He Stew tonight.

[Capt. Waffle]

The wind is whipping straight off Stump Sound tonight, it's a cold wind, so it's a great night for some Oyster stew. Now, I did not come up with the name " He Stew" which for obvious reasons has certain overtones.....or maybe it's just me being my homophopic self. I went out to the end of the dock this morning to lash down the crab pots and other gear and check the storage locker lid to make sure it was latched and locked. Needless to say, with the wet snow blowing in sideways....I was chilled to the bone, and it's been with me all day. The Mrs and kids think it's a good dinner idea, so I went and got the ingredients I needed for the stew, plus we had a nice oyster harvest this year, so plenty on tap for the meal.

 

Stuff you'll need,

 

1lb bacon

2 cups chopped celery

2 cups chopped onion

2 pints raw oysters, drained, liquor reserved

4 cups milk, half and half or heavy cream ( I use 2cups whole milk and 2 cups half n half)

2 tablespoons cornstarch

salt and pepper to taste

nice pinch of saffron

1/2 cup butter

oyster crackers

 

Fry up the bacon until crisp, reserve drippings. Crumble bacon when cooled and set aside. In Dutch Oven, use some of the bacon drippings to saute the onion and celery until soft, then remove from DO. Take the drained oysters and saute in drippings just until they start to curl. remove from DO. Heat milk, whisk in cornstarch that has been dissolved in a small amount of oyster liquor. Simmer, stirring, until mixture becomes very thick and gelatanious, adding more cornstarch if needed. Add oysters and celery/onions, add remaining oyster liquor as needed to maintain a smooth, creamy consistency as the stew cooks-uncovered, over low heat for 15 mins. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. At serving time, transfer to large serving bowl and grind saffron to a powder ( or buy it powdered if you can/want to) and sprinkle over top of stew. Cut butter into pats and nestle them down into stew to melt, then sprinkle the crumbled bacon over the top of stew and serve with the oyster crackers or saltines.