EXCEPT when it comes to caviar, effortless extravagance sounds like a contradiction in terms. But there is no better description of a seafood pan roast.
This is the most luxurious indulgence: oysters or other shellfish awash in cream or pan sauce enhanced with only the subtlest seasonings, so that the essential brininess shines through. In the most classic version, a slice of toasted bread is included to soak up all that great flavor and richness. Nothing could be more perfect for a holiday entree with so little effort.
To make this exercise in excess at its simplest, you heat cream with seasonings, warm shellfish in butter and combine the two. If you want to take a more restrained route, you can substitute dry vermouth or white wine for the cream. Either way, you get a fabulously festive main course in minutes.
And it is totally attuned to this particular out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new holiday. Pan roasts are seductively retro but can be as food fashion-forward as you want them to be. The classic is obscenely satisfying, and it only gets better with 2008 tweaks such as smoked paprika or cilantro as a garnish.
Pan roasts have an added attraction for New Year's Eve. They go well with the classic elixirs of the night, whether martinis or Champagne or just a serious white wine, especially one with origins in the Loire or Alsace. Any of them will balance the serious richness of the dish, and the combination feels as special as foie gras and Sauternes but as accessible as an omelet and a glass of Shiraz.
You won't find listings for pan roast recipes in indexes to most seafood cookbooks, not even under the most common component, oysters. If you find recipes for seafood stews, you understand the basic idea, though neither name is entirely accurate about the cooking process involved. Because most types of shellfish cook so fast you can eat them raw, either roasting or stewing would be brutal treatment. Add "pan" in front of either of those techniques and the result is faster and more delicate. Pan poaching might be closer to what happens, but even that takes more time and work.
Riffs on the basic recipe
James BEARD, a guy who would know, gives two variations on pan roasts in his "American Cookery." One calls for heating oysters in a stick of melted butter with chili sauce, salt, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce just until the edges curl; the other uses cream and oyster liquor along with the flavorings. Both are meant to be served over toast.
