The Apalachicola Seafood Festival is the largest and longest-running seafood festival in Florida, and it’s always the first weekend of November. So in honor of the awesome Apalachicola oyster, here’s my favorite way to cook some up when I’ve had my fill of raw ones.  I wanted an over-the-top comfort food oyster stew and this is what I came up with.  Don’t let the list of ingredients intimidate you - it actually goes together quite quickly.

2 slices bacon, diced
1/2 C butter
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
3 T Wondra flour
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 healthy pinch of cayenne
1/2 t dried thyme
1 8-oz. bottle clam juice
1/4 C dry sherry
1 1/2 C heavy cream
1 12-oz. can evaporated milk
16 oz. shucked oysters with their liquor
3 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1/2 C parsley, finely chopped

• Saute diced bacon in a non-stick soup pot over low heat until rendered.  Add butter and heat until melted.
• Add onions, celery and garlic and continue to cook over low heat, stirring occasinally, until translucent, taking care not to let them brown.
• Add salt and pepper to taste, pinch of cayenne, thyme and Wondra flour or other fine white flour, whisking steadily to make a light roux.  Cook, whisking steadily, for several minutes.
• Slowly whisk in clam juice, whisking until smooth, then sherry, again whisking until smooth.
• Whisk in cream, whisking until smooth, then whisk in evaporated milk, whisking until smooth.  Raise heat slightly, stir while bringing just to where it starts to boil, then quickly lower the heat and whisk until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in oysters with their liquor, several dashes of Worcestershire sauce and the chopped parsley.
• Continue to heat, stirring occasionally, until oysters curl at the edges indicating they are heated through.

This is delicious served with black beans and rice as side dishes.  My husband raves about this recipe which I made up while looking for an alternative to chicken to accompany rice and beans.  

1/2 C butter
6 mushrooms, sliced thin
3 scallions, sliced thin, green part included
1 tomato, diced
1 t crushed fresh garlic
*1 T fish sauce  (see note)
1 fresh lemon, juice of
1/3 C dry Vermouth
1 lb. medium shrimp, shelled & deveined
1 dash of Old Bay Seasoning
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1. Melt butter in large skillet. Add mushrooms, scallions, tomato and garlic. Saute over medium heat until limp.
2. Add fish sauce, lemon juice and vermouth.  Simmer for several minutes to allow flavors to develop.
3. Add shrimp and cook until just pink, stirring occasionally.  Sprinkle with Old Bay and season to taste with salt and pepper.

NOTE:  Fish sauce, also called nam pla or nuoc cham, is a salty, light-brown liquid made from fermented anchovies. It’s a cornerstone of southeast Asian flavors, but use it sparingly, as its flavors are strong. Look for it in Asian markets or in the international section of your grocery store, and keep it in your pantry away from heat and light (it’ll keep a long time). If you can’t find it, substitute soy sauce.

Andrea has brought these to several functions and they’re always a big hit.  Easy and delicious.  

1 stalk celery diced small
1 small onion diced small
1/2 small green pepper diced small
2 t olive oil
1/2 C dried bread crumbs
1 egg 1/2 C mayonnaise
1/2 t prepared mustard (I used Grey Poupon and would add more the next time)
1 t seasoned salt
2 C or 1 lb. crab meat  

1. Use foil shells or clean and prepare 10 crab shells or use small baking dish.  Spray with Pam.  
2. Saute celery, onion, and green pepper in pan with olive oil.  Cool.  
3. Mix remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl and then mix in sauted vegetables when they are cool.  Place in shells or baking container.  Brush with butter (I topped with fresh bread crumbs and butter). 
4. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.

This was the soup course Wanda assigned to Rod and I the night she hosted dinner club with a 1905 theme.  Everyone agreed this was the one recipe they would want to make again.

50 large clams (I buy them already shucked from Seafood 2 Go in Apalach)
4 T butter
4 T flour
3 C of milk
2 small slices of onion
Dash of nutmeg (freshly ground if you have it)
Salt and pepper
1 C of cream

• Strain liquor from clams; set aside. Pulse clams in food processor until pureed.
• Put the milk in the top of a double-broiler with the onion slices.
• Put the butter in a frying pan and when it bubbles, stir in the flour and let it cook a few minutes, but not brown; add enough of the milk slowly to make a roux liquid.
• Remove the onion slices from the double broiler. Add the roux to the milk in the double broiler.
• Add a dash each of nutmeg and pepper, then stir in the cream.
• When ready to serve, stir in the clam pulp and one pint of the liquor; taste to see if salt is needed. After the clams are added to the milk, leave it on the heat only long enough to get well heated; if boiled the milk will curdle.

This recipe makes about 60, but if that’s how many you need to serve, better make a double batch as they have a tendency to disappear as soon as you take them out of the oven.  These are addictive! 

1 C water
1/2 C butter or margarine
1 C all-purpose flour
¼  t salt
4 eggs
½  C fresh oysters — rinsed and drained
cocktail sauce

• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Heat water and margarine to rolling boil in saucepan; stir in flour and salt. Stir vigorously over low heat until mixture forms a ball, about 1 minute; remove from heat.
• Beat in eggs, one at a time; continue beating until smooth. Stir in oysters.
• Drop dough by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 25 minutes, or until puffed and golden. Serve hot with cocktail sauce, preferably Ed’s Red, if you’re lucky enough to have some!

Makes 60 appetizers

Julia and I served this for Super Bowl Sunday with fresh oysters we had gathered from Apalachicola Bay only an hour before.  We about had a riot on our hands trying to keep them coming to the table fast enough for the guys to scarf down.

1 pint shucked oysters
1 C Wondra flour
1 C all-purpose flour
3/4 C yellow cornmeal
2 t Old Bay Seasoning
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/2 t fresh ground pepper
2 eggs
1/4 C evaporated milk
3-5 dashes Tabasco sauce
vegetable oil (for frying)
1 C Hellmann’s mayonnaise
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 t prepared wasabi (Japanese green horseradish) or to taste

• Mix together the flour, cornmeal, spices, salt and pepper in a bowl.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and Tabasco.
• Dredge the oysters first in the Wondra, shake off the excess, then dredge in the liquid, shake off the excess, then dredge in flour mixture and shake off the excess.
• Heat oil in a deep fryer to 375 degrees. Fry oysters, 10 at a time (to keep the oil from cooling too rapidly) until puffy and golden brown, about 2 minutes.
• Remove with a slotted spoon, drain well on a cooling rack over paper towels, and salt to taste.
• Meanwhile, while oysters are cooking, make the wasabi aioli
• Mix together the Hellman’s mayonnaise, 2 cloves crushed garlic and wasabi to taste.
  Arrange cooked oysters on a serving plate with a bowl of the aioli and stand by for raves.

When you live on Cape San Blas you can never have enough great scallop recipes, especially during the summer when scallop season is open and we can pull bucketloads of the fresh and tasty blue-eyed bivalves from St. Joe Bay.

1 lb scallops
1/2 C dry white wine
1 lg onion
1/2 C shredded Swiss Cheese
2 T butter
1 T snipped parsley
1/4 C flour
3 ½ C half & half
4 oz. can mushrooms, drained
1 t salt
dash pepper

1. Cut onion into thin wedges and cook in butter, covered, over low heat 15 minutes, or until tender, stirring occasionally.
2. Stir in flour, add half & half and cook and stir over med heat until bubbly. Add mushrooms, scallops, salt & pepper.
3. Cover & simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in wine. Sprinkle cheese and parsley on top.

Serves 6

Perfect for a casual get together with friends.  All you need to compete this feast is a fresh tossed salad and some ice cold beer. 

1 C butter, melted
1 C margarine, melted
1/2 C Worcestershire sauce
1/4 C lemon juice
1/4 C ground pepper
2 t hot sauce
2 t salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
5 lbs. unpeeled medium-size fresh shrimp
2 lemons, thinly sliced
French bread

1. Combine first 8 ingredients; pour half of mixture in a large ceramic heat¬proof dish. Layer shrimp and lemon slices in sauce; pour remaining sauce over shrimp and lemon.
2. Bake, uncov¬ered, at 400° for 20 minutes or until shrimp are pink, stirring twice.
3. Drain sauce, and serve with shrimp and French bread.

Serves 6 to 8

1/2 C EVOO
1/2 lb. shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, caps thickly sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 bunch scallions, white and light green part only
1 large hot red chile, seeded and thinly sliced
2 dozen littleneck clams, scrubbed
1 1/4 C dry, fruity white wine
1 lb. shelled and deveined medium shrimp
Crusty bread, for serving

1. In a large deep skillet, heat the extra­ virgin olive oil until shimmering. Add the shiitake mushrooms and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the scallions and chile and cook for 2 minutes, until just softened.
2. Add the clams and wine and cook uncovered, stirring, until half of the clams are opened, about 4 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring, until all of the clams are open and the shrimp are pink and cooked through, about 4 minutes longer. Serve in deep bowls with crusty bread to sop up the sauce.