Ok, it was Ash Wednesday and we needed to eat some fish. So, I came up with this easy main dish. Ingredients: basa or tilapia fillets, flour, corn meal, egg(s), salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, oil for frying, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped avocado, pico de gallo. For the avocado and pico, I used this mix that HEB has to make guacamole, but a couple of avocados and some salsa or pico will do instead.
Preparation: take your fillets and dry them thoroughly with a paper towel. Get out three bowls. Put the flour in one, the egg(s) in the second, and the corn meal in the third. Heat up a large skillet on medium high heat and add enough oil to go, say, 1/4" up the side. Turn the broiler on in the oven. Season the flour with salt and pepper. Season the corn meal with cayenne pepper. Whip the eggs until nicely scrambled. The amount of flour, corn meal and eggs depends on the amount of fillets you're using. You need about 1 egg and 1/2-3/4 cup each of flour and corn meal for two fillets. Multiply accordingly. Dredge the fillets in the flour, then through the egg wash, then coat with cornmeal and set on a piece of wax paper.
When the oil is hot, fry up them fillets. After you turn them to fry the other side, sprinkle cheddar cheese on the fillets to cover. Wait a minute or so, then pop them under the broiler. When the cheese is nicely melted and a little browned, take them out of the oven. Plate them, spread on a bit of the avocado and top with pico.
Serve with refritos and rice.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Gumbo
Yesterday being Fat Tuesday, I made gumbo. Gumbo is one of the easiest things to make, but it tastes like it's hard. There is one neat secret I learned from Alton Brown; more about that later. First, the ingredients.
1 cup flour
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
10 cups chicken broth or stock
1 pound or more skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
1 pound andouille sausage, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 ounces raw oysters
Cayenne pepper
Ground thyme
a bay leaf
The key to a good gumbo is the roux. A roux is a mixture of flour and fat, usually oil or butter. Roux come in different colors from white to dark brown. Roux are used to thicken sauces and the lighter the color of the roux the more thickening power of the roux.
Most recipes call for you to mix the flour and the oil and continually stir the roux until it reaches a dark brown color. The problem with that method is that if you get distracted or the phone rings or you spy a UFO out the window and take you eyes off the roux it can burn and if you find specks of burned roux, you have to throw it out. It will taste awful. Here's Alton Brown's secret method: mix the roux on the stove, then pop it in a 425 degree oven and let it be. It will take about 30-40 minutes, but you don't have to mess with it. And it doesn't burn! It's the indirect heat that is the key. So, do that with the oil and the flour and cook it until the roux is dark, chocolate brown.
Meanwhile, sprinkle the chicken and the shrimp with cayenne pepper and chop up the veggies.
Then, take the pot out of the oven and put it on the stove over medium low heat. Add in the onion, celery and green pepper (the holy trinity). SAFETY NOTE: YOU ARE ADDING STUFF TO BASICALLY HOT OIL. IT'S LIKELY TO SPLATTER! BE CAREFUL. Cook the trinity until it is soft.
Add the chicken stock, the chicken and the thyme and bay leaf. Let that cook for about an hour or so. Then add the sausage. Cook for another 30 minutes or so. Right before serving, throw in the shrimp, cook for 2 minutes. Then, before serving, throw in the oysters.
Done. Serve it over rice and good bread. And, of course, with a Turbo Dog.
1 cup flour
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
10 cups chicken broth or stock
1 pound or more skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
1 pound andouille sausage, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 ounces raw oysters
Cayenne pepper
Ground thyme
a bay leaf
The key to a good gumbo is the roux. A roux is a mixture of flour and fat, usually oil or butter. Roux come in different colors from white to dark brown. Roux are used to thicken sauces and the lighter the color of the roux the more thickening power of the roux.
Most recipes call for you to mix the flour and the oil and continually stir the roux until it reaches a dark brown color. The problem with that method is that if you get distracted or the phone rings or you spy a UFO out the window and take you eyes off the roux it can burn and if you find specks of burned roux, you have to throw it out. It will taste awful. Here's Alton Brown's secret method: mix the roux on the stove, then pop it in a 425 degree oven and let it be. It will take about 30-40 minutes, but you don't have to mess with it. And it doesn't burn! It's the indirect heat that is the key. So, do that with the oil and the flour and cook it until the roux is dark, chocolate brown.
Meanwhile, sprinkle the chicken and the shrimp with cayenne pepper and chop up the veggies.
Then, take the pot out of the oven and put it on the stove over medium low heat. Add in the onion, celery and green pepper (the holy trinity). SAFETY NOTE: YOU ARE ADDING STUFF TO BASICALLY HOT OIL. IT'S LIKELY TO SPLATTER! BE CAREFUL. Cook the trinity until it is soft.
Add the chicken stock, the chicken and the thyme and bay leaf. Let that cook for about an hour or so. Then add the sausage. Cook for another 30 minutes or so. Right before serving, throw in the shrimp, cook for 2 minutes. Then, before serving, throw in the oysters.
Done. Serve it over rice and good bread. And, of course, with a Turbo Dog.
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