Addictions

In my continuing quest to find foods without any sort of dairy or soy, my wonderful husband said he wanted fried catfish. Now, I've never been a big fish eater and growing up, seafood consisted of shrimp and fish sticks. He on the other hand LOVES fish and has always talked about fried catfish, so I figured what the heck. I was not that excited about it, but it didn't have dairy or soy, AND it meant he would be making some fried squash too, which I do love, so I went with it. Normally, he was used to fried catfish made with cornmeal, but he decided to try a different seasoning and grabbed the Louisiana Fry mix. Oh. My. GAWD! We couldn't get enough of the fish that night, I was completely impressed and asked for it again the following week. And the following week. AND the following week. Then we secured an old fryer his mother had. And we've had fried catfish and squash every week since. Yes, we are officially addicted to this fry seasoning. I think we are even eating this more often than we are eating pasta, which for anyone who knows me, this is amazing because I love pasta. And I can't wait until I can eat lasagna and vodka sauce and all those yummy, cheesy, creamy pasta dishes again - but I'm sure this recipe will stay on our menu then too. I might just add a cheesy salad. (((grin)))

So go buy some and fry yourself some tasty catfish!

Tony P's Seafood Guac-tail

A few weeks ago I had the honor of being in my step-sisters wedding out in LA. She, of course, was a beautiful bride - but that's a different story for a different time. While there, we ended up at Tony P's Dockside Grill near Marina Del Ray for a nice lunch on the coast. After debating on whether or not we wanted an appetizer, we saw they offered a Seafood Guac-tail and knew that was the one to go for since my husband is a huge Ceviche fan and I am completely addicted to guacamole - this seemed like the best of both worlds. They brought it out in a deep sundae glass with a small fork surrounded by tortilla chips. With our first bite, we knew this was a something we wanted to try at home. It was the fresh flavors of the tomatoes and avocados and the perfect addition of the shrimp and blue crab - perfect for a nice, warm, sunny afternoon! One thing to note, I used imitation crab meat in mine since I'm not sure where to find the blue crab meat - but it was still de-lish.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 C Tomatoes, diced
1 T cilantro, chopped
3-4 T red onion, diced
juice of half a lemon
juice of half a lime
2 serrano peppers, seeded and diced
2 avocados, diced
4 oz crab meat
12 cooked shrimp, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Mixe all ingredients together, chill for at least 30 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips.

Mediterranean White Fish and Couscous

After my husband and I got married in October, we vowed to do "China Sunday's" to encourage us to 1) sit down to dinner together at the table and 2) use the wonderful china we received at our wedding. We are also hoping this catches on to more days of the week and becomes a normal evening dinner before we have children since I don't want to raise them with eating out all the time or eating in front of the TV. This routine of China Sunday went to the wayside for the past month or so due to a variety of circumstances, but we are eagerly trying to start it up again - and while today is Monday, it was a holiday so we considered it our Sunday.

With this in mind and not feeling manwich and taco's are China worthy, I made a menu for the week and this seafood dish was the winner for today - partly because I felt it had the best presentation potential and partly because I didn't want to freeze the fresh fish. Knowing that my husband loves olives and fish, and my doctor (as well as the rest of the health world) has told me to eat more fish, I felt this would be a great addition to our normal meal rotation - and it was a hit.

As with all recipes, feel free to substitute and alter as you see fit, but remember that changing what is listed may not always yield satisfactory results. I hope you enjoy!

COUSCOUS
INGREDIENTS

1 C water
1 C couscous
1 C halved grape tomatoes
1/4 C chopped olives (I used green, although the recipe called for kalamata)
3 Tbl chopped red onion
2 Tbl chopped fresh parsley
Juice from half lemon
1 tsp dried oregano
1 large clove crushed garlic
1 Tbl olive oil
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS

Bring 1 C water to boil. Add couscous, stir, cover, and remove from heat. Allow to sit for about 5-6 minutes then fluff with a fork.

Mix couscous with remaining ingredients in large bowl, ensuring it is mixed well. Set aside while you prepare the fish.

WHITE FISH

INGREDIENTS

4 white fish fillets such as Mahimahi or tilapia
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
12 Lemon slices (about 1 1/2 lemons)

DIRECTIONS

Prepare parchment paper for fish fillets. I use the Cooking Light method of cutting a large heart shape into the paper, placing the fillet in the center and fold paper over it, then begin rolling the edges together starting opposite the point, then using the point end to seal it.

Sprinkle both sides of the fish with salt and pepper and place onto the parchment paper. Drizzle about a Tbl of olive oil and top with 3 lemon slices. Seal the parchment paper and place on a baking sheet.

Bake for about 12-13 minutes at 425. Remove and serve immediately with couscous.

Mardi Gras Hooray!

Three years ago today, my cousin and I (pic above) made the trek to New Orleans for the great celebration of Mardi Gras. On our first full day there, we found a balcony along Bourbon that you could pay to be on for a few hours, so for anyone who hasn't been, the balcony's basically run the crowds so they are the place to be.


There were a few other people up there, one of who we ended up talking to and quickly learned his uncle owned the place - GOOD PERSON TO KNOW! We chatted for a while and he invited us back later that evening, so of course we came back and spent the night indulging in free beverages and the greatest entertainment of throwing beads at people (yes AT them, not necessarily TO them). Anyhow, to make a long story short, 3 years later I am now married to the guy who's uncle owned the business with the balcony we met on and Mardi Gras has special place in our hearts.

On to the food! I know I said I was going to post a Jambalaya recipe but I have to admit, it was less than I hoped for so I'm not posting the recipe. However, we have made Shrimp Etouffee on several occasions and while I haven't made it lately, I still have the recipe to post. I was amazed at how simple this one is and how good it came out, so I hope you enjoy it to!

SHRIMP ETOUFFEE

INGREDIENTS

1 lb shrimp, devined
1/4 lb butter
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced (I do red for color)
1 rib of celery, diced
2 tsp cornstarch
1/4 C water
1/4 C parsley, chopped
1/4 chives, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Creole or Cajun seasoning to taste (start with a tsp and go from there)
Cooked white rice

DIRECTIONS

Saute onions, peppers, and celery in butter until soft. Stir in shrimp, seasoning, parsley, and chives and cook thoroughly.

Dissolve cornstarch in water and add to pan, stirring constantly. Let simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes, adding salt and pepper to taste. Serve over white rice.

***Note: water and cornstarch can be adjusted to create a thinner or thicker sauce depending on personal taste. Crawfish can be substituted for shrimp.

Simple Fish Tacos

After spending my graduate school time in San Diego, where the seafood was considerably fresh and tasty, I was able to improve my taste from fish sticks and shrimp cocktail to actual seafood an adult would eat. One of the dishes I feel in love with was fish taco's, although my recipe differs from the one's I enjoyed in Southern California since I do not batter and fry them. Sure the crunch can be nice, but when you work sitting at a computer and don't spend nearly as much time being active as you did in college, your hips appreciate the lack of fried food calories.

INGREDIENTS:

3 Tbl taco seasoning
Juice from 1 lime and 1 orange
1 pound of white fish (mahimahi, tilapia, etc)
2 Tbl vegetable oil
1/2 head of red cabbage, chopped
1/2 C green onions, chopped
3/4 C low fat sour cream
2 Tbl fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp Hot sauce (Sriachi, etc)
8 corn tortillas
1 lime, cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS:

Combine taco seasoning, lime, and orange juice. Cut fish into bite size pieces, add to juice mixture, and toss to coat. Marinate for 30 minutes.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add fish and saute until fish is done, usually abut 5-10 minutes.

Mix cabbage, green onions, and cilantro. Combine sour cream and hot sauce, then coat cabbage mixture.

Warm tortilla's according to package. Fill with fish and cabbage mixture and garnish with lime wedge. (Squeeze juice onto taco before eating - delish!)

Serving size is 2 tacos and they have about 175 calories for each taco.