1˝ pints Pacific oysters, or other oysters, and their liquor
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Paprika (optional)
How To Cook:
1. Warm 4 deep soup bowls in a shallow baking pan that is half filled with boiling water. Add 1 tablespoon of soft butter to each bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream almost but not quite to a boil over moderate heat.
2. When small bubbles appear around the edge of the pan, reduce the heat to its lowest point and keep the cream barely simmering.Pour the oysters and all their liquor into a 12-inch enameled or stainlesssteel skillet.
3. Set it over moderate heat and poach the oysters, turning them gently about in their liquor with a wooden spoon for 2 or 3 minutes, or until the oysters plump up and their edges begin to curl.
4. Immediately pour the simmering cream into the skillet, add salt and pepper to taste, and simmer a moment longer. Ladle the stew into heated soup bowls, sprinkle with a little paprika if you like and serve at once accompanied by crackers or, less traditionally, hot French or Italian bread.
