Chef Megan Beairsto - OpenEats, Summerside
Oyster Dressing
Ingredients:
½ cup evaporated milk
8 cups of torn bread pieces, about 1 inch
1 cup very small diced celery
1 cup very small diced onion
1 cup very small diced carrot
3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced
2 dozen (or so) shucked oysters, roughly chopped with their liquor reserved
1 cup melted butter
1 tbsp. dried P.E.I. summer savoury
3 tbsp. fresh chopped marjoram
3 tbsp. fresh chopped sage
3 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
Salt and pepper
Instructions:
-Gently cook celery, onion, carrot, and garlic in about half of the butter until they’re softened and aromatic. Add savoury, marjoram, sage, parsley, oyster liquor and evaporated milk and turn down heat to low and keep stirring gently.
-In a big bowl, toss your bread, oysters, remaining butter and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Use your judgment for the salt - have a taste-tester oyster to check the briny-ness so you can judge how much salt you may need.
-Toss bread and oyster mixture with vegetable and evaporated milk mixture, mix well, and bake in a greased baking dish on 350F for 45 minutes or so.
Eggnog Bread Pudding (with stout toffee)
6 cups kinda old torn-up bread pieces, about 1 inch
2 cups ADL eggnog
2 cups whipping cream
5 whole eggs
2 cups white sugar
½ cup melted butter
Generous sprinkle of cinnamon and nutmeg
-In a large bowl, pour eggnog and whipping cream on the bread pieces and give a generous toss. It might seem soupy - that’s okay. The bread will slowly absorb all of the liquid. Give it about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk the eggs, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in another bowl until it’s smooth. -When the bread has absorbed all the liquid, mix the egg yolk mixture into the bread and combine well. Then add melted butter, mixing well again.
-Cook in a buttered/greased loaf pan at 375F for about 40 minutes.
Stout toffee:
1 cup of stout beer (Sydney Street from the P.E.I. Brewing Co is perfect for this, just drink the rest)
2 oz. strait rum
½ cup melted butter
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup whipping cream
1 tsp. real vanilla
Over medium heat, reduce stout to 1/2 cup. Reduce heat to low, and add rum, butter and sugar. Cook and whisk until sugar is well incorporated, and whisk in whipping cream and vanilla and serve warm over eggnog bread pudding.
The Guardian reached out to several local chefs for the "A Culinary Chrsitmas" series, which features the chefs' favourite Christmas recipes.
See the other recipes:
Chef Ilona Daniel's Kifli Cookies
Chef Cobey Adams' apple crumble
Chef Stephen Wilson's cinnamon roll bread pudding
