Recipe - Oysters Alvin

1 small Dozen oysters; shucked
2 cup Flour
2 cup Peanut oil; for frying
One fourth Stick butter
4 lg Mushrooms; cut or sliced up
One fourth cup Basic "Brown Soup Stock"
or canned beef broth
One half Lemon; juice of
Salt & freshly ground black
pepper to taste (about 1/4
tsp each)
One fourth teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspoon Chopped parsley

The Bon Ton restaurant in New Orleans is one of my favorite places for
really fine food. The bills are not high, the staff is terrific, and the
food is generally outstanding. Oh, they have some off nights like all
restaurants seem to have, but I have a better time more often at the Bon
Ton than just about any place I can name in New Orleans. The food is Cajun
and the whole operation is a delight. During one of my recent pilgrimages
Wayne Pierce, the proprietor, brought me a new dish and asked me what I
thought. He had developed it in terms of Cajun flavors and named it after
the original owner of this old New Orleans restaurant. He gave me the
recipe and the results will convince you that you should take the next
flight to New Orleans, or learn to do more Cajun cooking at home. Actually,
this dish is not at all complex.

Dredge the oysters in the flour. Deepfry in hot oil (350ø) until golden
brown. Set aside.

Melt the margarine in a large skillet and saut‚ the mushrooms until just
barely soft. Add the beef stock along with the lemon juice. Simmer 2
minutes. Place the oysters in the skillet. Sprinkle with the salt, pepper,
and paprika. Place under a broiler until the oysters are crisp. Do not
stir. Serve crisp side up in sauce. Sprinkle parsley over the top.

You may wish to correct the seasoning in the sauce or you may wish to
remove the crisp oysters to a platter and reduce the sauce.

This can be served as an appetizer or main course. If serving as a main
course, start with Backwoods Gumbo and then serve Dirty Rice (see recipes)
with the oysters.

Serves 34 as a first course or 2 for dinner.

From The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American. Downloaded from Glen's MM Recipe
Archive, http://www.erols.com/hosey.