"To love an oyster, it's not necessary to know its name...it is enough to top a freshly shucked oyster into the mouth and, for a moment, be transported to that sublime place where the palate meets the sea," writes author Jairemarie Pomo in her beautifully written book The Hog Island Oyster Lover's Cookbook. Pomo loves oysters and offers us forty recipes and a wealth of information so that we, too, may love oysters. She also loves prose, and this is the finest food writing we have seen since the last time we picked up a book by MFK Fisher. We read this book twice - once for the love of oysters, and a second time to enjoy Pomo's writing.
This is a book about oysters, however, and Pomo gives us everything we need to know about buying, handling , and enjoying oysters. For the curious, she has meticulously researched information about aquaculture, a guide to oyster varieties with the subtle taste changes among them. As the title implies, this book was sparked by the Hog Island Oyster Company and she gives a full history of the company.
If there can be a stamp of approval from a chef, it is the donation of a recipe to a book they esteem and the presence of recipes from Bobby Flay as well as Alice Waters of Chez Panisse tells all. Pomo has recipes for raw oysters, from the classics, such as Hog Island Cocktail Sauce with Oysters on the Half Shell, to the adventurous such as Oysters on the Half Shell with Pickled Fennel topping, to the luxurious, such as Oysters with Lemon Ice and Caviar. If you love hot, cooked oysters, those recipes abound as well. You will find Devil Fried Oysters with Spinach and Pancetta, The Real Oysters Rockefeller, Farmer's Market Oyster Po' Boy, Buttery Pan-Fried Oysters.
There are color photographs throughout by Ed Anderson and Leigh Beisch.
About the Author: Jairemarie Pomo is the self-appointed Empress of Oysters. She teachers oyster appreciation and cooking classes and leads writing workshops in the San Francisco Bay Area. She lives just steps from Tomales Bay, where Hog Island Oysters are grown.
We hope Ms. Pomo will continue to offer us her brilliant writing.
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