Here Fishy, Fishy, Fishy!

Randy went fishing in South Dakota last month and brought home some walleye. This is a very flavorful and firm white fish and I was quite happy when he gave me a package of fillets to take home.

I did some recipe searching so we could make the most of our walleye, but pretty much it was just breading and frying, so that’s what we did. I first dredged the fillets in flour, then dipped in beaten egg, then covered them with panko crumbs. Greg fried them in some canola oil in a cast iron skillet and they came out golden brown and crispy on the outside, juicy and flavorful on the inside.

To go along with our delicious fish, we had zucchini fritters and sweet corn. I made two simple sauces, just mayonnaise and ketchup mixed together for one, and mayo with sweet pickle relish for the second.

I did email Randy after we finished eating and told him that if he should have any extra walleye hanging around, to please think of us!

Wrapping the Salmon

Last week when Greg grilled our salmon for supper, I gave him an extra piece so I’d have leftovers. There was an idea in a Martha magazine for a wrap using salmon mixed with cream cheese and cilantro.

I didn’t have any cilantro, but was able to run out to the garden and snip some dill instead. Chopped that up, crumbled up the salmon, and mixed both with part of a brick of low-fat cream cheese.

After spreading the mixture onto a flour tortilla, I added thin-sliced tomato and avocado for a yummy lunch wrap.

I had enough mixture left for three more tortillas. Those were sliced into rounds for finger food at another lunch. Bradley loved them!

Fish and Chips

We've been buying the packages of cod loins from Sam's Club for a few months now. They're a nice size for making this Fish and Chips recipe from Emeril. Well, we make the fish, our "chips" are usually from the freezer.

I didn't get many photos - he's a tough subject. :o)

This time Greg made onion rings to go with the fish. He sliced a sweet onion, dipped the rings in the batter, and fried them up before he did the fish.
Here's the batter recipe:

Ingredients
6 to 8 cups peanut oil, for frying (we used canola oil)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
8 ounces amber beer (he usually uses Sam Adams)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper
Directions
2 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows
1 cup rice flour (he uses regular all-purpose)
2 pounds haddock or other firm, white flesh fish cut into 4-ounce strips

Lemon slices or pepper vinegar (we like malt vinegar)
Heat oil in large pot or in an electric deep-fryer to 350 degrees F.
In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, beer, eggs and half of the salt, pepper, and Essence. Whisk until smooth. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour.
Dredge the fish in the rice flour. Working in small batches, submerge the fish in the batter and carefully place into the hot oil. Fry the fish until golden brown on the first side, about 2 minutes, then flip and cook until golden on the second side, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Remove the fish from the fryer and transfer to a wire rack positioned over paper towels or newspaper so that the fish can drain. Season, to taste, with some of the remaining salt, pepper, and Essence. Repeat the process for the remaining of the fish.
Serve the fish and chips with slices of lemon or pepper vinegar.
I also make our tartar sauce using real mayonnaise, a little finely diced onion, and sweet pickle relish. Mix to taste, and refrigerate to blend flavors.

We had some leftovers this time, and I had them for lunch several days later. When warming fried food, you need to use the oven so they will crisp up again. Several minutes in the toaster oven made for a very delicious lunch!

Bueno!

Tonight we had fish tacos for supper. I wanted to do a post about those, but we ate them up before I got a photo. I used tilapia and the marinade and sauce recipe from Guy's Big Bite. I wasn't a huge fan of the sauce, but the marinade was much better than just sprinkling the fish with some spices. I didn't bread the fish, and just sauteed the pieces in a skillet.
These were placed in corn tortillas with the sauce, some shredded cabbage, some crumbled queso fresco, and homemade guacamole.
I LOVE good guacamole. This means made fresh, and I prefer that it be a little bit chunky. I'm okay with diced tomatoes, but I don't put them in mine since Greg wouldn't eat it if I did. My method is simple, and one I developed as I tried different recipes.
First off, make sure your avocadoes are ripe. That means a little bit soft when you give them a gentle squeeze, but not too soft, and keep the squeeze really gentle. I cut the fruit in half, remove the pit, and scoop into a bowl with a spoon.
Add finely diced red onion (white onion works, but I prefer red). Diced finely, remember, unless you're running it through the food processor.
A splash of lime juice - I prefer fresh, but bottled will do.
A sprinkle of salt - trial and error here. Just remember you can always add, but you cannot remove...
If I have fresh cilantro, I'll chop some finely and toss it in.
Mash it together with a fork. Let it sit awhile before scarfing it down - lets the flavors "marry". My guacamole is smooth, not spicy, and so VERY yummy!


Oh, and avocadoes are GOOD FOR YOU! YEA!

Fish & Chicken

I've been cooking a little lately, but not much new or exciting, unless you count the chili a couple of weeks ago that was the best I have ever made - I'll tell you about that another day.

Tonight I want to share a couple of recipes from Kalyn's Kitchen that I've been saving to try. The first is for salmon - you know how we like salmon - and was really good. It calls for a mortar and pestle to grind the spices together, and I don't have one, so I did what I could with the bottom of a spoon. It was okay, but I'd recommend the mortar and pestle. I also bought fennel seeds instead of ground fennel. Still tasted good. (Sorry about the photo - I forgot to take one before I started eating...)

Herb-Encrusted Grilled Salmon

(Makes 2 servings, recipe can easily be doubled, recipe created by Kalyn with inspiration from her friends.)

2 salmon filets, thawed in refrigerator if frozen

1 T olive oil, plus more for oiling grill

Herb mixture:

1 generous T Claudia's Fantastic Fish Blend (Fish blend is lemon basil, chives, dill, thyme, and dried celery leaves. To substitute, use equal parts dried basil, dried chives, dill weed, dried thyme, and celery seed.) [I used the equal parts of herbs.]

1/2 tsp. fennel pollen (to substitute, use ground fennel )

1/2 tsp. lemon pepper

1/4 tsp. sea salt
Remove salmon from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.

In mortar and pestle, grind together Fish Blend (or individual herbs), fennel pollen (or ground fennel), lemon pepper, and salt. Pick out any woody pieces that don't grind up, then add olive oil and mix together. Rub fish on both sides with herb mixture, and let sit for at least ten minutes while you preheat gas or charcoal grill.

Rub grill slats with a piece of paper towel dipped in olive oil (or use nonstick spray), then heat the grill to medium-high. (You can only hold your hand there for 3-4 seconds at that temperature.) Place fish on grill at an angle, top side down, and cook until grill marks start to appear, about 2-3 minutes. Then rotate and cook 2-3 minutes more to get criss-cross marks. Turn fish carefully and cook 2-3 minutes on second side, or until fish feels just slightly firm to the touch, but not at all hard. Total cooking time will be under ten minutes, I cooked my salmon just over 7 minutes, and it was perfect. Fish should feel barely firm when it's done. Serve hot.

***

Now we come to the chicken portion of our program. I wondered about serving this to Greg - he's not a fan of really "tangy" food - but, I have pledged to try new things, so... I bought the Kalamata olives and pitted them by pressing them onto the cutting board with the back of a spoon - easy peasy. When I first tasted the olive caper sauce by itself, I still wasn't sure. Then I grilled the chicken, put on the sauce, and my fears were a thing of the past. (I remember when we were on our cruise and we'd get foods with sauces on the plates, just little dabs of this and that. We enjoyed the food, but then we added the sauces, and they made the appetizer or entree so much better. That's what happened here. The olive caper sauce mixed with the flavors of the poultry seasoning on the hot grilled chicken, it all worked together for a very flavorful dish.)

Sauteed Chicken Breasts with Olive-Caper Sauce

(Makes four servings, recipe for Olive-Caper Sauce adapted from pâté di olive at Briciole.)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

olive oil for sauteeing chicken [I grilled the chicken.]

poultry season to rub on chicken breasts

Sauce: 3/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted

2 T chopped red onion or shallots

2 T capers

1 T fresh thyme (or use 1 tsp. dried thyme) [I used fresh.]

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1 T balsamic vinegar

1 T extra virgin olive oil
Trim all visible fat and tendons from chicken breasts. Rub chicken on both sides with small amount of poultry seasoning and let come to room temperature while you make olive sauce.
(I used a food processor, but you could use a blender or chop the ingredients by hand for this sauce if you don't have one.)
Put Kalamata olives in food processor fitted with steel blade and pulse a few times until olives are coarsely chopped. Add onion, capers, thyme, balsamic vinegar, and parsley. Pulse about 20 seconds, until ingredients are well combined. Remove sauce to a bowl and stir in olive oil. (You can add a bit more olive oil if the sauce seems too thick, but I didn't need to.)
Heat a small amount of olive oil in a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. (Pans which aren't non-stick will give the best browning.) Put chicken breasts into the pan, top side down and cook 5-6 minutes, or until top is well browned. Turn chicken over and cook 2-3 minutes more on second side. Chicken is done when it feels firm, but not hard to the touch.
Serve hot chicken breasts with olive-caper sauce spooned over. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for about a week if you manage to have any leftovers.

Seriously, try these - they're healthy and tasty and easy to make, and just might broaden your horizons a bit. :o)

Tilapia Amandine

This recipe originally called for catfish, but neither Greg nor I like catfish, so I substituted tilapia fillets. The recipe came from the February 07 issue of Eating Well magazine, a subscription to which I got as a Christmas present. I am really enjoying it. You'll see more recipes from this magazine in the future. :o)

Last night was the second time I've made this recipe, so I knew it would go over well. I'm trying to serve fish at least once a week, and keep beef to once a week. Some weeks that works better than others.

I served this with couscous cooked in chicken broth, and French cut green beans.

Catfish Amandine

1 Tbs. plus 1 1/2 tsp evoo, divided

1 Tbs. butter

1/4 cup sliced almonds

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 C low-fat milk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/3 C flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 pound catfish, divided into four portions

2 Tbs. lemon juice

1 Tbs. fresh parsley, chopped

Heat 1 Tbs. oil and the butter in a small saucepan, over med. heat. Add almonds and garlic and cook until they just start to turn brown. Set aside.

Combine milk and egg in a shallow dish; combine flour, salt, and cayenne in another shallow dish. Dip fish in milk mixture, then in flour mixture. Shake off excess flour.

Heat remaining oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add fish and cook until lightly browned and opaque in the center, 4-6 minutes each side.

Return the pan with garlic-almond sauce to heat. Add lemon juice and heat through, 1-2 minutes. Pour the sauce over the fish, sprinkle with parsely, and serve.