Cooking to Combat Cancer 2

April and May bring two very important events that mean a lot to me. Two events that will bring awareness to many people. These two events are part of the effort to kick cancer's ass. Because seriously? Cancer's ass deserves to be kicked. Thoroughly. This first post is for Cooking to Combat Cancer 2 - an annual event held by one of the most beautiful souls I've ever met.. Chris. She's the author of Mele Cotte, a wonderful friend, and a cancer survivor. Thank you for doing this every year, sweetie.. your contribution to helping us to never forget is so very important. Love you!! In November of 2005 I was diagnosed with cervical cancer.. one radical hysterectomy later, and I was cancer free without much physical fuss. Meaning, I did not get sick. Mentally, there was fuss.. lots of it. When you've always taken for granted that you'd have kids one day.. and then are told it ain't gonna happen.. yeah, that kind of messes you up some. But, as I've said a million times over, I'm alive. I'm (relatively) healthy. I'm lucky. And I'm grateful for the chance I've been given. Six years before my own brush with cancer, I was introduced to it's devastation when my great uncle was diagnosed with lung cancer. Coming from a large Italian family, I had many, many aunts and uncles. My father was 1 of 14. Yes, you read that right.. my dad had 13 brothers and sisters. And although I did love my paternal aunts and uncles very, very much.. it was my mom's great aunt and great uncle, who I was closest to. My Auntie Ann and Uncle Sol. My Auntie was and still is my mom's best friend. They are only 10 years apart, and they grew up together more like sisters than an aunt and her niece. So we spent a lot of time with them. I consider my Auntie as my second mom.. for it was easier for me to talk to her than my own mother sometimes. And my uncle.. well.. he tortured me. har! My uncle never passed up the chance to pick on me, to annoy me, or to embarrass me. But this predicament I was in wasn't such a bad thing. No, for all of his fun had at my expense, the only thing that I took from all of it was how much attention he lavished on me. As I'm told often, I was the first girl in a family of boys. My uncle adored me. And I adored him. When such an amazing man was taken away from us so abruptly, it felt like a betrayal. How could this be?? This was a man who loved his family so much, he was loved by everyone he met and he was such a wonderful uncle to my sisters and I. Actually, he was known to my youngest sister as her grandpa.. as both sets of grandparents had passed years before she was born, he and my auntie took on the role. I rarely ever told my uncle how much I loved him. I assumed he always knew. As a matter of fact, the only time I can remember actually saying to him how much I loved him was right after he had the surgery to remove part of his lung.. he cried. I'd never seen him cry before. And he told me he loved me back. This was our first and only spoken exchange of our feelings for each other. He passed a couple days later. To say I was devastated is an understatement. I was wrecked. I still am.. several years have passed and the pain isn't as constant as it was before, but I still can't control the tears and the hurt inside when I think about him. Oh how I wish that I would have told him how much I loved him until he was sick of hearing it! How I hate that I just assumed he knew. Although he didn't say the words to me either, and even though I knew from earliest memory that he loved me very much.. I still wish that I would have said the words out loud to him more than once. Just as I always knew his unspoken feelings for me, I can only pray that he knew my unspoken feelings for him. The recipe I am about to share doesn't really remind me much of my Uncle Sol.. no, we were more of the pizza, soft pretzel, Twix bars kinda eaters. hee! But this recipe contains a few ingredients known to help cancer stay away, so I find it very fitting. I also find it very delicious and I'm glad we finally tried it. It's a simple recipe for Salad Niçoise, which comes to us from Nice, France. This is a salad made up of seared tuna, blanched green beans, tomatoes, steamed red potatoes, boiled eggs and of course, Niçoise olives. Everything but the tuna is tossed with a simple vinaigrette which adds just the perfect tang. And the tuna is usually seared quickly on each side, then placed on the salad in thin slices. Never being one to follow a recipe to the T (Other than Daring Baker challenges!!!), I decided to coat my tuna in toasted sesame seeds first. We fell in love with this salad immediately and it will become a common quick dinner in my repertoire. The tuna is rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, which are good for a healthy heart. The green beans have been shown to prevent or slow genetic damage to cells. The garlic and scallions in the vinaigrette contain a number of compounds believed to slow or stop the growth of tumors. And the tomatoes contain lycopene, which has been shown to be especially potent in combating prostate cancer. So all in all, this salad is not only delicious and quick, but very good for your body. Salad Niçoise Makes 2 generous servings, or 4 small servings 8 oz. fresh Ahi Tuna or Albacore - (try to find sushi grade - you won't be sorry) 1 TBS olive oil or cooking spray (recipe for sesame seared tuna below) 1/4 pound green beans, trimmed and blanched - (I suggest salting the boiling water) 3/4 pound of new red potatoes, quartered and steamed until fork tender - (My trick here is to put 2 crushed garlic cloves on the bottom of the steamer basket.. it gives the potatoes a light garlicy flavor that's delicious) 1/4 c. red onion, either thinly sliced or minced 1/4 c. pitted Niçoise olives 1/2 c. cherry tomatoes, halved 1-2 eggs, hard boiled, peeled and quartered Vinaigrette 2 TBS. Champagne vinegar - (I used Trader Joe's Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar) 1 TBS. fresh tarragon, chopped 1 tsp. Dijon mustard 1 small shallot, minced 3/4 c. olive oil sea salt, to taste ground black pepper, to taste Arrange salad ingredients in separate piles on a large serving platter. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and then lay thinly sliced tuna on top. OR you can go non-traditional and put all ingredients in a large bowl with the vinaigrette and lightly toss (which is what we did). Serve alone, or with garlic toast. If you want to use the same tuna that we did the recipe is as follows (I cut the recipe in half for one 8 oz. tuna steak): Sesame Seared Tuna Courtesy of Allrecipes.com 1/8 c. soy sauce - (I used reduced sodium) 1.5 tsp. mirin (Japanese sweet wine) - (We omitted this because we didn't have any) 1.5 tsp. honey 1 TBS. sesame oil - (Sesame oil is VERY strong.. I cut this down to 1 tsp.) 1.5 tsp. rice wine vinegar 4 (6 oz.) tuna steaks 1/4 c. sesame seeds 1 TBS. olive oil In a small bowl, whisk together the soy, mirin, honey, sesame oil & the rice wine vinegar. Spread the seeds out on a plate or shallow bowl. Dip the tuna into the soy mixture, making sure the whole steak is coated and then press the tuna steak into the sesame seeds - coating both sides well. Heat the olive oil in a cast iron or other heavy skillet over high heat until it's VERY hot. Place tuna steaks in pan and sear for 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side. You can go longer, but you chance the possibility of burning the seeds and over cooking the fish. Slice thinly and place warm tuna over Salad Niçoise. And hey.. if the opportunity to share a Twix bar with someone you love arises afterwards.. why not take it? :) xoxo

Mediterranean Style Orange Roughy

Or is it? One of my most favorite fish FINALLY went on sale recently, Orange Roughy. This is a firm, mild fish that's imported into the United States from as close as Nova Scotia and as far as New Zealand. I first tried this fish about 8-10 years ago and instantly fell in love with it. Next to Lake Erie Perch and Walleye, Orange Roughy would be third in my top 5 favorite fish list (4th smelts, 5th tuna - just in case you were dying to know). I usually prepare this fish very simply - a lil melted butter brushed on the filet, followed by a simple sprinkling of very finely minced garlic, salt and pepper. Throw it under the broiler and you've got a mighty fine tasting dinner. This time I decided to go a different route. I wanted to bake this fish with some fresh flavors that I'd not normally use when preparing any fish. So in search I went. I found this recipe for Mediterranean Style Orange Roughy on Recipezaar.com and it seemed to fit the bill as I normally don't use tomato or lemon when preparing fish. Although I was a little put off by the sour cream. Sour cream and fish? huh. Well it ended up that I changed this recipe quite a bit, basically due to what I had and did not have on hand. I left out the capers because the jar I had on hand was pretty damn old. *shudder* and I didn't have any fresh plum tomatoes on hand, so I subbed canned organic fire roasted diced tomatoes. I also didn't add the wine (my sister was here recently, therefore my wine supply is long gone. hee!). And finally, I left out the Feta cheese because I just can't stomach cheese and fish. If I were to prepare my fish like this again (probably not) I would substitute the capers for diced Kalamata olives, leave the sour cream out entirely (even though it gave the fish a nice tang, I believe the lemon would be enough), and definitely use the white wine. The fish turned out very flaky and flavorful - as I said there was a nice tang from the sour cream and the lemon and the combination of the lemon and tomato added that freshness I was looking for even if I did use canned tomatoes. I think I'd also make this even more fresh tasting by sprinkling fresh chopped basil or cilantro over it after it was done baking. This dish needed salt - and I suppose that's what the capers were for, so yeah - definitely add them or Kalamata olives if you were to try this. I think I was disappointed because it was a creamy topping, where I was looking for something a little more simple in flavoring. Yep, I'm kicking myself in the arse for not leaving the sour cream out - what was I thinking? There isn't much sour cream used in Mediterranean cooking anyway, is there? Anyhoo.. as always when I try something new, regardless if it was a winner or not, I'm glad I tried it. And the more I write about it, the more I do want to try this preparation again - only with the changes I'd like to make. Maybe there will be an update to this post one day. ;) Mediterranean Style Orange Roughy Courtesy of shimmerchk and Recipezaar.com 4 (6 ounce) orange roughy fillets, 1/2 inch thick 4 ounces feta cheese with dried basil and tomato or plain feta cheese (Omitted) 1/4 c. low-fat sour cream 1/4 c. finely chopped red onions 1 clove garlic, minced finely 3 TBS. capers, drained and rinsed (Omitted, but would sub with Kalamata olives) 2 small plum tomatoes, seeded, and finely chopped (Subbed with 1/2 (10.5 oz) can of organic fire roasted diced tomatoes) 2 tsp. grated lemon zest 1 tsp. dried oregano 1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper 1/2 tsp. kosher salt (I always use sea salt when preparing fish or seafood) 1-2 tsp. white wine (optional) Preheat oven to 400°F. Line baking sheet with foil. Lightly spray foil with non-stick spray. Season fish on both sides with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. In a medium bowl combine feta, sour cream, red onion, garlic, capers, tomatoes, lemon peel and oregano and stir until thoroughly combined. Add wine to feta cheese mixture if desired. Arrange fish on prepared baking sheet. Spread cheese topping over fish. Bake until fish is just cooked through, approximately 10-12 minutes. The way I'd do it next time: 1- Leave cheese and sour cream out 2- Sub Kalamata or another good olive in brine for the capers 3- Add the wine - but more like 2 tablespoons, not teaspoons. (really? what's the point?) 4- Sprinkle fresh cilantro or basil over the fish after it's been baked. 5- I also think I'd sub finely diced shallots in lieu of the red onion - because a red onion can be a little over-powering sometimes. 6- Ohh and I'd keep the fire roasted canned tomatoes in lieu of the fresh plum tomatoes - the fire roasted were delicious!

WCC No. 14 - Salad

My father made this salad often during his life. He loved to fish and nothing made him happier than (other than, you know, his beautiful eldest daughter) catching his limit of Lake Erie Perch. He wasn't very imaginative when it came to preparing it though - fried was usually the way to go. Well one day he decided to broil the lightly seasoned filets and then throw them into a bowl with his favorite salad mixin's - he scored big that day.. There really is no recipe here - it's something that YOU make with what you like. Any mild white fish would do - simply season it with a lil salt, pepper and paprika. I like to melt a couple tablespoons of butter and brush over the filets as well. (Imagine that) And while your fish is broiling, make a big bowl of your favorite salad. I have to confess though, I've never had this type of salad with greens.. mostly it's just tomatoes and onions (I had a bunch of baby seedless cucumbers I wanted to use up this time) and peppers - dressed simply in a sprinkle of garlic salt and an emulsion of balsamic vinegar and canola oil. Mix your salad well and let it sit for a few minutes. Once the fish is done allow it to cool for a few minutes and then flake it before throwing it into the salad - give it all a mix and you've got dinner, friends. =) These are the kinds of meals my father made that I truly enjoyed.. simple ingredients without too much fuss in the process. Delicious. I think this is a nice submission for this month's Weekend Cookbook Challenge - No. 14 Salads! This month Sara's event is being hosted by the lovely Tami of Running with Tweezers. Submissions are due by March 5th - so get 'em in to her for the big round up! As always - thanks so much for this fun event, Sara! And thank you, Tami, for hosting and picking a great theme! =)

Monthly Mingle #4

I'm so thrilled to have been invited by the delightful, Meeta of What's for Lunch Honey to participate in this month's Monthly Mingle. The theme for this month's event is Holiday Cuisine. Thanks to Meeta's Blogger Postcards from the World event, I've got to meet this fabulous lady and I have enjoyed exploring her blog, which was new to me. Not only that, I've been fortunate enough to chat a little with her through e-mail, and I've discovered such a nice gal and a new friend. =) What's holiday cuisine for me? Well Hubbs and I don't get to take many vacations as our work schedule is something of a nightmare. We both work at the same commercial roofing company, but his schedule is seasonal. Which means, he works hard during the spring, summer and fall months - the perfect time for vacations. He gets winter off, but I'm still working in the office. We could still take a vacation during the winter, but we both love to go fishing so much that taking time off in the winter just doesn't appeal to us. Therefore we're kind of stuck at home most years. But there was a time.. so very long ago.. that we did vacation.. a time before becoming homeowners when we had money to spare and no commitments to a lovely little house that we've fallen in love with. So yesterday Hubbs was invited by his brother to go out on the boat and do some much needed perch fishing. They had a great day on Lake Erie and caught many.. many.. many delectable yellow perch. When he got home and showed me his cooler full of fish, the first thing we both said to each other was, "Remember catching this many fish on Lake Nipissing in Canada?" Lake Nipissing, located in Callandar, Ontario is our most favorite spot to take a holiday. The lake is simply gorgeous, surrounded by wooded areas and lots of fishing lodges. We always stay at Sunset Cove on the North Bay, where the small cottages are rustic and cozy, the owners are especially accomodating and friendly and the fishing is out of this world! It truly is a special place for us and we agree that one of these summers we are going to say the hell with work and get our butts back up there! Our friend, Larry, stopped by again and while the boys cleaned fish I thought that I'd make a commemorative dinner in honor of our last vacation to Lake Nipissing. As I was preparing fresh cut french fries and a salad of orange bell peppers, garden tomatoes and onions dressed lightly in a balsamic vinaigrette I realized that this special dinner would be a perfect submission to Meeta's Monthly Mingle - perfect! It took the boys a couple hours to clean and fillet the fish, but they did a great job as not one bite was ruined by the annoyance of a small bone. The fish was delicate and so flavorful, the way only fish caught merely hours ago can taste. We ate out on our deck with Jimmy Buffet crooning to us in the background - yanno, a lil island atmosphere to really make us pine for the patio outside our cabin, just a few feet from the lake. *sigh* One day we'll come back to you, Nipissing.. one day! Wayne's Fresh Lake Erie Perch Fry 2 pounds of fresh perch, cleaned and filleted 1.5 c. all-purpose flour 2 tsp. garlic powder 1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning 1 tsp. kosher salt 1/2 tsp. black pepper Enough vegetable or canola oil to shallow fry the fish Place all ingredients except the fish in a paper sack. Shake ingredients to mix. Heat a large skillet filled with about a 1/4 inch of oil over medium-high heat until the end of a wooden spoon produces bubbles all around it when dipped into the oil. Working in small batches, place a 6-8 fillets of perch in the sack of flour and shake to coat well. Removing one fillet at a time, shaking off extra flour, carefully place into hot oil. Fry each batch until golden - say 3-4 minutes, flipping once. Repeat, in small batches, until all of the fish is fried. *Note: Thank you so much for bringing this great event to my attention, Meeta.. we had a fabulous evening reminscing about one of our favorite holiday destinations!

Honey Ginger Salmon with Risotto

Yesterday I was up at 4 in the morning and by 6 I was bent over in pain again (ugh!) so I went back to bed and slept until 11.. holy schnikeys! Once up, I discovered that Hubbs had cleaned the house and aired out the stench of the chicken from hell of the night before. After all that sleep, I was feeling pretty good for a switch and a change.. and seeing my house freshly cleaned put me in an even better mood. Wayne's brother is up from Florida and staying with their other brother at his cabin in the woods and I knew Wayne was dying to go see them, so I begged him to just go have some fun and not worry about me, I was feeling good. Besides, this was probably going to be his only chance, as we've finally heard from bossman that Wayne will most likely have to leave for Arkansas next weekend. It will only be for a week this time, but his brother will be gone by the time he gets back. After he left I came back to the office, propped up my feet (hi doc!), and checked e-mail and my blogroll. Not long after, I started feeling the pain again but thought to myself that this is simply ridiculous. I can not do another day in bed, I've got laundry out the ying yang and I missed my kitchen so very much. So I popped a pain pill left over from surgery. I know, I know.. not following doctor's orders, blah blah blah.. but this laying in bed shit obviously wasn't helping (at least not fast enough for me) and my body was screaming for some movement. After the initial 15 minutes of feeling high as a kite (woo!), I couldn't feel the pain anymore and proceeded to get some laundry done. I was careful, made several trips with small baskets of clothes and didn't over exert myself. And I've gotta tell yas, I felt great the rest of the day. Every once in a while I'd get a pang, but nothing like the previous pain I'd been having. I accomplished quite a few chores and didn't feel any worse for the ware. Today, I feel pretty good - and am going back to work. I really think the movement did me some good, honest! :D In between loads of laundry I checked out a few of my cookbooks and decided that I wanted to cook a beautiful piece of salmon I had bought last week. While looking for a recipe, I also had Food TV on (shocker, eh?) and The Head (a/k/a Giada) was making a simple risotto that looked fabulous. So I looked through her book and found the recipe which I thought would be a great side to the Honey-Ginger salmon recipe I had decided on in the Cooking Light book. We aren't big fans of salmon in this household. I've attempted it twice now and it just never floated our boats. I sincerely think that the difference this time was the fillet I bought. Normally my grocery store carries the farm raised fish shipped in from Chile or Vietnam or somewhere equally far away. This fillet was from Alaska and was caught wild (or so the fish gal said). It was of the darkest ruby red that I've ever seen and smelled like nothing really, meaning there was no over powering fishy smell at all. Still, I only bought a 1/2 pound fillet, just because we've never been that into salmon. I cut the fillet in half, which gave us both a nice slice of fish and I marinated it as per instructions. Hurray! The fish was marvelous and although I will only buy the same fish caught wild in Alaska from here on out.. we will have it again. I'm so happy about that because I've seen so many fabulous salmon recipes that looked insanely good but I was afraid of making them. Now I know I can try them out, now that I know which salmon to buy. This was a sweet glaze, well doh! honey!, and it did pair very well with the savory risotto. The risotto was amazing.. creamy, nutty and buttery. Yum. Honey-Ginger Glazed Salmon Courtesy of Cooking Light's Annual Recipes 2006 Basic Risotto Courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis For the salmon: 2/3 c. sage honey (I used basic clover honey) 2 TBS. fresh lemon juice 2 TBS. warm water 1 1/2 tsp. grated, peeled ginger 1 garlic clove, minced 4 (6 oz.) skinless salmon fillets (1 inch thick) 1/4 tsp. salt Preheat oven to 350º F. In a small bowl, combine honey, juice, water, ginger and garlic. Pour honey mixture into a 9" x 13" x 2" Pyrex baking dish, arrange fish in pan, skinned side up. Let stand 20 minutes. Turn fish over, sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. salt and bake for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and preheat broiler. Brush fish with honey mixture and broil for 7 minutes, (As you can see, the honey mixture started to burn a bit after about 5 minutes, so I took the fish out and it was perfectly done.) or until fish is browned and flakes easily when tested with a fork or until desired degree of doneness. I cut both of these recipes in half. For the risotto: 4 c. reduced-sodium chicken broth (I used a good chicken stock) 3 TBS. butter 3/4 c. finely chopped onion 1 1/2 c. Arborio rice or medium-grain white rice 1/2 c. dry white wine 1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. fresly ground black pepper 2 TBS. fresh, chopped basil (Recipe didn't call for this, so optional) In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer. Cover the broth and keep hot over low heat. In a large, heavy saucepan, melt 2 TBS. of the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with the butter. Add the wine and simmer, until the wine has almost completely evaporated, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 c. of the simmering broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth 1/2 c. at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition of broth to absorb before adding the next, until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes total. Remove from heat. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, the remaining TBS. of butter, salt & pepper and the basil (if so desired). Transfer the risotto to a serving bowl and serve immediately.

Broiled Parmigiano Tilapia

There's nothing like comfort food.. something that makes you feel all warm and coozy inside and reminds you of happy memories from your childhood. The previous macaroni and cheese recipe was many people's idea of comfort food. For me, macaroni and cheese wasn't something I ate at home - my parents never made it. But it was one of those elementary school lunches that caused every single kid to "forget" to grab their bagged lunch, before running out the door to catch the school bus. And from what I can remember.. from so many, many years ago.. was that my elementary school lunch ladies made some damn fine macaroni and cheese! It was usually paired with fish sticks or hot dogs. Perfect fare for hungry kids who needed that boost of energy before going wild on the playground. Yanno how you needed that extra sumptin' sumptin' to give ya the edge when chasing the boys around the swing sets, right? Was that just me? Boy crazy before I hit my teens?? Anyyyhooo.. when I decided on the mac and cheese I wanted fish sticks too!! But I didn't think Hubbs' would be as pleased with chopped and processed fish pieces covered in a crunchy bread coating and then dipped in ketchup as I would have been. And yes.. before Hubbs, I use to dip my breaded fish in ketchup. I know!! I'm a dork. :D I don't do it anymore because the first time he saw that combination I thought he was going to have a stroke. He's a fisherman yanno. And dipping freshly caught fish into ketchup of all things was close to sacrilegious to him. hehe So I went in search of a more "grown up" recipe for some tilapia I had recently purchased. I found this recipe on All Recipes where I find a lot of excellent recipes submitted by good home cooks. I usually look for the recipes with 5 stars and lots of reviews and this one came in with not only 5 stars but over 1,000 ratings and reviews, so I hadda try it to see what all the fuss was about. It was certainly delicious but nothing mind blowing. A very nice way to add extra flavor to a mild fish without making it heavy. I'll definitely try this recipe with other types of mild fish as well. What you get is this creamy topping that's both cheesy and lemony but doesn't overpower the mild flavor of the fish. It's not cheese heavy or too lemony - but a great combination of the two, which relieved me because Hubbs isn't a huge fan on overly cheesy recipes. Yep, it's a keeper =) Broiled Parmigiano Tilapia 1/2 c. Parmigiano Reggiano, grated 1/4 c. butter, softened 3 TBS. mayo 2 TBS. fresh lemon juice 1/4 tsp. dried basil (I used fresh) 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper 1/8 tsp. onion powder 1/8 tsp. celery salt 2 lbs. Tilapia filets Mix all ingredients, excluding the fish, in a small bowl. Set aside. Broil the Tilapia on a greased broiling pan, or do what I did which was place a cookie rack in a jelly roll pan sprayed with olive oil, for 2-3 minutes, flip and continue broiling for an additional 2 minutes. Take the fish out of the oven and spread the Parmigiano mixture evenly over the filets, place back under the broiler and broil another 2 minutes or until the topping is lightly browned and bubbling and the fish is flaky. Be careful not to overcook the fish. My Notes: It was kind of hard to incorporate the softened butter with the mayo and lemon juice, so I think next time I'll zap the butter until it's just melted. To make it lighter, I'd cut the butter down to maybe just a few tablespoons and use fat-free or reduced calorie mayo. Also, I really think more fresh herbs in the mix would be delicious. Maybe fresh chopped parsley and a few sprigs of thyme to go with the basil. =)

First Catch of the Season

It's so good to have fisherfriends! Especially when they are nice enough to share their score of Lake Erie Walleye :D This is actually Lake Erie Perch season, but our friend ended up finding a school of hungry Walleye during his day out on the lake. Although I prefer Perch to Walleye on any given day - Walleye is still VERY delicious and I am not one to complain when someone is nice enough to think about us and willing to share their catch.. oh hell no! Hubbs wanted pan fried fish and instead of my normal breading of just plain flour seasoned with garlic, salt and pepper - I remembered the box of Panko sitting in my pantry that I haven't cooked with yet. Panko is an Asian style bread crumb, not as fine as your normal everyday bread crumbs and I don't believe they are toasted. What they do is give whatever it is you are coating an unbelieveable crunch that has made me decide to use them whenever any bread crumb is called for. Delish! I'm just sorry I let them sit for so long before experimenting with them. This fish was moist and delicate in flavor and the goldeny brown crunchy goodness on the outside was extremely satisfying. It only takes a small amount of oil to fry fish in so I don't feel to incredibly bad about yet another fried dinner.. teeee! (I can rationalize anything to make myself feel better *grin*) Pan Fried Walleye using Panko 4 large fillets of the freshest Walleye (or Perch) you can get your hands on 1 c. all-purpose flour 1 TBS. garlic powder Salt and Pepper to taste 2 eggs, beaten and seasoned 1 1/2 c. Panko About a 1/4 inch of vegetable oil in skillet (I used canola oil) Heat oil in skillet. In a shallow bowl, combine flour, garlic powder, salt & pepper. Place the Panko in another shallow bowl. Finally, the beaten eggs in a third shallow bowl. Dredge the fillets in the flour mixture first, then the eggs and finally the Panko. Depending on size of your skillet, place 2 to 4 fillets in the hot oil and fry each side for about 3 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the fish is flaky. Drain excess oil on paper towels.

Feeling a bit Pesci

Any Wayne's World fans out there? :D Well my plan for this evening was to make my entry for this month's WCC event, hosted by the cutest cookin' hot mama of all time Ali (which if you aren't familiar.. and how can you not be? This month's theme is Cinco de Mayo and entries are due by May 15th.. so if you haven't contributed your fabulous latin dish yet.. please do so!) but I forgot I had a couple filets of Walleye in my fridge that I could not let go bad. If you aren't from the land of the Great Lakes, Walleye is a fresh water fish, which is firm bodied with a mild taste. They are an absolutely wonderful fish for pan frying or baking, especially if you can get your hands on one that has been freshly caught ;) Mine was caught last summer by Hubbs and flash frozen to keep us in stock during the winter when we needed a fix. Normally I pan fry these fish, but I wanted something lighter this evening so I decided to just wing it and see what I could do by baking it. As you'll see below, it didn't turn out to be the most photogenic dish I've ever made (even for the crap cam), but it was hella good! There really isn't a "recipe" so to speak.. all I did was thinly slice a couple medium sized shallots and chopped a few cloves of garlic. I placed these on the bottom of a 8" x 8" pyrex baking dish and then covered them just barely with chicken stock. I placed the filets of Walleye on top of the shallot/garlic bed, then S & P'd to taste, placed small dollops of butter all over them and squeezed 1/2 a lemon over the whole thing. I baked at 350º for 4 minutes, uncovered. Then covered the dish loosely with foil and continued baking for another 9 minutes until the fish was easily flaked with a fork. My side was fresh from the market Swiss Chard, which was prepared simply by sauteeing it with minced garlic and a tiny bit of chicken stock. The onions and garlic permeated the fish and gave it a great flavor, without over powering it and the chard was so delish without any bitterness at all. Truthfully, if I could substitute swiss chard for spinach all the time, I would.. but alas, I can't find it year round here. It's a great leafy green veggie that never has a bitter taste nor have I ever encountered any bitterness with it like I do sometimes with spinach. So if you have the urge for a light mild fish dish.. try this, I was pleasantly surprised at how good it turned out for something that I just made up as I went along =)