Recipe - Creole Ginger Cake

1 tablespoon Olive oil
1/8 teaspoon Crushed red pepper
1/3 cup Chopped red onion
1 teaspoon Chopped garlic
2 teaspoon Fresh thyme; chopped a bit
2 tablespoon Dry sherry
1 pn Black pepper
1 pn Salt
2 dr Tabasco
One half cup Heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoon Flour
One half cup Fresh chopped tomato
One half teaspoon Lemon juice
1 cn (14oz.) artichoke hearts;
drained, rinsed, and
quartered
1 pt Fresh oysters; drained
1/3 cup Fresh chopped parsley
One half cup Fresh bread crumbs; lightly
toasted
cup Grated Swiss cheese
Sprinkle of paprika

This recipe, created by Dave Carlson, was the winner in an oystercooking
competition held by the Louisiana Seafood Marketing Board and Drago's
Restaurant. We had about fifty diners in the room that night, each of whom
was served portions of the top three entrants in a contest that drew over a
hundred recipes from my radio audience. The scores were very close (they
really wereI'm not just trying to make the others feel good), and this
was the winner.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

1. Coat an oval gratin dish (about 12 by 8 inches) with butter or oil.

2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. When it shimmers, add
the crushed red pepper, red onion and garlic and cook until the onion turns
clear.

3. Add the sherry and bring to a boil for about a minute. Then add the
thyme, salt and pepper, Tabasco, and cream. Return to a boil. Sprinkle in
the flour and lightly whisk into the sauce.

4. Lower the heat and add the tomato, lemon juice, artichokes, oysters, and
parsley. Agitate the pan to mix all the ingredients, then remove from the
heat.

5. Pour the oyster mixture into the gratin dish. Sprinkle the top with
bread crumbs, then Swiss cheese, and finally paprika.

6. Lower the oven to 375 degrees and bake the grain about 25 minutes, till
it bubbles around the edges and the top is browned. Serves four to eight.

Posted to recipeludigest by "Joe" Broutek@worldnet.att.net on Mar 2,
1998