Oyster Stew

Happy National Oyster Day!

To celebrate, I bribed my mother into sharing her oyster stew recipe (which, of course, really wasn't a recipe at all, but I've translated for us).

My mom's un-recipe:

I don't have a recipe.  I start with cooking (quantity depends on how many you're feeding) cubed potatoes ( like for salad or soup), you know, boiling them in water until they are just almost tender.  Then drain all the water off and cover them with part milk and part half & half.  while you have been cooking the potatoes, you will have been cooking some chopped sweet onion in butter (real sweet butter, & a lot of it, about 1/2 a stick). Again, amount of onion depends on how many feeding!  I usually chop at least 1/2 of a large one.  Anyway, it should only be just translucent, not cooked to death.  Dump the butter/onion mixture in the potato/milk & add fresh ground pepper & salt.  Either drain or not drain the oysters (I never rinse them) and just cook until warmed.  Simple, fast, tasty!

I was especially impressed that my health-nut mother used more butter in her un-recipe than Paula Deen did in hers! ;)

As far as my mom's estimates, I used three baking potatoes and half of a 1/2 gallon of milk and half-and-half. I used one onion and a whole stick of butter (because she gave me permission and all!).

Enjoy! (And it's International Beer Day too, so if you're looking for a pairing, I'll go with Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy.) But, honestly, I stuck to my pinot grigio.

Because it's Friday night, we have dessert too. And we loved these Peach Enchiladas (with a dollop of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla on the side!).