I love shallow briny pools of freshly shucked oysters served with the crackle and chew of a dense rustic loaf, and spread with the purest, richest, homemade butter. So simple to make! When grey clouds sketch lightly across an evening skyline, hundle down with a friend or two, a spot of wine and the best bivalves the cold November sea has to offer.
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HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN HOMEMADE BUTTER: The key to making the best, richest butter, is sourcing the freshest cream, preferably from Grass-Fed Cows and from a Dairy that is Certified Organic. Do a bit of research and seek out a local Dairy Farm, or scour your local produce store to find cream that's from your region. I used cream from Evan's Farmhouse Creamery located in Norwich, New York.
Mix the cream in a bowl with a hand held mixer (about 6-8 minutes), or until the cream turns into small yellow curd-ish lumps. Keep going until the buttermilk separates and starts spraying at you. Put the entire contents in a cheesecloth and wring out the buttermilk into a bowl. (Buttermilk, is the slightly sour extract that comes out when you make butter, it doesn't actually contain butter, and it's low in fat. Reserve it to make your own Buttermilk Pancakes or Biscuits). Once you've wrung out the Buttermilk, pat sea salt flakes into the butter, to taste. Try slathering the butter on peasant style brown bread and shucking a few oysters as well. Add wine and friends to taste.
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So pleased to work again with Photographer DANA GALLAGHER. To check out her work click here, and her blog click here. (Food, Art Direction; Dimity Jones)
Cream from Evan's Farmhouse Creamery can be found at specialty stores in New York, including Marlow and Daughters.
This recipe was inspired from a recipe I saw in Diner Journal. Issue No. 9, Fall 2008.