Ladies, when I tell you find a man who can cook, I mean it. I love my hubby for many reasons, but his cooking skills are definitely at the top of the lists. I never really questioned it, but after this meal, everything is confirmed.
Things to know about Steve. He loves to cook, but even more..he LOVES oysters. Honestly, if he could open up an oyster bar, he would do it tomorrow. His thought? Beer and oysters. Mine? Oysters and champagne. Who’s with me? Anyway…we can vote on that later. Steve reminds me of a French man, who loves to grocery shop everyday for a specific meal, where there is me as the busy mom who makes meal prep plans on Sunday and go shopping Monday for the week. Gotta love that retired life!
Now, his favorite thing ever? We have an open fire grill from Grill Works out of Ann Arbor, MI and after seeing it in tons of restaurants, he had to have it for our backyard and WOW has this thing has been a game-changer for us and entertaining. Can you imagine the number of friends we have now. HA!
So the day before Cinco De Mama (no, I did not spell that incorrectly)…Steve asked me if I wanted oysters. My first thought? How the heck are we going to do that? I was all about it, but we live nowhere near a coast and are pretty closed off to any fresh seafood here in good ole TN.
He did a little research online and found this place that will deliver fresh oysters to your door, which is this incredible company, Island Creek Oysters. I mean even the box and everything they come in is super cute and well put together. He decided to go with well fleet oysters because they are bigger and can hold more toppings.
After I posted, so many of you said how much you loved them and how you have visited their flagship store in MA… and I am super jealous! These oysters were so fresh, and had the best taste, so I can’t imagine being able to go and get them in person.
For the recipes, Steve decided to mix it up a little bit, and made two different types of oysters. The first thing that is the most important is to have the right cooking utensils to get the job done. You need a good shucker and glove that is the most durable thing ever. You will never be able to cut your finger off for all of you who aren’t the cooking masters, I highly recommend it.
Next on our to-do lists..I think it would be fun to have a “Top Your Own Oysters” party in the backyard…who is in?
CHORIZO + PEPPER OYSTERS
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
- 3 red chili peppers, finely diced
- 1 Anaheim pepper, finely diced
- Creme fraise, a dollop on each oyster
- Green onion, finely diced
- 1/2 lb ground chorizo
WHAT TO DO
- Shuck the oysters with your shucker and glove (always wear the glove)-this will take some time and is a workout, but Steve had an ice cold beer and just shucked away. No rinsing is necessary.
- Cook down your chorizo on the stove until cooked thoroughly, set aside.
- As the oysters are being shucked and the chorizo is being cooked, dice your veggies very fine since the space on an oyster is not that large, you want to make sure everything fits.
- Then put a little of everything on the raw oyster and put them on the grill. Wait for them to start bubbling, and this usually will indicate when they are done! Remember..you can eat oysters raw, and everything else is cooked that we put on the oyster, so no need to worry there.
GARLIC PARMERSAN OYSTERS
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
- 10 cloves fresh minced garlic
- Ghee butter
- Fresh basil, finely chopped or dried basil
- 1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
WHAT TO DO
- Shuck the oysters with your shucker and glove, much like you did for the ones above.
- As the oysters are being shucked, dice your garlic and basil very fine.
- Put the garlic, 3/4 tsp of ghee butter, basil and parmesan onto the oyster space.
- Then lay the oysters on the grill, and wait for the butter to start to melt and bubble.
*Yields 2 dozen oysters
KITCHEN NEEDS
Do you have a coupon code for Island Creek?
I will soon 🙂 and a fun giveaway!
Awesome, thank you! Just curious because we’re going to upstate NY for Thanksgiving this year and thought we could bring these to grill, so I wanted to put the order in for delivery next Tuesday.