Oysters Rockefeller
Photo by: Nina Gallant
"He was a bold man who first ate an oyster," says Roger Sterling to Don Draper in Season 1, Episode 7 of Mad Men. The restaurant isn't identified, but a likely destination for ad men working on Madison Avenue would have been the cavernous Grand Central Oyster Bar. This Manhattan institution opened in 1913, one level down from the street in New York's famed Grand Central Station. This is the version of Oysters Rockefeller as it was made in the early 1960s, served right in the pan.
Click here to step back in time with Mad Men-inspired cocktails, recipes, and party hosting tips
Click here to step back in time with Mad Men-inspired cocktails, recipes, and party hosting tips
ingredients: Add all to shopping list
2 dozen large (or 3 to 4 dozen small) oysters, opened and on the half shell
4 medium shallots, minced (about 1/4 cup)
1 small stalk celery, minced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
3/4 cup butter, softened and divided (1 and 1/2 sticks)
2 cups fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup soft bread crumbs
1–2 drops Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
Sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp Pernod (or Anisette)
4 medium shallots, minced (about 1/4 cup)
1 small stalk celery, minced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
3/4 cup butter, softened and divided (1 and 1/2 sticks)
2 cups fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup soft bread crumbs
1–2 drops Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
Sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 Tbsp Pernod (or Anisette)
directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Fill 4 pie or cake tins (or a baking dish large enough to hold oysters) with rock salt, but no more than half full (use just enough salt to keep the oysters from rocking back and forth). Place the tins in the oven briefly to warm.
2. Prepare the topping: Saute the shallots, celery, and parsley in 4 tablespoons of butter in a heavy skillet for approximately 5–7 minutes. Add spinach to the skillet and allow it to wilt for a minute.
3. Pour spinach mixture into a blender. Add the remaining butter, bread crumbs, Worcestershire sauce, salt, peppers, and Pernod or Anisette. Blend for a minute at medium speed. Top each oyster with about 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon of the mixture, depending on the size of the oyster.
4. Remove the tins from the oven and embed the oysters firmly in the hot salt. Return pans to the oven and bake for about 4 minutes, or until the butter is melted and the spinach is lightly browned on top. Serve oysters right in the tin.
KITCHEN COUNTER:
Makes 24 oysters (about 4 servings)
Recipe from: The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook: Inside the Kitchens, Bars, and Restaurants of Mad Men by Judy Gelman and Peter Zheutlin (Smart Pop, 2011). Click here for more.
