
Antoine's Restaurant is one of New Orleans' most famous restaurants. It opened its doors in 1840, and is credited with originating Oysters Rockefeller. Last weekend, Mr. Rockefeller and everything else in the building was consumed in celebration of our friends, Lizzie Schott and Craig Webb.

Mollie and I thought two weddings in one day would kill us. After enjoying the first wedding and reception (which was fantastic), we headed to the church for our second ceremony of the day. The ceremony was wonderful, but I was quickly losing steam before we made it to Antoine's. In a moment of weakness, I actually questioned my reception stamina....then I walked in...

Let me say this....Antoine's is not a tiny building (it takes up the majority of a city block), and the entire downstairs was closed for the reception. We walked into the front doors and Mollie gave me the order to fetch her one of the 3 million glasses of champagne that were welcoming guests. I was very careful as I proceeded with my mission, as the entrance room also served as the cake room. I have a phobia of being the fat guy that trips and takes out the wedding cake, and this particular cake had a gravitational pull.














- Two dozen fresh oysters on the half shell, oyster liquor reserved
- 4 springs flat-leaf Italian parsley
- 4 green onions (including the green part)
- A handful of fresh celery leaves
- At least 6 fresh tarragon leaves
- At least 6 fresh chervil leaves
- 1/2 cup dried FRESH French bread crumbs
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Hot sauce, to taste
- 2 tablespoons Herbsaint or Pernod (optional)
- Rock salt or kosher salt
Mince together the parsley, green onions, celery leaves, tarragon and chervil as finely as you possibly can (more than you ever have...almost to the point of mush).
Mix minced mixture together with the bread crumbs and the softened butter into a mortar and mix the whole thing together into a smooth paste, but leave a little texture (a blender or food processor can be used, but much gets stuck behind). Season to taste with salt and pepper, hot sauce and Herbsaint (if desired).
Preheat broiler. Lower the top rack to the middle of the oven. Spread the rock salt (preferable) or kosher salt over a large baking sheet to keep the oysters at the same height (and stable) under the broiler. Moisten the salt very slightly by sprinkling a very small amount of water. Plant the shells in the salt, making sure they are level. Place one oyster in each shell, plus a little bit of oyster liquor. Spoon an equal amount of the prepared herb/butter mixture over each oyster. Broil on middle rack until the edges of the oysters have curled and the herb butter is bubbling, about five minutes. Serve immediately.
SUCH a great post, Jodes! You and Mollie's pictures are treasures for us....and you did the wedding such justice! xoxo
ReplyDeleteJody, you have outdone yourself with this post!
ReplyDeleteOoh! She is wearing sneakers. That is the coolest thing I have seen so far. Congratulations to this amazing couple. I also want to look cool on my wedding. My fiancé is definitely going to wear converse because he simply loves it. Also, we have selected one of the outdoor Seattle Wedding venues, the pictures are going to come out really good.
ReplyDelete