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    Home » Dinner

    Oyster Stew and Divinity a Mother's Day Guest Post: Three of Mom's Favorite Dishes

    May 13, 2012 by athomewithrebecka 12 Comments

     

     

    Hi, my name is Rebecka Evans. I was deeply honored when Biren asked me to write this guest post while she's away visiting family and friends in Malaysia. I hope to do her blog justice as I try to live up to her impeccable standards!

    I stumbled upon Roti n Rice the first week of my food blogging sojourn. Wowed by her exceptional blogging techniques, recipes and photography skills, it has been a pleasure to have Biren be my unwitting teacher these past two years.  

     

    Biren is a treasured fellow blogger. Thank you my friend!

    It's Mothers Day, and what a perfect opportunity for me to share some delicious food memories with you by recreating three of my mother’s favorite dishes.

    Oyster Stew, homemade Oyster Crackers and Divinity.
    Mom aka Anne, was a masterful home cook. She was always eager to try new and unusual foods, way before they were popular or trendy. Garden to table, her recipes were inventive and delicious. I still remember her fried squash blossoms with a fresh-cut garden salad, sweet hand-picked cherry tomatoes tossed with tender blue sorrel blossoms and spicy chives, all dressed in sweet vinaigrette. While most of our family and friends were eating TV dinners we were enjoying mom's culinary adventures.

    Retired from the kitchen, mom has left preparation of holiday and big family meals to me and my three brothers.  A torch I'm happy to share with future generations.

     

     

     

    Oyster Crackers

    Makes approximately 12 dozen

    Ingredients

    1 ½ cups sifted flour

    ½ teaspoon sugar

    1 teaspoon sea salt

    1 ½ tablespoons cold butter

    1 teaspoon dry active yeast

    1 tablespoons cold water

    ¼ cup plus 3-4 tablespoons cold milk

     

     

    Method

    Preheat oven 400 degrees F.

    • Combine flour, sugar, salt and cold butter in the bowl of an electric stand mixer and pulse until well combined. Mixture will look like coarse sand
    • Add milk, yeast and water and blend until dough comes together, allow the dough to rest 15 minutes at room temperature
    • Roll dough out onto a well floured surface to ¼ inch thickness, cut rounds using the large pastry tip or other small circular cutter
    • Cover ungreased cookie sheet with parchment paper, place dough rounds ¼ - ⅛ inch apart.
    • Bake crackers for 10-15 minutes checking for doneness at 10 minutes. Gently shake the cookie sheet to flip crackers for even browning, sprinkle with additional sea salt to taste and continue cooking until lightly golden browned.

     

    Oyster Stew

    Serves 4

     

    2-8 ounce cans premium oysters in water or 1-½ dozen fresh oysters

    ½ cup white onion chopped

    ½ cup celery chopped

    3 cups half and half

    ¼ cup water

    ¼ cup sherry

    1 teaspoon olive oil

    Butter

    3 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped

    Salt and pepper to taste

     

    Method

    • In a medium heavy bottom sauce pan heat olive oil, add chopped onion and celery and cook until onions are translucent
    • Add oysters and liqueur to saucepan cook for 5 minutes
    • Reduce heat slightly and add half and half, stir to combine
    • Gently cook stew for 20 minutes
    • salt and pepper to taste
    • ladle soup into bowls, drizzle a small amount of sherry over each bowl of stew and garnish with parsley, a dollop of butter and oyster crackers
    • Optional: add the oyster liquid, half and half and water to cooked onion and celery, reserve oysters and set aside until ready to use. Cook broth on medium heat to a soft boil. In small batches, purée the liquid and vegetables until smooth. Return liquid to stock pot, add oysters and heat to soft boil.
    • Garnish as above and serve

    Divinity!

    Generally classified as a candy, fudge and sometimes used in a candy roll, Divinity is similar to nougat but lighter in texture; a cloud of soft sweetness with a pecan crunch. I guarantee this simply made candy will satisfy your biggest sweet tooth!

     

     

    Divinity

    Makes 1 ½ dozen

     

    3 cups granulated sugar

    ½ cup light corn syrup

    ⅔ cup warm water

    2 egg whites

    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

    ⅛ teaspoon almond extract

    1 cup chopped pecans or almonds

    Method

    • Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and spraying the paper with cooking spray
    • Combine sugar, corn syrup and water in a large heavy bottom saucepan over medium heat. Cook stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves. Continue cooking without stirring until the mixture reaches 250 degrees on a candy thermometer, firm ball stage.
    • While sugar mixture is cooking, beat egg whites in a stand mixer until stiff peaks form. Slowly pour about half of the sugar mixture into the egg whites constantly beating on low spread
    • Place saucepan back on burner and continue cooking until it reaches 270 degrees, soft crack stage
    • Stream remaining mixture into egg whites constantly beating on low spread until all the mixture is incorporated.
    • Scrape sides of bowl and mix on medium for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture holds it's shape
    • mix in vanilla and almond extracts and nuts until well combined
    • Use 2 teaspoons, one to push the mixture from the other. Drop teaspoonful onto cookie sheet, let cool
    • Divinity can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks

    Note: Divinity is a bit tricky when attempted in damp condition. Save this recipe for a sunny dry day.

    Biren and loyal followers of Roti n Rice, Thank you! It's been a pleasure sharing my mom's favorite recipes with you today!

    Happy Mother's Day!

     

     

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    1. Anonymous

      May 21, 2012 at 8:07 am

      nice idea.. thanks for sharing.

      Reply
    2. Rebecka Evans

      May 18, 2012 at 10:03 pm

      Cooking Rookie, so happy to visit your blog!What's Baking, Thanks for stopping by. I hope you had a great Mother's Day!!

      Reply
    3. What's Baking??

      May 17, 2012 at 1:21 pm

      Hello Rebecka, your stew looks fantastic. I've never tasted an oyster stew and just by looking at your picture, I could almost taste the creaminess of the oyster. Happy Mother's Day to you!

      Reply
    4. Cooking Rookie

      May 15, 2012 at 4:39 pm

      Hi Rebecca, Thank you so much for visiting my blog and for your kind words :-). It's an honor to hear that from a wonderful cook like you! Love your blog and your recipes.

      Reply
    5. Rebecka Evans

      May 15, 2012 at 3:50 pm

      RecipeNewZ, Thank you for checking out my blog and the invite to your new site. I'm always thrilled to meet a fellow food blogger and I can't wait to see what RecipeNewZ has to offer!

      Reply
    6. RecipeNewZ

      May 14, 2012 at 9:10 pm

      Hi Rebecka, This is such a great post! I just read the recipe on Biren's blog, and I am so impressed! Everything sounds so delicious! And I am particularly impressed with the crackers, it always seemed to me impossible to make them at home. And now I can't wait to try :-)I would like to invite you to share this recipe (and other posts 🙂 ) on a new photo based recipe sharing site that launched only this Monday. The idea is simple: all recipe photographs are published within minutes of submission. And, of course, the images link back to the author's site. It's called RecipeNewZ (with Z) - http://recipenewz.com I hope you get a chance to visit and to share some of your delicious posts with our viewers. It would be a pleasure to have you on board 🙂

      Reply
    7. Rebecka Evans

      May 14, 2012 at 5:17 pm

      Hi Joy, Shirley, Thank you for your support and sweet comments! You both mean the world to me!Kitchen Riff, Thank you and welcome to my blog! I'm happy to meet you and look forward to viewing your blog as well!

      Reply
    8. Kitchen Riffs

      May 14, 2012 at 4:16 pm

      Love this post! I found you through Biren's blog. Really nice blog — I'll be back. Glad I found you.

      Reply
    9. Shirley Tay

      May 14, 2012 at 2:01 pm

      Lovely recipe & Happy Mother's Day to u, Rebecka! I'm one who can never resist oysters & this is so divine!

      Reply
    10. kitchen flavours

      May 14, 2012 at 11:52 am

      Hi Rebecka,Great guest post! Came over from Biren's! Happy Mother's Day, Rebecka!

      Reply
    11. Rebecka Evans

      May 13, 2012 at 8:03 pm

      Biren, it's my pleasure! The post looks beautiful, thank you! Happy Mother's Day.

      Reply
    12. Biren @ Roti n Rice

      May 13, 2012 at 1:50 pm

      Thank you so much for your lovely guest post! I am happy to feature you and it is such a treat for my readers to get to know you. Wishing you a wonderful Mother's Day!Hugs always,Biren xx

      Reply

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    Rebecka Evans HeadShot Knives

    Home with Rebecka.

    Since 2010, this blog has been my cozy corner of the internet. I'm Rebecka, a wife, mother, grandmother, and an award-winning competitive cook.

    Together with my husband, Blake, I'm on a culinary journey of comfort and style here in Denver, Colorado. Our family is a blend of five grown children and eight beautiful grandchildren.

    The joy of creating recipes, competing in cooking challenges, and mastering the art of food photography and styling has always been a labor of love.

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