MMMM More Oysters

Just what I need, another food blog to follow. At least this one is all about my favorite thing, OYSTERS.

Drippy Drippy Ocean Water

Despite what I've heard on the bus to First Hill lately, Leap Year comes around every four years (not 20) and wouldn't you know, family dinner fell on the special day! To be honest, until arriving at Ted & Johnnie's house, I could have counted 2/29/12 as a wash and pretended it never happened. I might have almost really screwed up the database at work, oops! But the database got fixed and I made my way to Green Lake, knowing a hooch cocktail would turn the day around.

What I did not expect were dozens of OYSTERS!!!!!!! Forget the work stress, there were OYSTERS in the house! I swear, someone really likes me (Grandpa) because oysters two weeks in a row is more than I could ask for. We had oysters on the half shell AND baked oysters with bacon aka Oysters Bratrude.

While Ted was stationed over the kitchen sink shucking each little superstar mollusk, I was stationed in the kitchen nook with Grandpa. Turns out this is a great spot to plant yourself for a few reasons. First, you get a front row seat for the appetizers. Slurp, slurp slurp go the fresh Penn Cove gems. Second, people gravitate there to both say hello to Famous and grab a bite of whatever is on display so you get to chat with everyone. And third, when more people squeeze onto the little bench and you are stuck on the inside, people take care of you!

I'm talking cocktails, people. From my stuck position, I was not only able to indulge in a bunch of OYSTERS and catch up with my cousins, but I was also able to try all the beverage available.

• homemade hard cider - Loved it. Good carbonation, right amount of sweet. Nose of kombucha, taste of apples. 
• Ginger liqueur - A little sipper of this one was enough to give you spicy root flavor and smooth heat. 
• Apple Hooch Sour - My favorite. Whatever magic happened with the mixing of citrus and apple hooch made for a delicious drink. That one didn't last in my glass long. It was a long day, people, you understand!

Before we sat down for the main meal, we made a detour to the TV because Evening Magazine was doing a segment on the World Extreme Pencil Fighting League. Thaddeus P. Skrilla (Matt) was the World Champion for about a year, so we gathered around to watch the story.

 

It was fun to see a bunch of my friends on TV and how they edited the event to be TV-appropriate. It's a bar show, it is not that tame. Pencil fighting is every third Thursday at Re-bar.

After getting everything on the table, we all sat down to enjoy Ted's hard work. It was another small group - Grandpa, Ted, Johnnie, Jessie, Morgan, Chelsey, Charlie dog and I. Since I forgot my camera AGAIN Johnnie saved the day with a quick iphone shot. Sorry it's grainy. I promise to do better next time.

The menu included homemade split pea soup, green and purple salad, OYSTERS two ways, baguette, quesadillas, salsa and wine. Everything was delicious. And this is where the story came out about how we got so lucky with oysters round two.

Ted took a bike ride to Cash&Carry a couple days ago with the intention of picking up a couple slabs of ribs for family dinner. As he rode up to the store, he noticed a Penn Cove Shellfish truck parked in front. I don't know if you've every been to Cash&Carry before, but it's not really a Penn Cove-type place. It's more about quantity and savings than exceptional seafood.

So Ted spots the driver and says hi. He asks if he's selling off the back of the truck, and lucky for us, he is! First Ted asked about mussels, but it's mussel season and the guy is fresh out. Then they talk oysters and Ted winds up with 10 dozen, packed in ice. Now remember when I started this story I told you that Ted was on his bicycle? Ya. So getting the surprise oysters home required a bit of finesses.

To avoid Drippy Drippy Ocean Water getting everywhere, Ted had to empty his saddlebag content into his day-pack, fill the saddlebag with oysters, stuff that in his day-pack and shlep the whole bounty home. This is why I love my family. Serious dedication to a great meal.

We had a good laugh about Ted's oyster adventure and everything tasted better to me knowing it was a fluke that I was enjoying oysters for the second week in a row. As we finished up, Jessie was preparing our tasty dessert. There was a quick discussion about whether what we had last week was actually a Kringle. Regardless, we all decided we like the desserts made by our family baker best.

She made us GF vanilla cupcakes with baked bananas and ice cream. So good. The smell of the caramelized bananas was mouth watering and went perfectly with a little more hooch. Jessie admitted it was a bit of a wing-it production and that caused a big laugh since a lot of the Bratrude's follow a recipe about as well as they shy away from food. NOT WELL.

Are you jealous yet?

OMeGa-3 Night

Last night was an OMG dinner for me. And apparently it's one of Grandpa's most requested meals, so I'm glad to know he's consistently suggesting this one.

For starters we had an array of smoked delights: scallops, salmon, halibut and salmon collars with crusty bread and a soft, pungent cheese. Ted made me one of my favorite cocktails, a fresh-squeezed greyhound (that's grapefruit and vodka), but I had to remind myself to drink it. Once I sat down by the apps (yes, I sat down specifically by the apps), the blinders went on and I honed in on all the tasty bites of OMeGa-3 bliss.

As I took liberally to the hors d'oeuvres, the smell of garlic filled the kitchen. My motto is that you can never have too much garlic (thanks dad) and when it comes to PAN-FRIED OYSTERS (!!!!!!!!!!!), that sentiment holds true. Two cast-iron skillets simmered away as the butter, grape seed oil, garlic and oysters bubbled to perfection.

Seriously, guys. FAVORITE MEAL of all time. I could do this one every day and die a happy, happy lady.

Anyways, back to it. As the oysters finished up, we migrated to the table and laissez les bon temps roulez. With all the Mardi Gras chatter on Facebook on Tuesday, I was having a serious po-boy craving and last night's dinner was about as close as I could get without hunting down the Where Ya At Matt New Orleans food truck.

Crusty bread + pan-fried oyster + hot sauce = Family dinner po-boy

Accoutrements included a big green salad, brown rice and a couple bottles of white wine. We had a small group this week with Grandpa, Ted, Johnnie, Jessie, Eddie, Matt and I so the conversation was lively and the full group was chatting over the candlelight.

Hot topics included, but were not limited to Oregon hot springs, gossip for 10-year-olds, proper work attire, how not to cry at a staff meeting, Charlie dog's ability to sniff out the park while in the car and a few blocks away and the virtues of being lucky vs being good, particularly in relation to gambling.

Jess had a busy week so our self-proclaimed Dessertie was in charge of picking out a sweet treat. Lucky for us Grandpa went to Larsen's Bakery and got two Kringles - Apricot and Raspberry. If you are like me and didn't know what a Kringle was, here you go:

The Kringle Story

The Larsen’s Kringle is made in the original Danish way, where the pastry is made out of layers of flaky, buttery crust, enclosing a filling of almond paste and raisins, then topped with sugar and sliced almonds and finally twisted into the traditional pretzel shape.

The Kringle was brought to Denmark by Austrian bakers who were hired to replace Danish Bakers during a strike. Danish bakers were on strike as they wished to be paid in money rather then bed and board. When the Austrians left, they also left behind, the methods of rolling butter between the layers of dough, then letting it rest before shaping and baking.

Danish bakers who immigrated to America brought the Kringle with them, where it has become a favorite pastry. Larsen's Bakery has become renowned for their version of this culinary treat.

In conclusion, I'm pretty sure I went way over my caloric budget yesterday, but in doing so I got a healthy dose of Omega-3s, zinc, iron, laughter, love and hooch.