This is my first entry. I am a pianist who loves to cook. I'm a sorta type A personality who must have everything his way and is always right - well almost always right about just about everything.

So anyway, I've decided to start a food blog. So many of my friends and family keep telling me that I should share my recipes and fabulous menus with the world and I am here to tell you that I shall endeavor to do exactly that over I don't know how much time. Whatever it takes to do something well. 

So let's start with something good. 

Oysters Rockefeller (my version!)

I have always adored oysters - no matter how they are prepared. Many, many years ago, I knew a Swiss chef, let’s call him Arturo, and I often asked him for pointers, especially about sauces. I so often tried to make my Hollandaise Sauce taste like the sauce he produced in his restaurant and with so little success that I finally asked him one night what he did to make his Hollandaise so delicious. He had often given me tips before on how to make better sauces or give them more flavor and spice, but this was so simple and straightforward it was almost embarrassing! All it required was a dash of this and a dash of that, a pinch of this and a pinch of that. Isn’t it always the way? Chefs develop a flavor to their own liking and incorporate it into something rather standard even though difficult to produce - and Hollandaise IS difficult because it requires concentration and discipline - and voila! . . . you have something new! Given that Oysters Rockefeller do require Hollandaise Sauce I will include the “secret” ingredients but am omitting the recipe for Hollandaise Sauce (if you really want to go the whole nine yards, use Béarnaise sauce!). Please refer to Julia Child or Jacques Pepin or “Le Repertoire de la Cuisine” by Louis Saulnier or the Internet, which will give you the exact ingredients and directions necessary to create a proper Hollandaise Sauce. I’m assuming that if you can even think about making Oysters Rockefeller you know what Hollandaise requires and you have a budget unfettered by cost concerns. But getting back to Oysters Rockefeller, the combination of oysters, spinach, bacon and shallots flavored with Pernod and then topped with Hollandaise and Parmiggiano might seem like overkill or even excessive, but trust me, gilding the lily never tasted so delectably sweet. The icing on the cake is getting to wash it all down with the lingering liquids of said bivalve remaining in its shell!  The oysters should be creamy, tender and touched with texture that will literally melt in your mouth. Make sure you get a good oyster shucker and make sure you wear gloves or pad your hands with a couple of good dish towels while you shuck the oysters. Being a pianist, I’m always extremely careful with this part of the preparation. You cannot be too careful because oysters can often be a real challenge to open. Monsieur Pepin suggests bathing them in hot water for a few seconds, which also does the trick for difficult oysters. But remember, since the oysters are going to be cooked anyway, you don’t have to worry about spoiling the meat in the shell. 

Serves four

2 dozen Oysters in the shell….sorry you need to shuck them at home. 

4 lemons

2 cups basic Hollandaise (or Béarnaise) Sauce

Add to that and whisk until blended:

A dash each of Paprika, Cayenne Pepper, Nutmeg, Worcestershire Sauce and Tabasco.

Dot with pats of butter so a skin doesn’t form on top. Set aside and keep in a warm spot but not near a heated oven, otherwise the sauce will separate. If it gets too cold, you'll have to warm the sauce up by whisking it over a pot of warm water.

Spinach and Bacon Mixture

1-2 pounds chopped spinach (fresh or frozen) If you use frozen chopped spinach, make sure it is thawed 

completely so it cooks evenly. Fresh spinach should be cleaned and coarsely chopped. One pound for 

36 oysters is conservative so it’s better to have more than less spinach. Ultimately, you want 2 cups of the spinach mixture.

1 1/4 inch slab of Pancetta or Bacon finely diced and fried until somewhat crisp

2 shallots (minced)

3 tblsp. water

Salt and Pepper to taste

Dash of Nutmeg

Dash of Cayenne Pepper (just a dash)

3 tblsp. Olive Oil

3 tblsp. Unsalted Butter

1/4 cup Pernod or 2 tablespoons Anise Extract

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese. (Reggiano Parmiggiano or Grana Padano please)

Preheat Oven to 350º F. 

Heat a large heavy cast-iron skillet. Melt the butter with the olive oil and add the pancetta or bacon and cook until somewhat crisp (DO NOT discard the rendered fat from the bacon). Add the shallots and saute until they become translucent. Add the Spinach and water (if using fresh spinach, there will be a mountain of it in the pan. Cover the pan for a few minutes and the spinach will have wilted and will have been greatly reduced in volume). Uncover pan, stir contents and salt and pepper to taste. Add nutmeg and Pernod. Continue cooking until mixture is a dense mass. All liquid should have evaporated. Turn off heat and let the mixture rest for a few minutes. (Set aside until you are ready to shuck and bake the oysters

Preheat the oven to 375º F.

Shuck Oysters, discard half of the shell and place all of the oysters on a roasting pan big enough to fit in the oven. Large cookie sheets will do but it is preferable to have trays with sides so the juice doesn’t run off and fall to the floor of the oven. Once all is in place, drizzle the oysters with lemon juice, and take a small demitasse spoon - or something that small -  and spoon out enough spinach to completely cover the oyster. Do this until all oysters are covered and bake in the oven for 5 minutes. 

Remove pan from the oven. Turn the broiler on (you can use a blow torch if you like but I prefer a hot broiler). After making sure that the broiler is very hot, quickly spoon out a generous amount of Hollandaise sauce on each oyster. Sprinkle the grated parmesan on each oyster and broil in the oven for no longer than 20 to 25 seconds. Turn the tray if necessary to get a uniform color on all of the oysters. What comes out should be golden crusted pillows on the half shell! Garnish plates with wedges of lemon and serve immediately.

Serving suggestions:

China somehow doesn’t really make it with Oysters Rockefeller. They’re large considering the space the shell takes up and often clumsy on a flat surface. An oval or somewhat irregularly shaped circular bowl - metal is good too - filled with rock salt works very well. The rock salt strangely resembles the rocks or cliffs of the sea and also help to anchor the shells so nothing spills out or tips over. Sorry to use all these maritime terms but you know the saying, when the shoe fits . . .. 

Wine

Champagne of course!