Oysters Dunbar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees…

1. Saute chopped scallions (green onions) in butter.
2. Add flour to make a lightly browned roux.
3. Stir in water from drained oysters, and additional clam juice or water to make a sauce the consistency of a white sauce.
4. Cut oysters into small bite-sized pieces and add to the sauce along with boiled artichoke hearts that have been cut to the same size. (If you started with cooking whole artichokes, also add some of the scrapings from the leaves.)
5. Season with salt, pepper, and a dash of Tabasco, to taste.
6. Simmer gently for about ten minutes to cook the oysters.
7. Drop this insipid-looking goo into a small ramekin. ( I use small shells I got at Cost Plus.)
8. Cover with buttered bread crumbs/Parmesan cheese mixture and place in a hot oven for browning. (It is the browned bread crumbs that make this look as appetizing as it is. Trust me!)
9. The time in the oven and temperature can vary, depending on whether you have made them ahead and they are chilled. The object of the baking is to heat through, while browning the bread crumbs a bit. Serve hot! **

** The oven temp and cook time varies greatly depending on how you dish them up. When I put a small serving on one of the little shells, it doesn’t take long for them to heat through and brown the crumbs – a few minutes at 350 degrees. If, however, it is a larger serving in a larger ramekin, it might take 15-20 minutes. (Afraid I let my nose do the timing on these!) Preparation of this recipe is very forgiving.