Archive for the Category » Fish «

Pan-Fried Trout with Crawfish au Gratin

The hubby and I just returned from our annual New Orleans Jazz Fest date weekend. We had an awesome time and the weather was absolutely amazing–a far cry from last year’s cold, rainy and muddy event. We spent two glorious days frolicking around the Fair Grounds eating, drinking, craft shopping, soaking up some rays, taking in a couple of cool cooking demonstrations and–of course–enjoying some of the finest music on earth. Anyone who loves listening to live music and eating the finest fest food around in an environment enhanced by local culture and interesting people watching needs [ ... ]
Category: Crawfish, Fish, Main Dishes, Sauces, Seafood  Tags: , , ,  Comments off

Finger Food Friday: Smoked Salmon Chips

Every year I approach the holidays with what I believe to be a good balance of excitement and caution. Excitement over the magic of the season and making the most of all the food, fun, family and friends that come with it. Caution not to overdo it. This year, let’s just say I got overly excited and threw caution to the wind. Put another way, I ate and drank too much and stayed up past my bedtime more often than not. It’s left me tired, bloated and a tad cranky. And with New Year’s [ ... ]

Finger Food Friday: Satsuma Ceviche

One of the best ways for me to brighten up a dreary winter’s day is to grab hold of a juicy Louisiana satsuma, push my thumb through its forgiving skin, separate the skin from the flesh and plop the seedless segments into my mouth one by one. As I bite down on each section, my mouth swells with tangy sweetness and all is right with the world! At least for a little while! Citrus has that weird mood-enhancing effect on me. Even my kids recognize it! Whenever I’m grumpy, they tell me to go “cut a lime.” While that sounds [ ... ]

Finger Food Friday: Crispy Catfish Nuggets with Creole Tartar Sauce

  A couple of years back, I started a fun little tradition with the hubby and our three children called “Fry Nights.”  Fry Nights are dinners composed of an entire meal that is … are you sitting down?  Deep fried.  That’s right.  A plate full of delectably crispy and crunchy foods that have been totally immersed in a “hot frying medium.”  Oh yeah!  About three or four times a year, this party of five throws caution to the wind, our waistlines and our heart health by eating a supper prepared entirely in a vat of peanut oil.  Best part is, there’s [ ... ]

Finger Food Friday: Blackened Tuna Tostadas

Back in November, I shared with you my Blackened Shrimp recipe which included a quick inside blackening process using an electric griddle or grill pan.  While that technique is fine for cooking small batches of shrimp, I don’t recommend it for blackening big fillets of fish.  In order to cook blackened fish properly, it needs to be done outside in a cast-iron skillet over very high heat.  Cooking the fish indoors under these conditions could cause a fire hazard (the melted butter meets blazing hot skillet equation) or severe “spice inhalation” (the inability to breathe due to mass quantities of [ ... ]

Codfish Balls

So you’re probably looking at my picture wondering why the heck I calls these things Codfish Balls when they’re actually more like cakes or patties. Well, to be honest, I’m not sure. All I know is my family and many other New Orleans families refer to them the same way. It is what it is, and I’m not about to shake up the family dynamic by changing the name to fit some textbook or cookbook definition. Codfish Balls have always been my favorite Lenten meal. Unfortunately, many years ago the canned codfish people (Beaver and maybe Gorton) [ ... ]
Category: Fish, Main Dishes, Seafood  Tags: ,  27 Comments

Pan-Seared Fish Tacos with Spicy Mango Glaze, Cilantro Slaw and Avocado Cream

I love tacos, especially those stuffed with fresh Louisiana seafood. I just don’t care for the ones filled with battered and fried fish. While that may be considered the “true” way to cook fish for fish tacos, it’s not for me. The coating, however thick or thin, tends to get in the way of that wonderful seafood flavor I crave when I order or cook them. I also find the deep-fried ones way too heavy when combined with flour or corn tortillas. A highly seasoned, pan-seared fish is more my style, especially when it’s dressed [ ... ]
Category: Fish, Main Dishes, Seafood  Tags: , ,  Comments off

Bourbon Salmon

Sometimes telling someone about a recipe is not nearly as compelling as preparing it with them, especially if that person is not used to cooking with certain ingredients. Take my Bourbon Salmon for instance. One day, I was chatting it up with a friend who had never bought much less prepared salmon at home. She had never cooked with bourbon and wasn’t particularly comfortable using the broiler either. Bottom line? As delicious as the recipe sounded, she didn’t think she could pull it off at home. So I set out to prove otherwise. [ ... ]
Category: Fish, Main Dishes, Seafood  Tags: ,  Comments off

Chipotle Roasted Tilapia

I have a new addiction–chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.  Their smoky-spiciness has me hooked.  And lately I’ve been adding them to just about everything.  Of course, you’d never know that because until now I haven’t posted any of those recipes.  It’s just that one idea has lead to another and then another.  And when I’m cranking up the creativity in the kitchen, the recipe writing takes a back seat.  Not to worry, though.  I have all of the fiery hot details jotted down somewhere and I will get each one posted.  Eventually! The one recipe I have finished is for my [ ... ]
Category: Fish, Main Dishes, Seafood  Tags:  One Comment