The Atlantic launches late-night Oyster bar

Oyster lovers can now enjoy can enjoy the pick of Australia’s best rock, flat and black-lipped oysters at the newly opened Champagne and Oyster Bar at The Atlantic at Crown Melbourne.


Newly opened Champagne and Oyster Bar at The Atlantic at The Crown sets up as the Southern Hemisphere's own Oyster shrine

Open until 1am, seven nights a week, Champagne and Oyster Bar centres around the thrill of oyster serving seasonal stand outs that include varieties such as the sweet St Helen’s Moulting Bay, the salty Coffin Bay, the creamy Dunalley shucked to order. Menu staples include oyster shots, the classic Kilpatrick and chef Donovan Cooke’s tempura oyster.

Oysters are accompanied with chilled  Friend & Burrell Superior Osetra Caviar by the spoon and an extensive menu of champagnes, beers and wines, including preferred champagne Laurent Perrier.


Launch event at The Atlantic's Champagne and Oyster bar

Champagne and Oyster Bar executive chef, Donovan Cooke has created a bar menu that includes hot snacks like yakitori skewers, tempura soft shell crab with jalapeño ponzu and the classic Atlantic seafood chowder.

“I wanted to stick with exceptional ingredients, simply and quickly prepared to order. That is the heart of a great bar experience,” said Donovan.

“It’s about serving food that is casual, fast and most importantly bloody good.”


Launch event at The Atlantic's Champagne and Oyster bar

Informal bar and table seating, along with a flaming purple banquette for larger groups have been designed to cater for groups of all sizes and is all complete with in-house DJs and a VIP private room.

Positioned to take in the Yarra River views, the bar oversees an intriguing series of illuminated steps that lead down into The Den, a subterranean New York style bar devised for any combination of nightcap and late-night rendezvous.

“Start with oysters upstairs and see what happens downstairs,” said Hatem Saleh, managing director of the Atlantic Group of Companies advising guests wanting to experience the new bar.

For more information visit www.theatlantic.com.au

Original article online at: www.spicenews.com.au/2011/11/29/article/The-Atlantic-launches-late-night-Oyster-bar/SGOQHGFSIX.html 

Oyster Stuffing for Turkey

We always love when readers send us their favorite oyster recipes, stories, pictures, etc.  Here is a recent email from John C for you to enjoy this Thanksgiving:

For those who want to add a flair to turn that often-bland turkey stuffing into a special treat on Thanksgiving Day, Grand Central Oyster Bar executive chef Sandy Ingber offers Oyster Stuffing for "Turkey-Day." Chef Ingber also recommends Bay Scallops Scampi as an appetizer for the Thanksgiving Day feast, and that recipe is also below, as well.

Oyster Stuffing for Turkey

Yield: enough stuffing for 1 Turkey

Ingredients:

1# loaf of white bread, cut into ½" cubes
2 cups medium diced Spanish onions
1 cup med diced celery
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¾ cup chicken stock
¼ cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
24 pieces of shucked Bluepoint oysters

Directions:

1) Dry cut bread cubes overnight or toast in a low temp oven until crisp. Melt ½ the butter in a medium skillet. Add onions and celery, cooking until onions are translucent about 5 minutes. Add garlic, sage, thyme and nutmeg; cook for 30 seconds more.

2) Combine cooked vegetables with bread cubes, parsley, stock, milk and eggs, mixing gently. Fold in Oysters. Season with salt and pepper. This stuffing can be made up to 2 days in advance. If not stuffing into poultry for roasting, transfer mixture to a large oiled baking dish, dot surface with pats of remaining butter. Take a piece of wax paper and lightly oil both sides and place of top of stuffing. Bake in a 350 degree oven until crisp on top and stuffing temperature reaches 160 degrees.

NOTE:

This stuffing can keep refrigerated for 2 to 3 days. First remove oysters then transfer stuffing to a microwaveable dish and reheat in microwave to 140 degrees. Add oysters back in to dish a microwave for 1 more minute. Serve immediately.

Pan Fried Nantucket Bay Scallops Scampi

Ingredients

2# unwashed fresh Nantucket Bay Scallops
1 tablespoon white wine
4 ounces Feta cheese, cut into small chunks 1 avocado, large diced
Spaghetti Squash, recipe follows
Fresh arugula, for garnish

Preparation

-Place 2/3 of the scampi butter in a large saute pan over high heat and melt.

-Add in bay scallops and cook for about 1 minute, moving them around in the pan.

-Sizzle with the white wine and cook for just another minute more.

-Remove from heat and stir in the remaining scampi butter, Feta cheese, and avocado
chunks.

-Serve over hot spaghetti squash and garnish with fresh arugula.

Scampi Butter Ingredients:

1/4 # unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced red onion
1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Dash ground white pepper
Dash Worcestershire sauce

Pan Fried Nantucket Bay Scallops Scampi

1 lemon, juiced

Preparation

-In a bowl with a wire whisk, mix together all ingredients until well
blended.

Spaghetti Squash directions

-Cut 1 large Spaghetti Squash in half the long ways.

-Remove seeds with a spoon.

-Place the 2 halves of squash, cut side down, on a sheet pan and add enough warm
Water to fill up about ½ inch on sides.

-Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour or until skin feels soft.

-Immediately remove from oven and flip the squash over, being careful because they
will be hot, but you don’t want the squash to absorb the water on pan.

-Gently use a fork to separate the strands of spaghetti squash.


Special thanks to John C. for providing the information above.

Oysters for Thanksgiving and Christmas

Here is a list of our top five places to choose from to order your oysters for Thanksgiving and Christmas:

Island Creek Oysters
www.islandcreekoyster.com
781-934-2028
- Fresh oysters from Duxbury, MA, razor clams by the pound, or try the "Yankee Thanksgiving sampler" which contains one dozen of three oyster varieties (Island Creeks, Moon Shoals, and Chathams) from Cape Cod, a shucking knife and gloves.  With all that other food, three dozen is the perfect amount to add to your Thanksgiving wherever you live.

American Mussel Harvesters
www.americanmussel.com
401-294-8999
- Live mussels, oysters and clams shipped daily fast and fresh.
- Read a review from our blog


Taylor Shellfish Farms
www.taylorshellfishfarms.com
360-432-3300
- Fresh shellfish from the Pacific Northwest including: oysters, clams, mussels and geoduck.
- Read a review from our blog.

Farm 2 Market - F2M
www.farm-2-market.com
800-477-2967
- Your order will leave the farm and arrive the next morning to your kitchen, anywhere in America.
- Enter Promotional Code: GoShuck to receive a free oyster shucking knife.
- Read a review from our blog.

H.M. Terry Company, Inc.
www.hmterryco.com
757-442-7777
- Fresh ocean oysters and clams from VA. 
- Read a review from our blog.

Don't forget your oyster shucking knife and glove.  Pick up a few for yourself and your holiday guests. 

Happy holidays!