What to Serve with Caviar

What to Serve with Caviar

Champagne and Caviar

What to Serve with Caviar?

Caviar is always a good idea. And they don’t always have to be the most expensive fish eggs on the block. A jaunty presentation with several great accompaniments, and a favorite sparkling wine or chilled vodka can make for a most memorable experience.

Purists prefer to eat expensive caviar off the back of the hand, between the index finger and thumb so as to enjoy that pure unadulterated burst of the sea.

But it is also quite fun to put out many accompaniments and let your guests experiment with their own special pairings and combinations. Try fresh-shucked oysters with a dollop of crème fraîche topped with caviar. Or maybe a warm blini with butter, hard-cooked egg yolk and finely minced onion with caviar on top…

Perhaps 2021 will be a year to indulge and to allow oneself to enjoy life’s finer pleasures… and not wait for a special occasion?

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Holiday Entertaining: Oysters and Caviar

Holiday Entertaining: Oysters with Caviar

Holiday Entertaining
Oysters and Caviar

For the holiday season we’re serving a most thrilling luxury, the world’s most sublime delicacy – the roe of a mature sturgeon!

It’s a connoisseur’s dream – a fresh shucked oyster topped with crème fraîche and a generous dollop of royal ossetra caviar.

Elegant jewel-like eggs with that fabulous, famous burst of the sea sit atop a crisp, firm-textured bivalve with a sweet aftertaste that sparkles with salinity. Crème fraîche adds a nuanced enhancement to the roe with its creamy tang. Pulling out all the stops, this opulence-in-a-shell is paired with Champagne to complement the caviar’s briny zest.

Exquisitely rich, gloriously complex, utterly delectable. Happy Holidays, my friends!

Holiday Entertaining: Oysters with Caviar

Oysters and Caviar

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Start the Party with Grilled Oysters!

grilled oysters
Oysters on the Grill

 

“Gimme oysters and beer

For dinner every day of the year

And I’ll feel fine… I’ll feel fine”

Jimmy Buffett

 

We’re right in the middle of grilling season. This year, in addition to the usual steaks and burgers, why not change things up and throw some live oysters on the grill?

On the barbecue, oysters take a few minutes to heat up and once hot, they are much easier to shuck than the live ones. Cooked oysters are a great way to introduce tentative guests to the spell of the oyster cult. Sputtering and popping oysters on the grill are a terrific way to get the party started.

That old admonition to eat oysters in months that are only spelled with the letter “r” is no longer applicable. Oysters begin to spawn when the water temperature rises. Spawning oysters, while not inedible, are unpleasant and milky. Some oysters are bred to be incapable of spawning so these are consumed all year long. Additionally, during the hot months, vendors can easily import oysters from cooler regions where they are not spawning. Nowadays, there are so many areas where oysters are farmed, it is not difficult to find non-spawning oysters year round.

Six Toppings for Hot Oysters

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BBQ Oysters, Sriracha Butter

bbq oysters sriracha butter
BBQ Oysters with Sriracha Butter
(Another Thanksgiving Tradition)

bbq oysters

This year’s oyster selection:

Blue Point ~ An exceptional Atlantic oyster from Long Island with a crisp texture, gorgeous salinity and hints of celery.

Malaspina ~ a sweet,  mild Pacific oyster from British Columbia with a distinct watermelon-rind aroma and creamy-white flesh.

Luna ~ a Pacific oyster with delicate meats from Southern California with flavors of crisp melon and a salty cold finish.

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The Gratitude Tree & Holiday Appetizers

The Gratitude Tree
The Gratitude Tree

After a decade of sharing our Thanksgiving gratitude on place-cards, we have a spiffy new ambassador for sharing our thankfulness! It’s a Gratitude Tree. In the past, we would put a place-card and pen on the table at every setting. During the beginning of the meal everyone was encouraged to write their sentiments on the card. We saved these cards year after year so each guest could reflect on past years’ appreciation.

This year everyone gets a personalized paper leaf on which they can express their gratitude. Then after dinner, the leaves are hung on the tree. Guests can read and share tributes throughout the week. We’ll save the leaves, which will re-appear on the tree in years to come…as our tree blooms with an abundance of joy, thankfulness, and gratefulness.

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