Tag: barry anthony

Oysters Rockefeller Soup

Oysters Rockefeller Soup
Garnished with a Fresh Shucked Oyster,
Butter Lettuce, Creme Fraiche, and Salmon Roe

Oysters Rockefeller consists of oysters on the half-shell that have been topped with various other ingredients (often spinach or parsley, cheese, a rich butter sauce and bread crumbs) and are then baked or broiled.
The dish was created in 1899 at the New Orleans restaurant Antoine’s by Jules Alciatore, son of the restaurant’s founder. It was named Oysters Rockefeller after John D. Rockefeller, the richest American at the time, for the richness of the sauce.  (from wikipedia)

Sunken City Supper Club
The Soup Course

In the previous post I was so excited to share the debut of our Sunken City Supper Club: A place to mingle with friends and neighbors – to enjoy the camaraderie, great food, wine, and perhaps a little dancing to the awesome intimate jazz standards performed by Barry Anthony and Bill Ryan. Their band is The Swing Of Things.

I hope you have a couple of minutes to enjoy The Swing Of Things as they perform “I’ve Heard That Song Before.” The song, popular in 1942, is just so fun and lovely, it can put anyone in a good mood…


Our Oysters Rockefeller Soup Recipe
Puree a small onion, 1/2 bunch parsley, 3 scallions, and 3 large leaves of butter lettuce in a food processor. Add a pound of fresh spinach and continue to puree to a uniform consistency.
Melt 4 T. butter in a saucepan, add 4 anchovy filets stirring until dissolved. Add the vegetable puree and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat. Add 3 T. lemon juice and 3 T. flour.
Stir in one bottle clam juice, 1 c. chicken stock, 2 T. Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat, add 2 c. heavy cream and grated nutmeg.
Finish with 1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving add a splash of Pastis and the liquid from the shucked oysters. 
Garnish with shredded butter lettuce, a fresh shucked oyster, a small dollop of creme fraiche and salmon roe or caviar of your choice. 
The initial idea for this recipe came from Barbara Kafka’s excellent soup cookbook, Soup A Way of Life.

Slide the fresh oyster onto the butter lettuce.

A soup inspired by a secret legendary old New Orleans recipe was the perfect one for the first Sunken City Supper Club dinner.

Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Pomegranate

Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta
Pomegranate Syrup
Pomegranate Seeds
Mint Sprig
Sunken City Supper Club Menu

SUNKEN CITY SUPPER CLUB
October 16th Menu
“THE BEST OF FALL”

Appetizers
Polenta Cakes with Cambozola and Shrimp, Roasted Chile Oil
Date Bacon Bundles
Pea Crostini Two Ways: With Prosciutto or Pears

Soup
Oysters Rockefeller Soup

Salad
Grilled Squash, Wild Baby Arugula
Warm Marcona Almonds
Shaved French Etorki Cheese
Almond Oil Late Harvest Riesling Vinaigrette

Main
Stout-Braised Short Ribs
Reginette Pasta, Gremolata
Horseradish Cream

Dessert
Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Pomegranate

Your SCSC Hosts
Sally, Gail, and Lori Lynn
We hosted a big party this past Friday night outdoors on my patio: 24 people, 5 courses, live music. It was the debut of what we are calling the Sunken City Supper Club. A place to periodically mingle with friends and neighbors – to enjoy the camaraderie, great food, wine, and perhaps a little dancing to the awesome intimate jazz standards performed by Barry Anthony and Bill Ryan. Their band is called The Swing of Things.
Here’s a sweet sample of their music when they play at The Sky Room in Long Beach with the entire band. Please click below to enjoy the tunes while reading the rest of the post, you’ll immediately get the feel of our supper club event!
My friends Gail and Sally and I held three test kitchen dinners with my Brother Bill and Barry and Al to decide on the menu. Then we shopped and cooked and decorated for 4 days. It was a lot of work and a lot of fun.

Organizing the china, glass, and silver.

Rosemary from Gail’s garden with roses from my garden.
Panna Cotta

I thought it might be neat to write about the dessert first.
After trying baked figs, puff pastry, apple crisp, mascarpone sorbet and other ideas in our test kitchen we decided on panna cotta with pomegranate. It was a huge hit!

In addition to trying recipes, we also tried out presentations. We had to be able to execute the dish for 24 guests and be able to get it to the tables in a timely manner, as well as have enough china and silver in my home to serve it uniformly.

Panna Cotta: We began by sprinkling 5 t. powdered gelatin over 6 T. cold water. Then 2/3 c. sugar and 1/8 t. salt are added to 5 c. heavy cream and 1 c. milk in a large pot. Cooked over medium heat to dissolve sugar. When bubbles appear on the edges the gelatin mixture is added, removed from heat, cooled slightly and add vanilla bean seeds from 2 pods. Pour into ramekins, cover, and chill over night. We made 2 batches for 24 servings.
To serve the panna cotta, run a knife around the edge, dip bottom of ramekin in hot water for 5 seconds, then invert onto a plate.
We doubled the usual amount of vanilla bean, which imparted a deep, rich, intense flavor to the “cooked cream.” And the tart bright concentrated flavor of the pomegranate syrup was the perfect for our “Best of Fall” menu, the pomegranate seeds were like little jewels.
Sunken City Supper Club

Please stop by Taste With The Eyes in the next few days for more about Sunken City Supper Club event. Thank you to all our guests, it was such a pleasure having you here! Your enthusiasm, excitement, and participation made this event a super success. We hope to see you at the next supper club gathering soon.
Lastly a special thank you to my Brother Bill, and dear friends Gail and Sally, to fabulous musicians Barry and Bill, and extra helpers Al and Troy and Marlene. What a super team!
More recipes from this event: