A story of France—plus a recipe for the soup I serve every year on Christmas Eve. Remember it for any winter night you want to bring added warmth to the meal.
Made this tonight as we have other plans for Christmas Eve. Excellent recipe. I already had a package of bay scallops, so used it. Used a little dried Herbs de Province during the cooking (along with fresh parsley and fresh chives added at the end). I bought 2 leeks, but only needed one. Follow recipe and just use one generous cup of sliced leeks. And, simmer scallops for just a couple of minutes at the end. As Wini says, do not overcook. Threw in some oyster crackers when serving. A Chenin Blanc for the dry white wine in the recipe and to drink with the chowder. This is a keeper!
Thanks, Terry! I'm so glad you liked this. I got my scallops ready for tomorrow night--now I've got to go get me some leeks tomorrow.
When my editors of my cookbook made me put "cup" measures in for any veggie I used, I found it kind of tedious. Leeks come in so many different sizes, I'm glad I did the cup measure!
I'll be making this tomorrow night! Cheers, Terry, and best to you for the holidays.
That's fascinating! I remember even the local, non-chain grocery stores in Jefferson, Iowa, would have oysters around Christmas and New Year's. Everybody wanted oysters at Christmas, and this explains so much of the tradition (especially the thriftiness of oysters!). Thanks, Jane.
Made this tonight as we have other plans for Christmas Eve. Excellent recipe. I already had a package of bay scallops, so used it. Used a little dried Herbs de Province during the cooking (along with fresh parsley and fresh chives added at the end). I bought 2 leeks, but only needed one. Follow recipe and just use one generous cup of sliced leeks. And, simmer scallops for just a couple of minutes at the end. As Wini says, do not overcook. Threw in some oyster crackers when serving. A Chenin Blanc for the dry white wine in the recipe and to drink with the chowder. This is a keeper!
Thanks, Terry! I'm so glad you liked this. I got my scallops ready for tomorrow night--now I've got to go get me some leeks tomorrow.
When my editors of my cookbook made me put "cup" measures in for any veggie I used, I found it kind of tedious. Leeks come in so many different sizes, I'm glad I did the cup measure!
I'll be making this tomorrow night! Cheers, Terry, and best to you for the holidays.
Happy holidays to you. Looking forward to future posts.
Yes, the cup measure was very helpful
I grew up eating my grandmother’s oyster stew every Christmas Eve. This sounds delicious and worthy of my own Noel feast!
Yes! Me too. It’s a real Midwest tradition, and I wonder where it came from!
https://www.illinoistimes.com/food-drink/christmas-eve-oyster-stew-12926902
That's fascinating! I remember even the local, non-chain grocery stores in Jefferson, Iowa, would have oysters around Christmas and New Year's. Everybody wanted oysters at Christmas, and this explains so much of the tradition (especially the thriftiness of oysters!). Thanks, Jane.
Interesting tidbit that Abe Lincoln hosted “oyster orgies” in Springfield!
Lovely story and the recipe sounds delicious!
Great title and sentiment. I want to try this recipe. Thanks
Thank you so much, Linda! That means the world to me. I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for letting me know!