Quarantine Day #7 Oysters

 I hope everyone is hanging in there.  I feel like I am living in one of those scary movies I've avoided watching my entire life.  We are in uncharted territory right now which feels surreal.  Meanwhile, The Chef has provided me with some inventory he has to get rid of while the restaurant is shuttered. These are Fisher Island Oysters.

Fishers Island is an island located at the eastern end of Long Island Sound, 2 miles off the southeastern coast of Connecticut across Fishers Island Sound. About 9 miles long and 1 mile wide, it is about 11 miles from the tip of Long Island at Orient Point, 2 miles each from Napatree Point at the southwestern tip of Rhode Island and Groton Long Point in Connecticut, and about 7 miles southeast of New London, Connecticut. It is accessible from New London by plane and regular ferry service.

 These farmed oysters are amazing.   Just look at these beautiful shells. They actually harvest them per order.  You can get them fresh within 24 hours.

 They have engineered the growth to produce a perfect cup in one side and a perfectly flat shell on the opposite side.

 Oysters are easy to open.  You just slide an oyster knife into the hinge and pop it.

 Then you slide the knife along the top shell which severs the oyster from the top muscle. Then just slide the flat shell to the side and remove it.

 Beautiful.

 Slide the knife under the oyster to cut it away from the other muscle.

You can see the muscle on the flat shell.  Retain the brine along with the oyster in the cup.

 This is my favorite way to prepare and eat oysters....broiled with garlic butter.  You can also chargrill them which makes them even better.

 Arrange the oysters to sit evenly and add some pats of garlic butter.

 Place them in a 450 degree oven for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, sprinkle them with some grated Parmesan cheese and sea salt and cook them an additional 5 minutes. Then I turn on the broiler and leave them there until they start to brown around the edges.

 The oysters absorb the brine and the cheese melts into a delectable coat around each juicy mollusc.

 Don't they look scrumptious?

I served them with some pao de queijo to sop up the juice.

If you want to learn more about these oysters, click on this link:  https://www.fishersislandoysters.com/

I know this is a strange post considering what is going on in the world right now.  I will continue to post on what I am doing each day during this quarantine hoping it will give you a moment of distraction.  I'm still trying to figure out what I am going to do long term.  I think we all need to find something we can do during this down time to help each other.