Oyster Stew

It was still April when we returned home-- a month with an "R" in it. That meant that if you could find oysters it was o.k. to eat them. I know that some folks say that it is alright to eat them all year long, but I still stick with the received wisdom of the watermen on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Anyway, there I was at the fish monger's and in the case I saw these beautiful Gulf oysters. What could I do? I could just see them in a buttery oyster stew and that is exactly what happened to them.

WATERMAN'S OYSTER STEW

(serves 6 to 8)

• 3 tablespoons butter, plus butter for garnish
  
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped celery
  
• 2 tablespoons fine chopped onion
  
• 1 quart shucked oysters with liquor
  
• 4 cups milk, heated
  
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  
• Dash salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper
  
• Paprika, for garnish
  

In a heavy-bottomed pot melt the butter. Saute the celery and onion until limp. Add the oysters ad their liquor to the pot. Cook only until edges of the oysters begin to curl slightly.

Add the milk and seasonings. heat until the edges of the oyster have curled.

Serve at once. Garnish with a pat of butter and a dusting of paprika.

(John Shields. The Chesapeake Bay Cookbook. Berkley,CA: Aris Books, 1990)