Consider the Oyster (with thanks to MFK Fisher)

 On my most recent visit to see my family in Rock Hall, MD, I was presented with a culinary challenge. Linda had purchased a pint of freshly shucked oysters, but no shells. I had originally planned to make some Oysters Rockefeller, but now had to come up with something that would feed four people, and not be based in milk or cream, like a traditional oyster stew. 

Here are the ingredients I came up with

Oysters, potatoes, shallot, fennel, spinach, panko, butter and a little freshly grated Parmesan. What could be bad? Instead of Rockefeller, let's make it a gratin. (that's a kind of fancy way of me saying I'm making the Eastern Shore version of a shepherd's pie)

This is really easy, and that's why I'm sharing it. It's also pretty damn good.

Ok, team, first thing is to make some mashed taters. I used two large Idaho spuds, which made a nice amount for the base of the dish. Sorry, the pic is sideways but you get the point.

While they were burbling along, I prepped the vegetables. I minced the shallot, and small diced the fennel. I sweated that (which means letting it cook over a low temperature so it won't burn) in some of that yummy European style butter, and added some granulated garlic. When they were soft, I wilted the spinach into it, and seasoned with salt and pepper. (note: if I had had some Pernod, I would have added a splash, but I didn't. That's in classic Rockefeller.)

                        

After the taters were mashed, with plenty of butter and (in our case, oat) milk it was time to assemble the gratin. I buttered a casserole dish, then spread the mash in an even layer. Next, I added the oysters, and put a bit of hot sauce on top of each one. Then, I put the spinach mixture on top.

Oh yeah, I also made some buttery, cheesy panko crumbs. There's never really enough butter, is there?

The crumbs went on top, then the dish went into a 350 oven for 20 minutes. I did mine in a small convection oven, so the crumbs browned up nicely, but if yours doesn't, you can broil it for a second. 

Here's what it looked like on the plate. Good eating on the Eastern Shore!

I hope you enjoyed the step by step instructions, and if you're an oyster lover, this is a great way to prepare them, assuming you can keep from just slurping them down raw!

Stay warm, my friends, and watch out for Covid. I'll post more of my lockdown cuisine so y'all have something to make whilst hiding from Omicron. 

Namaste