Food Like That: Recipes your mouth will like

On arriving on Bowen, we dove right into prepping a lighter, seafood based meal after all the turkey and meats of Christmas.

A long time ago, I was looking for a boat to buy, so I was traveling around Vancouver Island a lot. One trip had me passing Fanny Bay, so I stopped in to buy some oysters. I was working at Doc Morgan's Restaurant on Bowen Island at the time, so I called the chef and asked if I should bring some back for the restaurant.

I ended up bringing back enough for a dozen appetizer servings or so, and learned how to make a white wine - lemon - something or other sauce. Unfortunately, I have no clue how to put it together any more, but the memory of the flavours has stuck with me. This was my attempt to recreate that.

This is pretty much a traditional white sauce. Start with 2 - 3 Tablespoons of flour, then add the same amount of flour once the butter has melted. Whisk the flour and butter together, and keep whisking as the flour toasts a bit in the butter. Be careful not to burn it, but you should start smelling a bit of a nutty smell as the flour cooks in the butter. Add a cup of cream and whisk everything together until smooth again. Add a cup and a half of white wine and whisk smooth again.

At this point, add 2 Tablespoons of finely minced onions, 1/3 of a cup of minced fresh parsley, 1 Tablespoon of horseradish, and the grated zest of a lemon.

The heat should be on very low, then add a container of fresh oysters. Use a spoon to make sure they are nicely covered in sauce, then heat for about 5 minutes or until just tender. The sauce is also delicious over fresh broad egg noodles.