He makes his way to London, where most of his former colleagues from his Paris glory days are now working and living. He barges his way into being the chef at the restaurant in a hotel owned by former friend (who has always had a crush on him, which Adam totally exploits) Tony's father, which Tony is now managing. He rips Helene away from her sous chef position at a restaurant owned by a friend, by convincing him to fire her, so she'd basically have to work for him. He taunts his rival Reece, at his restaurant, just to let him know that even though he is majorly successful, he (Adam) is setting up shop in town.
So yeah, Adam's a dick. And sadly, he didn't really redeem himself. Plus, I'm not a big Bradley Cooper fan. So, while there was a ton of gorgeous food and restaurant scenes in Burnt, it just isn't a movie that I enjoy watching (I watched it once before when it was first released on dvd).
I was close to making Cacio y Pepe or Snails in Garlic-Parsley Butter, a pot pie, or maybe a full English breakfast, but in the end, I pulled inspiration from that opening scene. And since all I'm really thinking about right now is Thanksgiving, my mind went immediately to a traditional oyster stuffing. Classy enough to be served in a restaurant, and down-home enough to be eaten by the working class.
Join us in December, when I'll be hosting right here at All Roads Lead to the Kitchen with my pick, Krampus!
For inspiration, check out the Food 'n Flix website (click on any of the roundups listed to see what participants have been inspired to make by the movie choice), all of my past Food 'n Flix posts, or my Food 'n Flix Pinterest board!
yield: serves 8-10
Oyster Stuffing (or Dressing)
prep time: 20 MINScook time: 1 hour and 10 MINStotal time: 1 hours and 30 mins
Plump oysters, smoky bacon, and chewy French bread mingle happily in this classic Thanksgiving side dish.
INGREDIENTS:
- 14 ounces French bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 8 ounces smoky bacon, cut crosswise into 1⁄4-inch strips
- 2 (8 ounce) cans of medium oysters (packed only in water and salt) *see notes
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 2 1/2 ounces shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
- 4 ribs celery, thinly sliced
- 1⁄3 cup Madeira
- 1 cup chicken stock or low-sodium broth
- 1⁄3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage leaves
- 1⁄4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- freshly ground black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Preheat oven to 250˚ F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Arrange bread cubes on prepared baking sheet in a single layer and bake, stirring occasionally, until the bread cubes are dried out, but not browned, 15-25 minutes (depending on how much moisture is in the bread). Let cool on the pan for 15 minutes, then pour into an extra-large bowl.
- Put bacon into a 12-inch skillet; cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until crisp and its fat has rendered, about 10 minutes. Set a medium-mesh wire strainer over a bowl and pour in the bacon. Add the bacon to the bowl with the bread cubes.
- While the bacon is cooking, open the oysters and pour the liquid into a measuring cup. Add enough water to make 1 cup; reserve. Add the oysters to the bowl with the bread cubes and oysters.
- Add 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease back to the (bacon) pan along with 2 tablespoons of the butter. Once melted, add shallots and celery, reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Very carefully pour in the Madeira and let it bubble until it has almost evaporated.
- Add reserved oyster liquid, stock or broth, parsley, thyme, sage, nutmeg, and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Scrape the mixture into the bowl with the bread and bacon, and add the oysters; stir well to combine. Allow to sit for 10 minutes.
- Increase the oven temperature to 400˚ F. Grease a 2-quart baking dish using some of the remaining bacon grease or some extra butter.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and cover with foil (lightly grease the inside of foil with more bacon grease or butter).
- Slide into oven and bake for 30 minutes. In the meantime, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. When the 30 minutes are up, remove foil and drizzle with butter, then return tot the oven and continue to bake for about 15 minutes longer, or until golden brown and crusty on top.
- Serve immediately.
Notes:
- To use fresh oysters in this recipe, you'll need about 40 medium ones, shucked. Reserve 1 cup of the oyster liquor and use it in place of the canned oyster liquid + water in recipe.
- If you like, substitute half of the canned oysters in the recipe for canned smoked oysters. If they're packed in oil, rinse them off with cool water before adding to the bowl. Use the liquid from the non-smoked can only + water to make 1 cup.
- I don't have salt listed in the recipe since bacon, canned oysters, and probably the stock/broth contain salt. Feel free to taste the mixture before transferring to bacon dish and adding salt if you think it's necessary.
-adapted from Saveur
Created using The Recipes Generator
