Oysters Rockefeller I - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1/4 c. chopped green onions
1/4 c. chopped celery
1 tsp. chopped dried chervil
1/3 c. chopped fresh fennel bulb
1/3 c. chopped parsley
1/2 lb. butter
2 c. watercress leaves
1/3 c. fresh bread crumbs
1/4 c. bottled clam juice
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. anise extract
salt and black pepper
cayenne pepper
2 doz. oysters on the half shell
rock salt

Preparation

Saute onion, celery and herbs in 4 tablespoons of the butter for 3 minutes.
Add the watercress and let it just wilt, about 2 minutes.
Put this mixture with the rest of th butter, the bread crumbs, the clam juice and anise extract into the blender.
Season to taste with salt, pepper and pinch of cayenne.
Blend for 1 minute.
Put about 1 tablespoon of this on each oyster, place the oysters on beds of rock salt in individual containers of in pie pans and dampen the salt slightly.
Bake at 450\u00b0 to 475\u00b0 for about 4 minutes or until the butter is melted and the oysters heated through.
Makes 6 servings.