Category — Fish Recipes

**Before I start today, I want to let you all know that I did find my SD Card, it was at the restaurant, as I had hoped.  Thank you to everyone who emailed me saying they hoped I was able to find it.  Now, back to business . . . **

During my time at Culinary School, on one of my many turns at the soup station, I was paired with a fellow student who was from a Greek family, Phil.  On this particular day, Phil suggested we make Psarosoupa and I happily agreed, because I thought it sounded cool, and because it meant I didn’t have to come up with something.  What I didn’t know was that Psarosoupa is Greek fish soup. 

So, when you’re cooking on the line it’s sorta like this . . .

stir
taste
add (something)
stir
taste
stir
taste
add
stir
taste

Oh, and then taste again for good measure.

Because (just like in Hell’s Kitchen) if you send something out of the kitchen salty, or bland, or under cooked, or over cooked, or, well wrong, you are SO going to hear about it (and there is always the whole grade report thing, too).  So after tasting so much Psarosoupa that I might have floated away, I decided right then and there, on that very day, that I hated fish.  Sure, I’d still eat an occasional tuna sandwich, and I might hop in line at LJS, but otherwise, I wasn’t going to eat any real fish.  Ever.  Again.  I mean never, ever.

Nevertheless, things change, and picky eaters grow up.  So one of my latest projects has been to make at least one new fish recipe each week (during lent).  And, even though I’m (sorta) grown up, it’s been quite a challenge for me.  I have, over the last couple of years, managed to stretch my myself to Lemon Pepper Tilapia and I think I tried Hubby’s Orange Roughy a couple of times, but honestly, beyond that . . . I’m just having a really tough time with this.  Last week I made Stuffed Tuna Shells, which were good.  But this week, it was time to move on to something a little more risqué.  So, I delved into the world of Catfish.  I was determined to at least try it.  And.  It wasn’t bad.  Not really bad at all.  Kinda, almost, well sorta, good.  Actually, it was good.

I found a recipe in my Southern Living for a Black Eye Pea Relish that sounded divine.  The recipe mentioned that it would be good served over grilled catfish, and I figured if anything could save that icky ol’ piece of fish, it would have to be black eyed peas.  So I made the relish (Which is also supposed to be good over crackers with cream cheese - but what isn’t good over crackers with cream cheese?) and I grilled the catfish on the indoor electric grill (because it’s 6 below zero here with 12 inches of snow on the ground and I’m not going outside to do it).

I hope you enjoy this.  Be SURE not to skip the relish.  It really makes the dish.

Grilled Catfish with Black-Eyed Pea Relish

For the relish:
15 ounces of seasoned black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/3 cup sweet onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons ranch dressing
2 cloves garlic, pressed/minced
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Mix all ingredients together and chill.  Can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

For the catfish:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup lime juice
1 cup white wine
2 tablespoons dry mustard
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
2 lb catfish fillets

Mix olive oil, lime juice, wine, mustard, chili powder, pepper, cilantro and salt in a medium bowl.

Reserve 1/3 cup of marinade for basting.  Transfer the remaining marinade mixture to a shallow bowl and add catfish, turning to complete coat the fish.
Marinate for 15 minutes.
Drain fillets and discard marinade.
Place fillets on an oiled grill rack.

Grill, basting with reserved marinade, for about 3 minutes on each side, or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

To serve, spoon relish over the top of the catfish fillets.

I had a really interesting conversation with one of my good friends this morning.

She was telling me about some venison tips she made for dinner last night, how they didn’t turn out, and about how she attempted to salvage them (and failed).  She talked about her frustration in having a failed recipe, why she thought it might have failed, and how she’s been very lucky in that she’s had very few failed (inedible) dinners over the years.

Well.  Let me tell you, that’s really not the case here.  I have had some real doozies . . .

like the time I made California Sushi Bars.  Spent. All. Freakin’. Day.  Took them to a party.  Looked amazing!  Cost a fortune!  Tasted like ASS. 

Or, how about when I made chocolate bowls.  The idea was great (paint melted chocolate on bottom half of balloons - deflate balloons).  The result was hot, splattered chocolate everywhere when the balloon burst mid-painting.  Three times.

Then there was Monday.  I’ve culled my recent magazine purchases for a number of fish and dairy recipes to try out and share with you during the Lenten season.  My first pick was Stuffed Tuna Shells from a publication that must not be named (lest I go off on a completely different tangent).

Anyhow, the picture in the magazine looked great.  The idea was compelling - use jumbo pasta shells instead of noodles in a casserole type dish.  The result was crap-tastic.

I was frustrated.  I mean, there were multiple problems with the recipe.  There is no way anyone had tested the recipe, because it just didn’t work.  But, I refused to give up, because I love the idea.

So, tonight, we had Stuffed Tuna Shells, again.  My kids just roll their eyes.  Hubby tolerates me.  Look, I was on a mission, o.k.?  Good news.  They worked.  They worked pretty darn well, too.

The first attempt tasted sort of like a salmon patty stuffed in a crunchy shell, covered with a bitter, parsley laden sauce.  The second attempt tasted like good ol’ fashioned comfort food, dressed up just a tad.  Oh, and these came in around 180 calories and 8 grams of fat for two stuffed shells with sauce.  Yippee!!

Stuffed Tuna Shells
Not from a magazine title that starts with Eating and ends with Light

Serves 8

16 jumbo pasta shells, cooked according to package directions
7 oz. of light white tuna in foil pouch
2-4 oz. of sliced mushrooms (I used canned)
1 small onion, chopped
3/4 cup of 2% milk shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup of light mayo
1 1/4 cup of fat-free evaporated milk, divided
1 10.5 oz. can of low-fat cream of mushroom soup
1/2 tsp. celery salt (to taste)
1/2 tsp. black pepper (to taste)
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs (Panko works well)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a small bowl mix tuna, mushrooms, onion, 1/2 cup of cheese, mayo, 1/2 cup evaporated milk, celery salt, and pepper.
• Mix soup and remaining evaporated milk in a seperate bowl, whisking to remove lumps.
• Pour 1/2 cup of soup mixture into the bottom of a shallow casserole dish.
• Stuff each shell with about 2 tablespoons of tuna mixture and place the shell on top of the sauce.
• When done stuffing the shells, drizzle the soup mixture over the shells, and sprinkle the open section of the shells with bread crumbs.
• Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup cheese over the top of the shells.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until bubbly.

One last little thing.  This is not the first time I’ve made a recipe from this magazine that comes out nothing like it is supposed to.  The ideas are good, but the recipes are not well tested.