Celebrate National Oysters Rockefeller Day at Oyster Bar

Wednesday, January 10, is “National Oysters Rockefeller Day.” That’s today! What better way to celebrate this classic than a stop at the Grand Central Oyster Bar, where the Bishop of Bivalves himself, executive chef Sandy Ingber, has a mouth-watering rendition of that recipe on the menu daily. The appetizer on the lunch and dinner menu is priced at $16.45.

Oysters Rockefeller dates back 1899, where it was created at the New Orleans restaurant Antoine’s by Jules Alciatore, the son of the restaurant’s founder Antoine Alciatore. The dish was named Oysters Rockefeller after John D. Rockefeller, at the time the wealthiest man in America for, of course, being extremely rich.

Here’s Sandy’s take and the recipe:

“This is a core recipe here at the Oyster Bar—one of our signature dishes. Scott Conant featured this dish on the Food Network’s The Best Thing I Ever Ate, calling it “old-school cooking at its best.”

As he says, every component needs to be perfect.

You’ll have some spinach leftover. It could be a cook’s treat, or you could prepare another 8 oysters.

Serves 4

24 Bluepoint oysters on the half shell
Creamed Spinach (see below)
Hollandaise Sauce (see below)

Position an oven rack in the top position and heat the broiler. Remove the oysters from their shells.

Arrange the shells on a rimmed baking sheet and spread 1 heaping tablespoon of the creamed spinach into each shell. (You’ll have some spinach left over.) Set the oysters on top of the spinach. Broil until the oysters are just starting to ruffle, about 1 minute. Remove from the broiler and nap each oyster with about 1 tablespoon hollandaise sauce. Broil until the sauce browns, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.

Using tongs, divide the oysters among 4 dinner plates and serve.

Hollandaise Sauce
We serve this sauce most often with salmon, but it’s also a great sauce for grouper and red snapper (one of old classics is broiled grouper with Hollandaise sauce and snow peas).

Makes about 2 cups

6 egg yolks
1 tablespoon dry white wine
1 1/2 cups clarified butter (page TK)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
12 dashes Tabasco sauce (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Put the egg yolks and wine in a large stainless steel bowl set over a pot of simmering water. The bowl should not touch the water. Whisk vigorously until the yolks are light and tripled in volume. The consistency will be like a pudding, and the yolks will make a ribbon that sits on the surface for 3 seconds when you lift the whisk. Be careful not to scramble the eggs as you whisk; make sure to whisk along the sides of the bowl, and take the bowl off the heat periodically.

Set the bowl on the counter—on a damp kitchen towel to keep it steady—and whisk in the butter in a very slow, steady stream. Don’t add the butter too quickly, or the sauce will break. Once all the butter is added, whisk in the lemon juice, Tabasco, and salt.

Keep the sauce warm until you’re ready to serve it.

Creamed Spinach
This is one of the key components of our Oysters Rockefeller, but creamed spinach has been on our menu as a side since Mr. Brody reopened the restaurant. The only change is that we now make it with vin blanc sauce—and what a difference it makes in flavor!

Serves 4

1 pound frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
Vin Blanc Sauce (page TK)
Pinch of ground nutmeg
Pinch of kosher salt

Place the spinach in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out the excess liquid.

Transfer the spinach to a large skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring often, until the spinach is warm. Stir in the vin blanc sauce, then season with nutmeg and salt and stir again. Keep the spinach warm until you serve it.