Garlic Chile Shrimp

 Garlic Chile Shrimp

from Burma Superstar

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 3. 4 as part of a larger meal)

Garlic Paste:

-2 heads garlic, broken into cloves and peeled

-1/2 c canola oil

-1 tsp paprika

-1/4 tsp turmeric

-1 tbsp fish sauce

-salt (optional)

Garlic Chile Shrimp:

-1/4 c garlic paste

-1 lb. large shrimp, peeled, deveined

-1/2 c sliced yellow onion or shallot

-1 small dried chile, broken in half, seeds retained

-1/2 jalapeno, sliced crosswise

-salt (optional)

-cilantro sprigs for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Garlic Paste:

Put the garlic cloves in a small saucepan, cutting any overly large ones in half so they are all about the same size/they will cook evenly. Cover with the oil and place over low heat. Cook at a lazy simmer, stirring occasionally, until the garlic cloves have softened and turned from white to golden, but aren't falling apart yet. About 15 minutes. Watch the garlic carefully: you should see small bubbles forming along the sides of the cloves. The oil should not be bubbling vigorously. Remove the pan from the heat and let the garlic cool in the oil to warm room temp.

In food processor, puree the garlic and oil and spices. Blend in the fish sauce and taste, adding more fish sauce or salt if it's not noticeably salty. (It will be where the shrimp get most of their flavor, so it should be assertive.) You will have about 1/2 cup of paste, twice what you need for one recipe of garlic chile shrimp. The extra can be refrigerated and keeps for at least 3 months.

To make the garlic chile shrimp, mix the garlic paste into the shrimp in a bowl. Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add the shrimp and stir-fry, letting the shrimp sear against the base of the wok (by avoiding constant stirring) for 2 minutes. Add the onions, chile, and jalapeno and cook til the onion has softened but is still slightly crisp and the shrimp is cooked through, about 1 minute more. Taste, add salt as desired. Sprinkle cilantro on top before serving.

Baked Cod with Parm & Garlic Butter

Getting through some older recipes - for this one, actually have a picture of the end result so read on...

Recipe

3/4 c grated parmesan cheese
1/2 lemon (juice & zest)
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/4 tsp paprika
3 tbsp butter
1 1/2 lb fresh cod

Preheat the oven to 400.  Mix the parm, garlic powder, paprika, and lemon zest on a plate.  Melt the butter and get your stations set up for the fish > butter > cheese > greased sheet pan; top with the extra butter!  Cook for about 15 minutes.  Squeeze on the lemon juice and serve!

Notes

As promised:

Catfish Curry

Southern recipe via a Denver native and texted (back) to me from Boston...

Recipe

1 lb catfish fillets

2 c water

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp flour

1 tsp curry powder

1 tbsp butter

Cut your catfisth into 2" pieces, and plop in a saucepan with the water, onion, salt & pepper.  Bring to a boil and simmer 8-10 minutes, until the fish is cooked but not falling apart.  Remove the catfish and boil the water down to about a cup.

Meanwhile, combine the flour, curry, and butter.  If it forms a nice paste, great - roll it into tsp-ish balls and add gradually to the water (over low heat)  Otherwise, gradually add your powdery, gooey mix...  Simmer a few more minutes until it thickens into a gravy.

Serve over rice!

Notes

This impromptu recipe came out pretty well!  The fish pieces didn't fall apart while cooking, but they did shed some little morsels that mixed into the gravy very nicely.  It seems healthy enough on its own, contrary to soul food's reputation...  But I added a pour of frozen veggies while boiling down the water, and served with some avocado too:

Roedspaette og Spinat

...Or, more intelligibly/less authentically, Danish flounder and spinach casserole!  Courtesy of gramma's Scandinavian cookbook.  (Although, Google Translate confirms that they mistakenly swapped the labels with "roedspaette med loegsovs," flounder with onion sauce.)

Recipe

1 lb flounder fillets
1 9 oz package frozen creamed spinach
3 oz mushrooms, sliced
2 tbsp flour
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 c bread crumbs
butter
salt & pepper

Dust the fillets with flour and sprinkle with salt & pepper.  Dip in the beaten egg and dredge through the flour; brown on both sides in a couple tbsps of butter.  Meanwhile cook the spinach as per directions.  Make it the first layer in a casserole dish, followed by the fish, then the shrooms on top.  Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Notes

Authentic Danish cuisine meets the modern 1950's kitchen!  Really, this could be a super easy dish, using nothing but fish sticks, frozen creamed spinach, and canned mushrooms...  Thought about going that route, but King Soopers is apparently too classy for frozen creamed spinach.  Found a simple enough preparation here, bought some fresh sole in place (plaice, heh) of flounder.  Took a bit more effort and cooking utensils, but turned out very tasty!

Two pics: I like the fresh out of the oven one, but you can't see the delicious creamy (and oniony/garlicky) spinach!

Sesame Night: Sesame-Crusted Salmon with Green Beans

If tonight were a super-amateur, no-time-limit episode of Chopped, the subtitle would be "Open Sesame"...  and that pretty much gives away what the not-so-secret ingredient was.  I gave myself a pass through the appetizer round, and never made it to dessert - does that mean I chopped myself?!  In any case, here's tonight's main course:

Sesame-Crusted Salmon (via ATK)

2 salmon fillets - skinless (didn't notice until now :/ )
1/4 c sesame seeds (or more...)
2 scallions
1/2 lemon, zest & juice
2 tsp tahini
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
cayenne pepper
oil, salt & pepper

Make a brine: 1 quart of water, 2 tbsp salt.  Soak your sesame seeds in just enough brine, salmon in the rest.  After 5 minutes, drain and toast your sesame seeds in a skillet until golden brown.

Mince the scallion whites, combine with lemon zest, and mix in with the lemon juice, tahini, ginger, and a sprinkle of cayenne and salt.  Coat the bottom of your salmon in the paste, then coat in seeds, then do the same with the other side.  Heat some oil in your (wiped) skillet and cook your salmon skinned side up until seeds start to brown, then turn off heat, flip salmon, and pop in the oven at 325 for 10-15 minutes.  Sprinkle with scallion greens before eating.

Sesame Green Beans (via Reddit)

1/2 lb green beans, trimmed
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp lemon juice (half a lemon?)
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp sriracha
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
oil

Toss your green beans with some (neutral?) oil and roast at 450 for 10-15 minutes - should see some carmelization.  Mix the sauces, then toss in the beans.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Honey Coconut Salmon

A combination of a free evening, a packet of frozen salmon, and a recently-purchased bag of shredded coconut (a possibility for an upcoming CS-ORS bake-off) led me to this recipe:

Recipe

1 1/2 c butter
3/4 c honey
1/4 c brown sugar
3/4 c flaked coconut
4 salmon fillets (~4 oz each)

Melt your butter, then stir in the honey, brown sugar, and coconut.  Pour over your salmon and turn to coat, then marinate in the fridge for at least half an hour.

Preheat your oven to 375, spread some marinade over the bottom of your baking dish, place your salmon in there, and coat with more marinade.  Bake about 25 minutes, basting with marinade a few times.

Notes

A good recipe for a lot of flavor from not a lot of ingredients.  I was worried it would be overly sweet what with the honey and brown sugar etc., but the butter and (unsweetened!) coconut balances it out a bit.  It worked well for some freezer salmon fillets - if you have a high-quality piece you're probably better off doing something more discreet...  It's also a pretty large amount of marinade - you're fine scaling it back significantly.

Pesto Salmon Foil Bake

Fresh seafood may not be as accessible here in the heart of the US of A, but there are still some ways to get your fix.  With a few salmon fillets thawing in the fridge and the end of a package of pesto, the internet turned up this intriguing concept, from Jamie Oliver via here...

Recipe

2 salmon fillets
two handfuls green beans
grape tomatoes
pesto
a lemon
olive oil
salt & pepper

Preheat your oven to 400.  Boil your green beans about 3 minutes, then drain and toss with some olive oil and salt & pepper.  Make nice little piles on two sheets of tin foil.  Salmon goes on top, spread on your pesto, and squeeze some lemon juice over.  Slice some grape tomatoes in half, toss with more olive oil, and they go on top.  Wrap up your foil and bake 20-25 minutes.

Notes

I'm not entirely sold on the difference the tin foil makes.  Other recipes basically just said put pesto on salmon and bake.  With the foil, it's hard to tell how done your salmon is, and then you have to unwrap everything while it's still hot and you're hungry...  But everything came out very tasty, with the flavors melding nicely.  So kind of fun, worth doing again!

Paleo Broiled Sole

Living within walking distance of Whole Foods has led me to step up my game as I get back into the cooking groove.  Dover sole on sale?  Into the cart, figure out the plan later.  Here's what the internet turned up:

Recipe

3 to 6 sole fillets
1/4 c olive oil
zest of one Meyer's lemon
3 whole cardamom pods (or a sprinkle of cardamom powder)
fresh cilantro leaves
salt & pepper

Mix together the olive oil, lemon zest, cardamom, and cilantro.  Spread half in the bottom of an oven-safe dish.  Put the sole on top, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cover with the rest of the sauce.  Put under the broiler for 7-8 minutes.  Feel free to squeeze some lemon juice on top, what else are you going to do with a skinned lemon?

Notes

Simple enough...  Although of course I didn't do things exactly as prescribed.  Rather than acquire cardamom in some form, I used a few cloves of minced garlic.  Also, the original recipe calls for Celtic sea salt?!  That's a thing?  Heritage aside, I used the kosher salt on hand.

This was also a fortuitous recipe since I had plenty of cilantro left over from (coincidentally) another paleo seafood dish.  The distinctive cilantro flavor didn't hold up under the broiler, but there was maybe a hint of burn - the cilantro? Garlic?  I barely let it sit the minimum 7 minutes they recommend, it got so noisy (and aromatic, as promised).  Anyway, here's the final product, a good simple way to get some paleo-approved fish in you.

Paleo Marinated Tuna Steaks

It's been a while since I've put up a new recipe, but now with a fully-functional kitchen out west, time to get back into it with King Sooper's/Whole Foods' finest ingredients.  Starting with a couple frozen tuna steaks, the internet turned up this recipe:

Recipe

tuna steak(s)
3 tbsp fat (coconut oil recommended)
1 tsp ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c cilantro, chopped
juice & zest of 1 lime
salt & pepper

Mix together your fat, ginger, garlic, cilantro, lime, salt, and pepper.  Slather it on the tuna and let sit for a few hours.

Scrape off the excess marinade - saving it for later!  Heat your grill or skillet medium high, and cook about 4 minutes per side.  Heat up the leftover marinade briefly to make a thick paste.  Serve with avocado, spinach, whatever you want...

Notes

The tuna steaks came frozen solid; it took the better part of a week in the fridge before they were anything other than hockey pucks.  This made me a little cautious, so after searing both sides of the steaks, I popped the skillet in the oven for some extra time to cook through.  The steaks were just slightly on the overdone side...

Some people are strongly anti-cilantro.  While I'm no irrational hater, there always seems to be something strange about a strong cilantro flavor.  In this dish, it seemed to come mainly from the paste rather than the marinade process.  Garlic, ginger, and cilantro make an interesting combination...

Here's the somewhat colorful result, helped on by roasted orange cauliflower - toss florets with a sliced onion, garlic cloves, olive oil, and spices, and roast at 425 until soft (to be honest, the caramelized onions were maybe the best part of the meal).

Salmon Fra Diavolo

Salmon is great - there are a lot of great ways to cook it up, some simple and some more elaborate and impressive.  Here's the latest version:

Recipe

2 salmon fillets
1 onion, finely diced
1 tbsp anchovy paste (or 1 anchovy)
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 c white wine
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 c minced peperoncinis
olive oil
salt & pepper

Rub the salmon with olive oil and season with salt & pepper, and start cooking in the oven at 400 degrees until just cooked through (15 minutes?).  Meanwhile, start some olive oil on high heat and caramelize the onions.  Add the anchovy, garlic, oregano, and red pepper, and cook a few minutes.  Add the white wine and reduce by at least half, then add tomatoes.  Simmer for a while until you're ready to serve.  Stir in the peperoncini and scoop over the salmon.

Notes

Although this one looks/sounds a little more upscale, it's not particularly difficult.  There's not a whole lot of prep, and even the lesser-used ingredients (anchovy, peperoncini) aren't too out there.  The timing is also a little strange - the stew should actually take significantly longer than the salmon.  You don't need to worry too much, though, since things don't need to be too finely-timed.  If the stew is done first, it can simmer longer, and the salmon can cool slightly if it's done first.  Tons of flavor!

I did my version over instant mashed potatoes (lazy/guilty pleasure); pasta should go nicely too!  Got distracted and no picture :(

Roasted Flounder & Bell Peppers

While I wasn't thrilled with the New York Times' recent reporting around the gun control debate, that's a topic for a separate blog.  This week's Food section had this appetizing concept:

Recipe

1 1/2 lbs mild fish fillets: hake, flounder, cod, etc.
3 bell peppers, mix of colors, sliced thin
1 small bunch thyme
1/4 c olives, black/green/mixed, pitted and sliced
1 tsp sherry vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 c parsley, chopped
olive oil
salt & pepper

Season fish with salt, pepper, and a tablespoon of chopped thyme.  Let rest at room temperature while you slice the peppers, spread them on a baking sheet, and toss with 1 1/2 tbsp of oil and some salt and pepper.  Sprinkle some thyme sprigs and pop in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, tossing a couple times.  Increase the temperature to 500, push the peppers to the edge, add your fish, sprinkle on your olives, drizzle with oil, and back in for about 10 minutes.  Meanwhile whisk together the vinegar, garlic, 3 tbsp olive oil, parsley, and a sprinkle of salt.  Sprinkle sauce over cooked fish and peppers as you serve.

Notes

The Gray Lady knows her food!  And for once, it actually looked a lot like the picture:

Gravad Lax

Homemade gravlax!  As per the classic Scandinavian cookbook.

Recipe

1 lb salmon, cut into two fillets
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp crushed peppercorns
1 bunch fresh dill, chopped

Mix the salt, sugar, and pepper.  Lay the salmon out on a big piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil.  Top with dill and sprinkle generously with salt mixture.  Put one fillet on top of the other and wrap up securely.  (You might also want to put it in a plastic bag in case moisture leaks out.)  Place on a dish and weigh it down, for instance with a few cans of food.  Refrigerate for at least 48 hours, turning it a few times.  Once it's done, unwrap, scrape off the seasonings, slice thinly and serve!

The cookbook recommends "gravlaxsas" (sound it out!) as an accompaniment - essentially a mustard vinaigrette with more salt, sugar and dill.

Notes

A week-plus since by first trials of this (non-)cooking concept, and all test subjects (i.e., me) seem to have suffered no ill effects...  A bit of a relief, since I convinced myself in the meantime that it was a mistake to trust the Lake Placid Price Chopper's seafood counter, and my salmon had to sit in the car for the ride back plus another errand or two...  Maybe next time I'll make sure to hit a more upscale grocer and specify "sushi-grade"...

In any case, I used two six-ounce skinless fillets.  Rather than just season the top and press together, I made sure all sides were well-coated in salt mixture and dill.

I also did some outside research to make sure copy editors didn't leave out an important step like "cook for 30 minutes"...  There were actually some similar, more modern recipes online that are essentially the same in concept but explore variations in the ratio of salt to sugar or other seasonings like coriander, caraway, or fennel seed, or citrus zest, or aquavit.  But the key takeaway was that, yes, you can make your own gravlax for not-too-expensive!  (Pictures of what it should look like also helped reassure me.)  So full speed ahead with taste tests.

The results: it was really, really good.  The smooth salmon taste, with a healthy dose of salt and pepper.  So good.

Sesame-Soy Udon with Crispy Tilapia

This recipe continues (concludes?) a few recent Cannibal Stew trends: tilapia and Plated...

Recipe

10 oz tilapia (Plated seems to like this amount of protein)
3 scallions
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp tapioca (?) flour
3 tbsp sesame oil
8 oz udon noodles
3 packets (maybe a tbsp?) soy sauce
1 packet (however much you want!) sriracha
salt & pepper


Slice the scallions, separating the dark green from the rest.  Mix the cornstarch and flour.  Season the tilapia with salt & pepper, and dredge through the flour.  Heat a tbsp of oil and cook the tilapia until lightly browned, a couple minutes per side.  Remove the fish and cut into bite-size pieces.  Add another tbsp of oil and cook the tilapia until crisp and brown, a couple more minutes.  Heat the last tbsp oil in a separate pan, and cook the udon and garlic until the noodles are warmed through.  Add the soy sauce, sriracha, and light scallion parts, stir to coat, and cook a couple minutes.  Noodles then fish and scallion greens on your plate and eat.

Notes

I'd been on a good tilapia kick recently, having just pan-fried a few fillets nicely.  This recipe made me re-think that old standard.  Do I need to flour the fish every time?  Because it was deliciously crisp and brown.

The udon noodles were good too.  I'm not familiar though - are they usually pre-cooked and just need to be warmed?  It surprised me a little that we didn't have to boil up some water and stuff.  Will just have to factor that in for next time...

fancy tableware huh? at B&H's

Brazilian Fish Stew

Soup season may (thankfully) be about over by now, but this recipe was way too interesting to pass up.  Looked easy enough too - tilapia is always easy to find, and there are no other really crazy ingredients:

Recipe

1-2 lbs tilapia fillets, cut into bite-size pieces
4 tbsp lime juice (I squeezed out about two limes)
1 1/2 tbsp ground cumin*
1 1/2 tbsp paprika*
2 1/2 tsp minced garlic*
salt & pepper
1 tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
2-3 bell peppers, in large pieces
14 oz diced tomatoes (drained)
14 oz coconut milk
some diced jalapeno (my addition)
cilantro

* those are weird amounts, huh? I just eyeballed it a bit

Combine the lime, cumin, paprika, garlic, salt, and pepper and marinate the tilapia for at least 20 minutes.  Heat the oil and soften the onions, then add the fish, peppers, and tomatoes (and jalapeno), pour over the coconut milk, cover, and simmer about 20 minutes.  Add the cilantro for the last bit of cooking and/or to garnish before serving.

Notes

There's a lot of interesting flavors in here: sweetness from the coconut, fishiness, salt, some citrus tang, etc.  I wasn't really blown away though.  Tilapia's not a fancy fish, but I'm not sure a nicer piece would really make much difference without some way to really sear it better.  Overall, though, it's a good way to make a couple dinners'-worth of seafood.  I'll try the leftovers over rice...

Salmon en Cocotte

New tool in the kitchen arsenal: a (Martha-approved!) dutch oven.  There's a whole new set of recipes that have been waiting for this moment.  First one courtesy of Cooks Illustrated:

Recipe

1 1/2 to 2 lb skinless salmon fillet, divided into about 4 equally-sized portions, seasoned with salt & pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise, sliced thin
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 ribs celery, sliced thin
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp orange zest
1/2 c orange juice (I squeezed two oranges instead of using bottled OJ)
1 orange, peeled and segmented
2 tbsp butter
salt & pepper

Heat the oil in a dutch oven over medium-low heat and saute the leek, thyme, and a pinch of salt, about 8-10 minutes.  Stir in the garlic, celery, and orange zest, cook briefly, and remove from heat.  Lay the salmon skin-side down, cover, and cook at 250 for about 25-30 minutes.  Remove the salmon, then stir the OJ into the leeks etc.  Simmer over medium-high for a couple minutes until thickened.  Remove from heat and stir in the butter and orange slices,  Pour sauce over the salmon and serve/eat.

Notes

The salmon on its own is nothing special, just cooked on low heat with basic seasonings.  The sauce is incredible though.  It's sweet (orange) and savory (leek); the butter also adds some important richness.

This is actually the more elaborate version of the recipe.  The basic version has no orange, and white wine instead of OJ.

Sesame Salmon

This recipe from the folks at Wok Woks does not actually require a wok...

Recipe

1 lb salmon fillet(s)
1 tbsp gomasio salt
juice of 1/2 a lime
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 leek, shredded
2 carrots, shredded
1/4 lb snow peas, shredded
rice (optional)

Put the salmon in a (foil-lined) roasting pan and sprinkle with the salt, sesame seeds, and lime juice.  Bake for about 20 minutes at 425 degrees.  Meanwhile, shred and toss together the vegetables.  Serve the salmon and veggies together, with rice if you want, with the pan juices poured over the top.

Notes

The salmon is simple enough.  I don't have fancy gomasio salt, so just went for regular salt with some sesame oil for the flavor.  The recipe specifies skinless salmon, but whatever.  Anyway, the veggies are a nice touch though, as much as I'm not familiar with leeks.  After one attempt, I think it makes the most sense to grate the carrot and process the leek and snow peas.  All in all a good dinner.

Pan-Seared Tilapia with Fishy Spinach

New apartment, new grocery stores, new appliances... well, the ingredients of this one are some of my old stand-by's - was hoping to do one of my simple favorites - but stupid Avanti "Elite" oven won't work so we need a new method of preparation.  Using this as a general guide, I decided to see if I couldn't make a few tilapia fillets that had been sitting in my freezer/fridge for (more than) a couple days edible.

Recipe

The Necessities
tilapia fillets
~3 tbsp butter
spinach
salt & pepper

My Supplements
garlic, chopped
jalapeno, chopped
1 anchovy
lemon (wish I had it)

So to start, you melt your butter and add the garlic, jalapeno, lemon, and/or whatever herbs and spices you want infused in everything yet to come.  Sprinkle your fish with salt and pepper and put it in the pan.  Let it sit for about 2 minutes and change either side.  Take it out, (add in and break up your anchovy,) and put in some generous handfuls of spinach.  Stir it around until it's all a bit wilty and the initial seasoning elements are all mixed in.  Scoop the spinach onto your plate and serve the fish over it.  Like so:

Oh man.  This was another improvised stovetop dish where I might not ever go back to the oven.  Maybe (definitely) it was a bit on the salty side, but a lighter touch sprinkling the fillets would do fine there.  Fast and easy too!

Swordfish with Sherry-Cream Sorrel

In honor of our nation's 237th birthday (OK, coincidentally), I was leafing through the colonial Philadelphia cookbook and snapping hopefully-legible pictures of the recipe for later use.  First up was swordfish.

The Recipe

swordfish steaks
bay leaves
1/2 c sherry
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup shredded sorrel (or spinach)
butter, salt & pepper

Fish goes in baking dish(es) with a couple bay leaves (for the whole lot) and spots of butter on top.  Cook at 375 for about 10-15 minutes (until a cooked egg white-like film appears on top).  Remove from heat, get rid of bay leaves and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, boil the sherry, then add the cream and simmer for about 5 minutes until it thickens.  Stir in the sorrel and bring to a boil, then serve over the swordfish.

The Outcome

I liked this one because swordfish is a more highly-regarded piece of seafood, but the recipe itself is very simple.  You could just prepare the fish on its own (my one note is, as is endemic to cookbooks, it seemed to underestimate the cooking time).  Indeed, I was skeptical about the sherry-cream spinach element, but it actually came out as a kind of nice, tangy green element to the meal.  I didn't give it enough time to really thicken, but just tried to scoop out the leaves (of spinach, the suggested alternative).  Here's how it came out with a serving of sweet potato fries on the side:

Fried Catfish

For health and practical reasons, I've generally opted more for pan-frying than deep-frying.  Fried catfish is totally worth a shot in my book, though.  I had to range a little farther than Morton Williams across Second, but Food Emporium had the seafood and Kalustyan's (an incredible place) had other key elements like cornmeal and smoked paprika.  The Internet provided these guidelines.  Note that the recipe is as I did it for just one medium-to-large fillet; multiply out as needed.

Recipe

1 catfish fillet
<1/4 cup fine-ground cornmeal
<1/4 cup flour (you need a bit less than the cornmeal)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1 sprinkle cayenne pepper
milk
salt
oil (they recommend peanut; I used vegetable)
hot sauce (optional/to taste)

• Heat about a half-inch of oil in a skillet - until anything you put in it sizzles.
• Soak the fillet in milk.
• Mix the cornmeal, flour and spices.
• Sprinkle the fillets with salt and dredge through the meal mixture.
• Fry maybe up to 5 minutes a side (flip carefully!).
• If you have a big batch, keep the already-fried catfish warm in the oven at 200 degrees until ready to serve.
• Serve.  (With hot sauce, if desired.)

Notes

Once again, you can't take cooking times at their word.  I got an awesome sizzle when I put my fillet in the fryer, but at 3-4 minutes a side the thick part was still a little underdone.  Next time, I wouldn't worry about overcooking until the coating starts to look it.

I made it with a sandwich in mind, but ended up serving it over spinach-pepper jack mashed potatoes instead:

For once, my version actually looked like the pictures!

Cider-Glazed Salmon

Salmon is one of the best ways to fill your seafood quota for a week.  This recipe isn't my favorite, or the easiest, but it's a good change-up if you're looking for a sweeter preparation.

Recipe

4 skinless salmon filets
1/2 c apple cider
1 1/4 tbsp honey
lemons, halved
12 oz baby spinach
1 1/2 tbsp white wine
olive oil, salt, pepper

1. Boil the honey and cider in a skillet and reduce by half.  Put the salmon in a baking dish, pour the cider glaze over, and let sit 10 minutes.
2. Heat a tsp of olive oil in an oven-safe skillet, and put in the salmon, sprinkle with salt & pepper, brush on half the glaze, and cook a few minutes.  You want it a bit caramelized...  Turn and glaze with the rest of the sauce, add the lemon halves, and put it in the oven at 350 degrees.  Cook it there 6-8 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, melt a tbsp or two of butter in a skillet (potentially the same one as the first step).  Start to wilt the spinach and sprinkle with salt & pepper, then add the white wine.  Cook until tender.
4. Serve the spinach with the salmon on top and lemon as garnish.

Notes

The recipe uses a few too many dishes and pans for my liking, although three for a full meal (including veggies) isn't too unreasonable.  I found it sweet but lacking a little bit of, I dunno, variety of some kind.  So worthwhile to try, but not the best I've made or had.