Not Lackin' on the Blackenin' Catfish

This is a really quick and easy recipe for blackened catfish. It's by Guy Fieri and you should be warned it is suuuuper spicy! I loved it!

the recipe:

The blackened spice mixture:

2 tbs paprika

1 tsp cayenne

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

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4 catfish fillets

2 tbs canola oil

2 tbs butter

4 lemon wedges

All the ingredients are really easy to find so no horror stories here! :) I did double the recipe though because I was making twice the amount called for...it was enough to cover the fish plus enough extra to store for another batch later! On a random note: is it just me or does cumin smell like really bad body odor????

Step 1: dredge the fillets in the blackened spice mixture and set aside

Step 2: heat a large saute pan over high heat until white hot

Uuuummm, what is white hot? I looked all over the place but couldn't find a good definition! I decided it meant when the pan is really REALLY hot! I tested it by occasionally flicking water on it from my fingers...when it almost immediately evaporated I counted it as white hot.

Step 3: add oil to pan, when it starts to slightly smoke add fillets...in batches...don't crowd pan! Cook on each side for 2 to 3 minutes

step 4: top each fillet with 1/2 tbs of butter and serve with a lemon wedge!

Really easy and super good! Remember: It's really spicy!!!

I served this with the fried green tomatoes and black eyed peas (cooked with peppered bacon). Of course, because it is so spicy, I also served with a nice glass of sweet tea!

Fried Green Tomatoes

Ok...yeah, I know...I never told you about the great fried chicken disaster of 2010. I'm sorry, I just wasn't emotionally ready to relive that awful experience! Fear not, I really will tell you all about it. Just not this week! :)

This week we are gonna celebrate tomato season with a kick ass recipe for fried green tomatoes! Yay! I'm a southern boy so I was really into learning how to make these! This recipe is super easy and I must say they were delicious!!! Shout out to Diana Swenson-Siegel at allrecipes.com who I got the recipe from. Go girl! By the way, I made this as a serving for two...if you link to the original recipe it is for 4. This is my version exactly:

The Recipe:

2 large green tomatoes

1 egg

1/4 cup of milk

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup garlic and herb bread crumbs

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon of ground black pepper (I actually just ground the pepper mill about 5 times over everything instead of measuring it out)

2 cups canola oil

Easy ingredients! The hardest thing to find was the green tomatoes (I went to the farmer's market at union square).

Step 1: slice tomatoes in 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices and set aside. Discard the tops and bottoms.

Step 2: whisk the milk and egg together...on one plate pour the flour...on another plate mix the corn meal, bread crumbs, salt and pepper...heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat

Step 3: dredge the tomatoes in flour, dip in egg batter, then dredge in the cornmeal mixture

Step 4: place in skillet and deep fry until golden brown (about 4 minutes each side) don't crowd the tomatoes!!!

I had to cook them in three batches! Also, they will want to travel to the center of the skillet and touch sides...just don't let them!

Step 5: Drain on paper towels and then place on a cookie sheet in a preheated oven (200 degrees) until all the batches are done

These were awesome...I served them with a little organic chipotle ranch dressing (with a cute sprig of Italian parsley!) Sooo good!

Part 2

Oven-Roasted Vegetables

So this recipe is also from the Back to Basics book...it's pretty easy and ultra good!

The Recipe

2 small fennel bulbs (tops removed)

1 pound fingerling or small potatoes

1/3 cup good olive oil

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 pound French green beans (haricots verts), trimmed

1 bunch thin asparagus, ends removed, cut diagonally (3 inch pieces)

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

All the ingredients were really easy to find. This time I shopped at the Food Emporium during my dinner break at work. I had to go with small potatoes instead of fingerlings. I was happy to find the green beans already packaged and trimmed! Yay! Less shit for me to do!

The only tragedy was that there was only one small fennel bulb. I ended up grabbing it and made due with a large one for my second bulb.

Step 1: preheat the oven to 450 degrees...(while this is going on you can cut your veggies)

Don't forget to use your oven thermometer!

Step 2: cut the fennel into 6 wedges each (cutting through core to keep wedges in tact); Place on sheet pan. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise and place on pan with fennel. Drizzle the olive oil over vegetables, then sprinkle 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Toss with your hands.

I had to cut the large bulb into 8 wedges. I ended up cutting the small potatoes into 4 pieces lengthwise. The rest was easy! Why can't everything be as easy as drizzling and sprinkling?

Step 3: Roast the veggies for 25 to 30 minutes (till potatoes are tender), tossing once while cooking.

I put aluminum foil over the sheet pan before I started this whole thing...I soooo regretted it when it became time to "toss once"! I ripped that damned foil so fast it would make your head spin! Note to self: don't be lazy just because you want your clean up to be easier. In the long run, it would have been easier to clean the roasty pan! The other thing was that I had to let it cook for an extra 5 minutes because my potatoes weren't tender!

Step 4: Toss the string beans and asparagus with the roasted veggies. Roast for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the green veggies are tender.

This was pretty easy. Once again I had to cook it another 5 minutes (past the 20).

Step 5: Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over all and roast a few more minutes until the cheese melts. sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve hot.

I am lactose intolerant so the cheese just wasn't an option. After talking with some friends at work I chose to sprinkle it with garlic and herb bread crumbs and roast an extra 5 minutes. It was so good and eliminated the extra salt and pepper at the end!

All in all it was also a wonderful side dish. I loved the way it tasted! It's a good thing too because the chicken (next blog entry) was kind of a hot mess. I can't believe I screwed up Padma's Krispy Chicken again! What the hell!?!? It's the most depressing thing ever! This is how I'm starting off my week!?!? Daaaaamn!

Krispy Fried Chicken with Confetti Corn and Roasted Vegetables

Part 1

Confetti Corn

Anyone who knows me knows that I despise corn. I don't like the texture, flavor orthe way it digests. That being said, I have to admit that Confetti Corn rocked my effin' socks off! It was so awesome I could barely stop eating it!

This recipe comes from Ina Garten's book Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics. Lady Boss felt I was jumping into the deep end a little too quickly. She thought it might serve me well to work with a less complicated book for a hot second. Since I was bound and determined to try Padma's recipe for fried chicken again (I screwed it up a few weeks ago) I thought I would pair it with sides from the Back to Basics book.

The Recipe

2 tbs of good Olive Oil

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1 small orange bell pepper 1/2 inch diced

2 tbs unsalted butter

kernels cut from 5 ears of yellow or white corn (4 cups)

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tbs julienned fresh basil, minced fresh chives, and/or minced fresh parsley

The ingredients were easy for this but I had no idea how to properly chop, dice, mince or julienne anything! Thank God for YouTube! I can now say I know how to do all of those things! I'm still a little clumsy with a knife but I'm getting a hell of a lot better! A note to those of you that are as ignorant as me: be careful when you slice the kernels from the cob. They go everywhere! I think I'm gonna be picking up kernels off my kitchen floor for years! Oh! I also learned if you keep a little of the root of the onion still attached while chopping it up it stays together better and you don't cry as much!

Step 1: Heat olive oil over med heat in a large saute' pan Add onions and saute' for 5 minutes, until the onions are soft.

I think that sentence should have said "or until onions are soft". I think I may have cooked them a little too long!

Step 2: Stir in Bell Pepper and saute' for 2 more minutes

This is another place where I wondered if I may have screwed up...the pic in the book shows the orange peppers looking all vibrant and colorful. After about a minute MY peppers started loosing a little bit of their vibrance. What the hell? I hope it was because the pic was adjusted in photoshop or something...they tasted great by the way.

Step 3: Add butter to pan and let it melt. Over medium heat add corn, salt and pepper and cook stirring occasionally, for 5 to 7 minutes, until the corn looses it's starchiness.

Ummm...what the hell does "until the corn looses it's starchiness" mean??? How the hell am I supposed to know that? I just decided that starchiness equals obvious stiffness. I think I was pretty much right because in the end the corn was still crunchy but not raw! It tasted good too!

Step 4: season to taste, gently stir in the basil and green herbs and serve hot!

I have to tell you seasoning wasn't needed at all...especially after you add the herbs. You can taste every single thing you put in this dish and it all works together beautifully! It's really pretty too. I just wish my orange peppers looked like hers!