Fish for Compliments

I bought a mess of catfish at Costco and needed to cook 'em up.  I tried a great but simple recipe for grilled filets that yielded crunchy, slightly smoky fish that was da bomb.  It was as tasty as any deep-fried Southern catfish I have ever had, and probably a whole lot healthier, too.

In my experience, Costco has consistently good-quality fish, but I soaked the filets in milk for a few hours to help reduce any "muddy" flavors (catfish are bottom feeders).

This forum on Taste of Home, gives several other alternatives to this problem, including soaking in aciduated water (water spiked with lemon), buttermilk, mustard, or salt water.  I don't know if the milk helped mine, but I do know that my fish didn't have a trace of muddiness.

Start by preheating your grill to medium and making a smoking packet like described here.  Put the packet on the grill's heating element or directly over the coals if using charcoal.

Combine 2 tsp. seasoned salt, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. celery seed, and 1/2 tsp. celery salt.

Remove the fish (I had about 2 lbs.) from the milk, pat the filets dry with paper towels and season on both sides with the seasoning mixture.

Finely crush a sleeve of buttery flavored crackers (I used Townhouse) and melt a stick of butter.

Dip each filet into the butter, then into the cracker crumbs, and lay on a sheet tray.  I line the tray with foil, then after the fish are cooked, I remove the foil and use the tray for the cooked filets.

Spray a grilling sheet with cooking spray so that the filets don't stick.  Lay the fish on and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily.

Watch carefully so they don't burn.  You can flip them carefully one time, but we didn't, and they were still fine.

Golden brown, flaky, and delicious!

I served the crunchy fish with cheesy creamed spinach, which was a pleasant contrast.

The whole family complimented the chef on this recipe.  It's a keeper!

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Simple Salmon

One of my New Years resolutions is to eat healthier.  That would definitely include eating more yummy fish.  Salmon was on sale last week for $4.99 a pound, so My Man, the grocery shopper, picked up a nice 2 1/2 pound filet.

After church on Sunday, I decided to make this for lunch for the family.  When I was growing up, Sunday lunch was the big meal of the day, and it was a "grab your own" for dinner.  I have pretty much continued that tradition.

I didn't want to fuss too much since it was supposed to be day of rest and I was tired.  So I virtually consulted the Barefoot Contessa and used the marinade from her Roasted Salmon Nicoise for my fish.  It's got ingredients that I usually have on hand:  zesty lemon, pungent garlic, and piquant dijon mustard.

Easy Marinade for Fish
from Ina Garten, aka The Barefoot Contessa
(click here to print)

• 
  
• 2 lemons, zested and juiced
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 to 3 pounds skin-on fresh salmon fillets

Combine the olive oil, mustard, garlic, lemon zest and juice, and salt and pepper.  Whisk to combine.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a sheet pan with heavy duty foil and place fish on top.  Pour the marinade evenly over your fish filet

and let stand for 15 minutes at room temperature.

Pop the salmon in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

Slice the salmon into serving pieces, leaving the skin behind on the foil   I served this with steamed broccoli and rice pilaf with dried cherries and toasted pecans.

If you want to, you could make extra marinade and serve it on the side, but since I'm watching my calories, I opted out of that idea.

Easy to make and easy cleanup, too:  Just wad up the foil and throw it away!  Simple and sensational.
And hey, because I have made healthy choices (so far!) in the New Year, I have lost 4 pounds!

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One Cool Cat(fish)

It has been SO hot in Texas--triple digit heat already which is somewhat unusual for June.  I'm doing everything I can to keep the house cool, and that means cooking outside, not inside.

I was perusing recipes on one of my favorite recipe websites and was intrigued by this recipe for pan-fried catfish on the grill.  It was crispy on the outside and flaky on the inside!

Skillet-Fried Catfish
Slightly adapted from Allrecipes.com
(click here to print)

1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
4 (8 oz.) catfish fillets or 2 lbs. total
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Preheat your gas grill to medium hot heat.  Put 2 Tbsp. butter and  2 Tbsp. oil in EACH of two cast-iron skillets and heat over the flame for 5 to 10 minutes or until the oil is sizzling around the edges.  If you don't have two skillets, you will have to cook the fish in batches.

In a ziptop bag, combine the flour and seasonings.  Season the catfish lightly with Essence or salt and pepper first, then add catfish fillets one at a time to the bag.

Shake to coat each fillet with the seasoned flour and carefully lay the catfish fillets in the skillets.

Put the cover down on the grill and cook for 5-7 minutes per side.  The rule of thumb I use to ensure moist, flaky fillets is 10 minutes total cooking time for each inch of  thickness for fresh fish.

Drain the fish on paper towels and serve with a wedge of lemon and your favorite tartar sauce.

I served mine with grilled vegetable medley.

That's one cool way to make catfish!

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Crustacean Nation

I have probably eaten more shrimp in my life than the average person because I lived in South Louisiana for many years.  I can categorically state that Gulf shrimp's taste and quality is far superior to its Asian (Thailand, China, Vietnam) counterparts.  Before the tragic oil spill of 2010, about 70% of the shrimp consumed in the U.S. came from the Gulf of Mexico.  The crawfish, crabs, and shrimp that Louisiana supplies earn it the title of Crustacean Nation in my book!

Now that I live in Texas, obtaining good quality shrimp is a little more of a challenge.  Fortunately, parts of Texas are on the Gulf of Mexico, too, so we often have access to high quality shrimp even here in land-locked Dallas.  The price, though, is significantly higher than what we used to pay in Louisiana.

Believe it or not, whenever we drive to South Louisiana, we take a couple large coolers and bring back fresh shrimp.   We go to an open-air market in Westwego on New Orleans' Westbank where fishermen directly sell fish, crabs, and shrimp to the consumer.

Source:  www.bestofneworleans.com

The last time we bought shrimp there (over a year ago--before the spill), we paid $2.50 a pound for 16/20 count heads-on shrimp.  (The 16/20 count means that there are between 16 and 20 shrimp to the pound).  The more you buy, the better deal you get.  We normally buy about 50 pounds, but when we lived in Louisiana, we used to buy more.

The best way to freeze shrimp is to de-head them (keep the shells on, though), load them into quart-sized Ziplock freezer bags (about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds per bag) and fill the bags with water.  Then lay the bags flat on a sheet tray and pop them in the freezer.  When the individual bags are frozen, load several bags into a gallon-sized Ziplock freezer bag for extra protection.

Shrimp frozen in this manner taste fresh many, many months later.  I am just finishing the shrimp we got over a year ago, and they are still high quality in both taste and texture.  To defrost, plug your sink and fill halfway with tepid water.  Slit the ziptop bags and let the shrimp thaw in the water, stirring occasionally to separate.

Today I made Louisiana shrimp with Asian flavors.  This is an interesting twist on traditional boiled shrimp cocktail.  Don't skip the homemade mayonnaise--it's delish!

Asian Boiled Shrimp

Slightly adapted from Emeril's Potluck by Emeril Lagasse
(click here to print)


Boiling Liquid
One 2-inch piece of peeled ginger root, sliced
3 lemons, halved, juiced (reserve shells)
1/2 cup soy sauce (I use low-sodium)
1/4 cup sugar
4 bay leaves
2 Tbsp. chopped green onions (about 2 onions)
2 tsp. minced garlic (about 2 medium cloves)
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. ground pepper
2 tsp. crushed red pepper
6 cups water


Combine all ingredients in  a heavy saucepan and bring to a rolling boil.


Sprinkle 2 lbs. shelled and deveined Gulf shrimp with 2 tsp. Emeril's Essence (find recipe here)


Add shrimp to the boiling water.  Cook for exactly 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and let the shrimp steep for an additional 2 minutes.  You do not want to cook the shrimp longer or they will be rubbery.

Drain the shrimp and chill thoroughly.  Serve with Asian mayonnaise as a dipping sauce:

Asian Mayonnaise

1 large egg yolk (room temperature)
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp. minced garlic (about 1 small clove)
1 tsp. green onion
1 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1/4 tsp. salt


Combine egg yolk, lemon juice, garlic, ginger and green onions in food processor.  Process until combined.  SLOWLY add the oil through the feed tube while the motor is running so that it makes an emulsion (thickens).  Add soy sauce, cilantro, pepper, sesame oil, and salt.  Pulse a couple of times to combine.  Remove to bowl and chill thoroughly.  Let stand a couple of hours for best flavor, but use within 24 hours.

C'est Bon, Cher!

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