I love all things celery.  Celery salt, celery seeds, celery stalks, even celery soda!  So when I saw a celery seed crusted oyster salad on the brunch menu I was holding yesterday morning, I did not have to look twice before ordering.

The salad was a lightly bacon vinaigrette dressed bed of baby spinach, upon which sat five plump pan-fried oysters.  The oysters were definitely gulf oysters, which were fried in a cornmeal crust that was nicely seasoned with salt, pepper and whole celery seeds.

Because I loved this salad so much, I figure one of two things are going to have to happen.  One, I will be eating brunch there every Sunday morning until they take the salad off the menu; or two, I could try and make it myself at home.  I’m not a seasoned oyster fryer (shucker, yes; fryer, no), so I found a recipe on our website to tweak.  Feel free to test it along with me.  Instead of seasoning the cornmeal dredge with Emeril’s Rustic Rub, I am going to replace the spice mix with a tablespoon of celery seeds, salt and pepper to taste, and maybe a pinch of cayenne.

Filed Under: Food Finds, Food Talk