Leftovers With Shari

The boys are out of town on business so Shari and I decided to share some party leftovers. Mmmmm leftover oysters.

I decided to toss together some old fashioned oyster fritters. A down home recipe -- I was born a Maryland girl after all. My grandmother usually made "single padded oysters". Individual oysters rolled in milk (or egg) and cracker crumbs (in MD we call them padded for the way the coating is pressed around the bivalve before frying). But tonight I decided on the softer, free form fritters. For fritters -- unlike singles -- several oysters are coated and fried together.

I made a soft batter of 1 cup of flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, a dash of cayenne, and salt. To the the dry ingredients I added 2 eggs beaten together with 1 cup of milk. I gave the batter a quick mix and stirred in the oysters. I dropped the coated oysters by the handful in hot oil and cooked until they were just brown on each side. Back home these fritters would come with a side of puckery tartar sauce. I had some creme fraiche left over and so I whipped up a bright horseradish sauce (creme fraiche, ketchup, chili sauce, horseradish, salt) and served homemade pickles (carrot sticks and zucchini slices) on the side.