Baked Oysters With Wild Mushroom Ragout Food

CREAMY WILD MUSHROOM RAGOUT

Steps:

• Heat olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in mushrooms with a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until any liquid evaporates and mushrooms are light brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add 1/2 tablespoon butter and shallots; cook, stirring, until mushrooms are caramelized and almost tender, about 10 minutes.
• Drizzle in Cognac and vinegar; cook until liquid evaporates, 1 minute. Stir in creme fraiche.
• Stir in chicken broth, marjoram, and salt and black pepper to taste. Reduce heat to medium-low, cook until slightly thickened and mushrooms are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

MUSHROOM RAGU

Steps:

• In a large skillet heat the oil. When almost smoking, add the onions and garlic over medium-low heat until the onions have wilted, about 8 minutes. Add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Raise heat to high and saute until mushrooms are tender and all the liquid has evaporated. Remove pan from heat and pour in Marsala. Return pan to stove and allow wine to evaporate, about 3 minutes. Add chicken broth and simmer for 1/2 hour until the sauce has reduced by half. Add heavy cream and mix well. Take the pan off the heat and add the fresh herbs and Parmesan and mix thoroughly.

MUSHROOM RAGOUT

Steps:

• In a small bowl, soak the porcini mushrooms in 1 1/2 cups hot water until softened, 15 minutes.
• In a large skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat. Add one-third of the assorted mushrooms, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, 4 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove mushrooms to a plate and repeat twice with remaining mushrooms. Return all cooked mushrooms to skillet.
• Drain porcini mushrooms, reserving liquid, and coarsely chop. Add porcini, shallot and garlic to mushrooms and cook over moderate heat, stirring, 3 minutes. Strain porcini liquid over mushroom mixture, stopping before adding any grit or sand. Boil over high heat 4 minutes, or until reduced by half. Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and fold in remaining 1 tablespoon butter.

"FRANK'S BAKED OYSTERS" WITH MUSHROOMS, GARLIC BREAD CRUMBS, AND ROMANO CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Saute the mushrooms: Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and the black pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mushrooms become soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Refrigerate the mushrooms until thoroughly chilled. Coarsely chop the mushrooms and set aside. Dry roast the anise seeds: Cook the anise seeds in a small dry skillet over medium heat just until they start to turn color and release their aroma, 2 to 3 minutes. Crush the anise seeds with a rolling pin and set aside. In a mixing bowl, add the bread crumbs, cheese, thyme, oregano, red pepper flakes, paprika, garlic, chopped mushrooms, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt, anise, and the remaining 3/4 cup olive oil. Blend well using your hands. Top each oyster on the half shell with 2 to 3 tablespoons of the bread crumb mixture. Bake oysters until piping hot, 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

MUSHROOM RAGOûT

Steps:

• Place the dried mushrooms in a pyrex measuring cup or a bowl and pour on 2 cups boiling water. Let soak 30 minutes, while you prepare the other ingredients. Place a strainer over a bowl, line it with cheesecloth or paper towels, and drain the mushrooms. Save the liquid. Squeeze the mushrooms over the strainer and rinse until they are free of sand. Chop coarsely.
• Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large, heavy skillet or a wide saucepan and add the shallots or onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, stir together for about 30 seconds, until fragrant, then add the fresh mushrooms, rosemary and thyme, and turn up the heat slightly. Cook until the mushrooms begin to sweat, then add a generous pinch of salt. Stir for about 5 minutes over medium-high heat as the mushrooms continue to soften and sweat. Add the flour and continue to cook the mushrooms, stirring, until they have softened a little more and you can no longer see the flour, about 2 minutes. Add the reconstituted dried mushrooms and the wine and turn the heat to high. Cook, stirring, until the liquid boils down and glazes the mushrooms, about 5 minutes. Stir in the dried mushroom soaking liquid, bring to a simmer, add salt to taste, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until the mushrooms are thoroughly tender and fragrant and the surrounding broth is thick, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in some freshly ground pepper and the parsley, taste and adjust salt.

BAKED OYSTERS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spread salt in a shallow baking dish. Nestle oysters in their bottom shells in the salt.
• In a bowl, combine breadcrumbs, mustard, parsley, and butter; season with pepper. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon mixture on each oyster; top with bacon pieces.
• Bake until oysters curl and topping browns, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve immediately with lemon wedges.