Now a couple of weeks ago, my wife informed me that we were going to host a Lithuanian 30th birthday party – not words that I ever expected to hear out of my Anglo / Irish / Japanese wife. But it turns out we have a Lithuanian friend who was turning 30 and who was planning to cook some delicious Lithuanian “meat on a stick cooked over hot coals’ dinner for us and 20 or so of her closest friends. All I had to do was provide pre-dinner items to have with drinks and a cake!
No problem. Turning to the trusty book, I sought out the most interesting possibilities but as deep fried brain pieces in breadcrumbs was only a side-bar recipe int he book, I had to exclude it. Instead, I opted for oysters with garlic (page 489, under oysters of course).
No the purists amongst you may, like my wife, scoff at the thought of eating cooked oysters. Particularly when we can get them so fresh from our usual fishmonger. But really, serving fresh oysters was just never going to happen when, instead, I could –
(A) Cross off a recipe that I may never have the opportunity to do again; and
(B) Serve them to a whole bunch of people who I didn’t know and I would never have to see again if the oysters were awful.
And so the oysters were cooked, each topped with garlic butter and given a pastry lid. And a good thing there were. The little darlings went pretty quickly and certainly none were left by the end of the night.
If you like oysters and you like garlic, you should give these a go. Delicious. Tasted a bit like garlic snails. Hope that is how they were supposed to taste!
Ratings: A definite make again (for a party)
Cooking the "Cooks Companion" 