Post Thanksgiving Oysters

After feasting for two days on turkey, stuffing, and all the trimmings, we decided on day 3 to get away to Pt. Reyes in Western Marin.

photo by Ellen Goldstein

Thanksgiving day was overcast and chilly, but two days later the weather was sunny and warm. I packed up some goat cheese and crackers plus food for our puppy Biscuit and we drove to Dan and Ellen's house in San Rafael. The four of us set out for Tomales Bay Oyster Company in Marshall, CA where we purchased 5 dozen medium size oysters. The picnic area was packed with people so we decided to take our BBQ to a nearby park.

We were thrilled to find an unoccupied barbeque. We fired up the grill and strolled down to the beach on the shore of Tomales Bay. After a few steps on the trail we spotted a much better site - a picnic table under some trees, on a small knoll overlooking the bay.

We moved to the new spot, let Biscuit off leash to romp in the sand, uncorked a nice bottle of Chardonnay and garnished the barbequed oysters with fresh squeezed lemon, a few drops of chipotle sauce and some cocktail sauce. HEAVEN!


Later in the afternoon the sun turned everything golden and shimmery; the water was sparkling and the surroundings aglow. It was jaw-droppingly gorgeous.

The next day, I prepared baked oysters with the few that survived our Walrus and the Carpenter-like assault.

I only had 6 oysters, so I used 1/3 of the ingredients here, but you'll want to make much more than 6, so here is a recipe using 2 dozen shucked oysters.

• 2 tb. butter
• 4 cloves garlic; finely chopped
• 2 tb fresh parsley; finely chopped
• 3 tb parmesan cheese; grated
• 2 tb butter; cut in pieces
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 24 shucked oysters

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
In a skillet, melt butter, add bread crumbs and garlic. Toss 2-3 minutes until golden. Stir in parsley and grated cheese. Put oysters on a baking sheet. Sprinkle mixture on oysters. Dot the top with butter.
Bake oysters in oven for 12 - 15 minutes until the tops are golden and the juices in the oyster shells are bubbling. Serve at once.