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If I had spinach I would have used it. Alas, for I am spinachless. I thought diced Roma tomatoes would be pretty good, but they're not. My bad. My next batch will have spinach/cream/garlic. This just doesn't cut it. Nice try, but no cigar.
* I used lemon juice directly on the oysters and lemon zest mixed with the breadcrumbs.
* Dry Italian seasoning mixed with the topping.
* A few drops Worcestershire directly on each oyster following a few drops of lemon.
* Diced tomato plus diced onion following the drops
* Dry topping on top of tomato/onion.
* Insufficiently salty. I thought the Parmigiano would be enough salt but it wasn't.
* It needed something so at the table I added drops of Sriracha (Asian version of Tabasco) but even that didn't help much.
* I didn't have enough rock salt to steady the oysters. Thought I had a whole box but it was over half empty.
* Baked at 350℉ / 175℃ for 20 minutes. They were barely cooked. I would say, perfectly cooked.
What I learned: I'm a terrible oyster shucker. Those little butts are hard to open. I didn't come out of it completely unscathed either. Had to bash one open with a hammer. Used a knife and a heavy flat-head screwdriver for leverage, then cut the abductor muscle. I think I lost a good deal of the oyster liquor by my clumsy fumbling and by the need to remove shell fragments chipped by my inexpert oyster opening. This is not a task for the faint-hearted or for easy-bleeders for that matter.
I gotta up my game.
Mind, I'm not complaining here, just describing. I did devour this whole pile, which I'm certain qualifies me as a proper pig.
Re: the tomatoes, I wonder if it is because the tomatoes this time of year are so heinous? Do you think it would have been improved by a nice summer tomato? Or was it a case of the tomatoes and the oysters hating each other on sight? I would have thought they'd go together pretty well also.
ReplyDeleteSpinach would be delish.