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Cookbook review: 'The Hog Island Oyster Lover's Cookbook,' by Jairemarie Pomo
By Bob Piper
Contributor
May 13, 2008
The following review is by a reader who was given a cookbook from this newspaper. The included recipes were selected and prepared by the reader.
For those who love them, there is nothing more delightful than the delicate, briny flavor of a fresh Bay Area oyster. Add a little sauce and what you have is a perfect treat on the half-shell.
Since that's the way oysters are usually served, I was especially curious about the book "The Hog Island Oyster Lover's Cookbook," which included 17 different sauce recipes, plus several tempting recipes for cooking oysters that seemed so unusual that I wanted to give them a try.
I drove to the coast and picked up some oysters in order to make two recipes; Real Oysters Rockefeller and Serrano Ham-Wrapped Oysters with Chipotle Mayonnaise. Sadly, I was unimpressed with either recipe.
The first, a serious deviation from traditional recipes for Oysters Rockefeller that I have tried in the past, completely drowned the oysters in the flavors of sauteed onion, parsley, tarragon, chervil and bread crumbs. The second dish had great flavors, but these, too, overpowered the oysters.
Disappointed, I decided to try some of the sauce recipes in the book, which turned out great. I put these sauces on extra-small or small oysters, which I think have the best flavor. I may give the idea of cooked oysters one more try by making either the oyster chowder or the oyster gumbo, but I may not.
Want to be a critic? We'll give you a new cookbook to review. Contact jthym@bayareanewsgroup.com .
BOOK: "The Hog Island Oyster Lover's Cookbook" ($19.95, Ten Speed Press, 176 pages), 40 recipes AUTHOR: Jairemarie Pomo REVIEWER: Bob Piper of Pleasanton
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