Oysters Rockefeller

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
2 tablespoons absinthe
Salt and pepper, to taste
Dash red pepper sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
2 dozen Moondancer™ or Mookie Blues™ oysters, on the half shell

Rock salt
Lemon wedges, for garnish
Green onion, for garnish

Directions:

Melt butter in a skillet. Sauté the garlic for 2 minutes to infuse the butter. Place the bread crumbs in a mixing bowl and add half the garlic butter, set aside. To the remaining garlic butter in the skillet, add the onion and saute until soft and translucent. Add the spinach and cook for 3 minutes until the spinach wilts. De-glaze the pan with the absinthe. Season with salt and pepper and add a dash of red pepper sauce. Allow the mixture to cook down for a few minutes. Finish off the bread crumbs by mixing in olive oil, Parmesan and basil, season with salt and pepper. Spoon 1 heaping teaspoon of the spinach mixture on each oyster followed by a spoonful of the bread crumb mixture. Sprinkle a baking pan amply with rock salt so that there is a ½ inch layer of salt. Arrange the oysters in the salt to steady them. Bake in a preheated 450˚ F oven for 10 minutes until golden brown. Serve with lemon wedges.