OYSTERS ROCKEFELLER

One of our nation's most popular fine dining traditions is Oysters Rockefeller. This baked oyster dish appears on many seafood menus across the nation and nearly all of them feature fresh shucked oysters, parmesan, bacon, and spinach. But what do we really know about Oysters Rockefeller? Where did it get its name? And would you be surprised to know that the dish you are ordering is perhaps not the real Oysters Rockefeller?

Oysters Rockefeller was created in 1889 in New Orleans, by Jules Alciatore. Jules' father, Antoine, is the namesake of the world renown French Quarter restaurant, Antoine's. Since 1840, Antoine had been serving Snails Bourgignon, an homage to his French homeland. However, at the turn of the century, after his son Jules had taken over the restaurant, there was a shortage of snails in the US. That, combined with a decline in the American taste for escargot, led Jules to search for a compromise. In 1899, Jules substituted fresh local Gulf oysters for the snails, and Oysters Rockefeller was born.

The recipe for Antoine's Oysters Rockefeller is a closely guarded secret. So secret, that only the family members know it and over the course of the last 100 years, no one has divulged even a hint. What is known is that Jules wanted the dish to have a green color, so as to represent greenbacks. Also, the richness of the sauce led to the name of the dish, which honored the richest man in the US at the time: John D. Rockefeller. However, the Antoine's version of the Rockefeller does not include spinach, like all imitators do. No one knows exactly how the green enters the dish, but it is commonly argued that the color is provided by the presence of scallions, parsley, watercress, or perhaps all three. A little Herbsaint (an anise-flavored liquor resembling Pernod) is added in the baking, as well as cheese and a thick butter sauce with bread crumbs. At Antoine's, they are listed on the menu as Huitres en Coquille a la Rockefeller.

What we commonly order at just about every other restaurant is actually a variation on the Italian oyster dish Ostriche alla Fiorentina, which notably uses spinach.

Here at blu seafood and bar, we proudly serve our Oysters Rockefeller with freshly shucked oysters from Appalachicola, Florida. For the topping, we reduce shallots and white wine, reduce heavy cream, add fresh spinach and parmesan cheese, then puree the mixture. That is ladled over the oyster while still in its half-shell, then topped with rendered apple-wood smoked bacon and freshly grated parmesan-reggiano cheese. A squeeze of lemon and a few minutes under the broiler are all that's left and voila: Oysters Rockefeller!

HINT: An order of Oysters Rockefeller is only $5 if you order it during our Happy Hour from 5-7 at the bar at blu. And when the menu changes for the Spring on April 7, Oysters Rockefeller will still be on the menu!