Fish ‘n Chips Fish

Do you understand what this title means?  What I was trying to convey is that here I will be posting a recipe for fish that tastes just like the fish you’d get at a fish ‘n chip place.  I found this recipe in the summer, and posted it then to my facebook page.  But, now that we’re speaking again – not that we ever weren’t speaking, but you know what I mean – I thought I’d share it with you too.

This summer was crazy hot, wasn’t it?  So our menu around here was lots of salads, and things that could be cooked on the barbecue. One day,  I saw some of the talapia in my freezer and thought, “hmm… what are we going to do with you, little fish fillets?” I searched around the web a bit, and found a couple of recipes at allrecipes.com that I mashed together. And wow. This is absolutely a recipe I’ll make again – the fish comes out crispy! Like it was deep fried! With a delicious and mild flavour… yum.

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients

Hobo Seasoning
3 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon kosher salt

Fish batter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs
1 tablespoon “hobo seasoning” (above)
2 egg whites
1 pound tilapia fillets

Method

1. Measure all the ingredients for the hobo spice into a container with a lid. Mix it up, shake it up, and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 450, barbecue to 400 (the first time I made this it was on the barbecue).
3. In a shallow dish, mix together the flour, salt, pepper, bread crumbs & hobo seasoning. Set aside.
4. In another dish, beat the egg whites until they’re fluffy (I think this is the key to the recipe’s success… I used beaters and whipped them until they were almost stiff enough for meringues). Set aside.
5. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil, and spray with cooking spray (Pam or something similar).
6. One at a time, dip the fish into the egg until coated. Transfer to the flour mixture, turning to coat, and then place on the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat until all fillets are prepared.
7. Put the cookie sheet into the oven/barbecue and bake for 10 – 15 minutes.

I served this with fries and cut up veggies. And yes, I did the fries on the grill too! It was interesting… they were a little more crunchy than they get in the oven, but they also seemed somehow less substantial. I was happy though to have made fish & chips all by myself, and super tasty too!

Since that first time, I’ve made this batter again and used it on pork chops.  And holy cow…  again – delicious!  I guess it was like shake & bake, but I don’t remember ever having that.  So I can’t really say.  Anyway.  When you try it, dear Reader, please make sure to let us know what you thought of it!

Until next time,

m

Original recipes can be found at:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Blackened-Tilapia-with-Secret-Hobo-Spices/Detail.aspx
and
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Crunchy-Oven-Fried-Tilapia/Detail.aspx

Enjoy!

Salmon Loaf

This is an old-time recipe that my Mom grew up with.  I don’t remember her making it for us though when I was a kid; that may be faulty memory on my part though, who knows?  All I can say is that I remember her making this when I became vegetarian.  And man.  Did I love it.

I asked her for the recipe a few weeks ago, as I was having a hankering for it.  I made it last night for the first time, and guess what?  Everyone loved it!  My hubby asked me if I could please add this to the regular food rotation.    And so I will.

With Mom’s permission, I am posting her recipe (with Maribeth’s tweak!  And a few of my own) here:

Ingredients

1 418 g can cooked salmon
1 tbsp butter, melted
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1 cup hot milk
2 eggs well beaten
2 tbsp minced onion
1/2 tsp kosher salt
6 grinds from my pepper mill

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350, and grease a loaf pan (I used non-stick cooking spray).  Set aside.
2. Open the can of salmon and remove the bones.  These are very soft (as you will see!), so you don’t need to worry about getting them all.  I took out the spine piece, any of the other little bones that I could easily and I removed the skin too.
3. Use your hands to break the salmon up, and put into a bowl.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
4. Press the salmon mixture into the loaf pan and bake for 35 minutes.

I served this with roasted potatoes, steamed broccoli and some frozen corn.  YUM!

Pan Fried Salmon

My kids love fish.  Some would say that’s because it’s their birthright (my hubby, their daddy, is a Newfoundlander).  And hey — maybe they’re right.  But you know, I love fish too and I was born & bred in Ontario.  Who knows.  Whatever the reason, I am grateful for it!  It’s so good for us.  Anyway!  Here’s what I did with the salmon tonight:

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
2 whole cloves garlic (not minced)
1 lb salmon filets

Method

1. Measure out the olive oil and pour into a large frying pan.  Turn on the heat to med-high and allow to get warm.
2. Using the blade of a chef’s knife, press each clove of garlic until it cracks into smaller pieces.  Add the garlic to the oil and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
3. Place the salmon filets into the oil and cover.  Cook for about 3 minutes.  Then flip the fillets over and cook them for another 3 minutes.

Serve 4 people nicely.  Enjoy!

Scallop Chowder

When I lived in Halifax I discovered this tasty treat.  I used to buy my scallops fresh from the Brewer’s Market (best market in the country, IMO) so they were sea scallops (meaning: bigger) not bay scallops.  Now that I am no longer near the sea, I just buy frozen bay scallops.  Still a mighty tasty bowl of soup.

Ingredients

3 cups chicken broth
1 carrot, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 potatoes, cubed
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 pound bay scallops
2 tablespoons margarine or butter (because Sam was eating it I used margarine)
1/2 cup white wine
1 egg yolk
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Method

1. In a large pot over high heat, combine the chicken broth, carrot, onion, potatoes, thyme, parsley, salt and ground black pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer mixture to a food processor or blender, puree until smooth and set aside.
2. In the same pot over medium heat, saute the mushrooms and scallops in the butter or margarine for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the wine and reserved puree mixture to the pot, reduce heat to low and allow to simmer.
3. In a separate small bowl, combine the egg yolk and heavy cream. Mix well and add to the soup. Continue simmering over low heat, stirring occasionally for 10 to 15 minutes.

Yes, I appreciate the irony of making a soup without butter for my lactose intolerant son that has a full cup of whipping cream in it.  To save his intestinal distress (and my having to change him every 10 minutes for the coming 24-hours!) I ladled out his chowder before I put in the cream.  He loved it.

Serve this with crusty bread and the rest of the wine you used in the soup.  My whole family loves this one, and I bet yours will too.  That is, assuming y’all like seafood.  :)