Countdown to Emeril: Friday's Recipes, Part I

Superstar chef Emeril Lagasse arrives in Oklahoma City Friday afternoon for a cooking demonstration followed by a book-signing at Dillard’s Penn Square Mall. The demo starts at 4 p.m. and will last 45 minutes.

To celebrate the appearance, I’ve been posting recipes. Today, I’ve got one of the two recipes he’ll be preparing on Friday.

Check back Thursday for the other.

ANDOUILLE-CRUSTED OYSTERS WITH SPINACH COULIS

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ¼ pound andouille or kielbasa sausage, finely chopped (about ¾ cup)
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon chopped shallots
• 1¼ cups dried fine bread crumbs
• 5 teaspoons Emeril’s Original Essence
• 1 cup bleached all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/3 cup half-and-half
• 32 shucked oysters, drained well
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 recipe Spinach Coulis*

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a 10-inch sauté pan over high heat. Add the sausage and brown it, cooking 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and shallots and cook, stirring, until slightly soft, about 1 minute.
3. Remove from the heat and let cool for about 5 minutes.
4. In a shallow bowl, combine the sausage with the breadcrumbs and 2 teaspoons of the Essence.
5. Mix well.
6. In another small bowl, blend the egg, half-and-half, and the remaining teaspoon of Essence.
7. Dredge the oysters in the flour, coating evenly and tapping off any excess. Dip the oysters in the egg mixture, then dredge them in the bread crumb-and-sausage mixture, coating evenly.
8. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot but not smoking, lay about half of the oysters in the skillet.
9. Pan-fry until browned, about 2 minutes, then turn them over and fry another 2 minutes.
10. Drain on paper towels.
11. Repeat the frying process with the remaining oysters.
12. To serve, spread ¼ cup of the spinach coulis in the center of each of eight dinner plates and place four oysters on top of the coulis.
13. Serve immediately.

Yield: 8 servings