunch could last forever...waiter, bring us one more bottle of wine..."

Jimmy Buffett

"My philosophy from day one is that I can sleep better at night if I can improve an individual's knowledge about food and wine, and do it on a daily basis."
Emeril Lagasse

"Gordon Ramsay makes me laugh because he knows that I'm not a chef."
Nigella Lawson

"You know, when you get your first asparagus, or your first acorn squash, or your first really good tomato of the season, those are the moments that define the cook's year. I get more excited by that than anything else."
Mario Batali

"I always knew the importance of it, since I was three or four years old my mother used to feed me wine and water. I grew up with wine as liquid food."
Robert Mondavi

"No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at his/her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, and the wisdom of cookbook writers."
Laurie Colwin

"Food is a central part of our lives. It provides the body with fuel and raw materials for maintenance, growth, and repair. It draws together family and friends, anchors celebrations and rites of passage, and sometimes soothes the soul."
Ethan Becker