Today I finally attended the Calvary United Methodist Ham and Oyster Dinner in Queenstown, MD. I brought Andrew along with me as we both have a great love for oysters and he has never attended a traditional oyster dinner. I have been eager to try this particular dinner since I saw an advert for it two years ago as it mentioned "
Maryland Beaten Biscuits."
I don't know how I have gone this long without trying a Maryland Beaten Biscuit; I went to college in Chestertown for goodness sakes! And my mom has been telling me this story about them since before I can remember: apparently in the mid-20th century an African American man would go house to house and beat the biscuit dough for the ladies of Chestertown. Being the time period it was, these women would not allow the man to touch the dough; they would turn it and he would beat it. This story seemed unbelievable to me but now seems totally plausable considering the time period.
I am pretty sure that they did not have the biscuits I was seeking but the rolls they did have were delicious. And the oysters were out of this world - people were enjoying them so much that they had to go buy more quarts of oysters around 5:45!
The family style seating always lends itself to making new friends. My tablemate Kay introduced me to the kind Mr. Jim Lewis (last photo) who was so nice to give me some of his secret breading mixture (which was a lot like
tempura) to take home to make my own oysters! Thank you Jim!
The church holds dinners the first weekend in October and the last weekend in March. And the oyster cooking team often goes to neighboring communities to assist with their oyster dinners. I believe they mentioned one in Price, MD at the end of October.
I also learned from tablemates that the Grasonville VFW has oysters every weekend from the fall through spring! Eat 'em up folks!
Note to readers- please click on all photos for a larger image.
Labels: MD, Queenstown
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home