Good Eats

Here...Try This...


I think that I mentioned previously that we've been doing a good deal of cooking and entertaining--mainly menu re-runs--here over the past few months since we moved into the new house down on our little island.

For instance, last weekend I cooked not one but TWO 16" pizzas for guests that came out pretty well, and last month I did my low country boil for the same group (the dish is a no brainer but still I've seen people screw it up.)

In addition to those events, I'm brining and smoking a half dozen racks of baby back ribs for guests next weekend and I'm handling most of the cooking for a fairly elaborate Thanksgiving lunch for six or eight folks here on the 25th.

Since the weather has cooled off a little, some soup/stews have also been on the dinner menu--things like Seafood/Chicken Gumbo and a Caribbean Jerk Stew I tried out the other night which was served on top of boiled potato and onion pierogies.

Pat and I have also eaten our way through most of a prime twenty pound Angus Beef Tenderloin and of course loads of things like my Chicken Picatta and various pork dishes because, as I said before, I HAVE A FREEZER.

Last night, after meeting friends for drinks on the deck of a local restaurant (yes it was over 70 degrees here at 5 PM,) I put together a made up dish I been working on for the third or forth time that I think is worth mentioning if you're interested and you like fish. It works best with Tilapia, but I think that you could use any mild fish like Flounder or Orange Roughy, etc.

Here's what I did to make dinner for two:

2 Tilapia fillets

3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp white pepper
1 tbsp sweet paprika
pinch of baking powder

a splash of milk in a bowl

1 slice of a large sweet onion, separated into rings (more if you want more onion rings

1 small can sliced green olives (drained)
1 small can sliced ripe olives (drained)
2 medium ripe tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup of chicken stock
pinch of salt
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper flakes
1/2 tbsp lemon or lime juice
1/2 cup white wine

3/4 cup of long grain rice

Peanut oil


Here goes...Dice up your tomatoes, then toss them into a large skillet over medium heat while you dump in your green and black olives, the salt, Cayenne pepper flakes, and the chicken stock. Get everything up to a good simmer adjusting your heat as required, and let it cook for a good fifteen minutes. Add your wine and lemon juice and keep simmering.

Meanwhile start cooking your rice according to the package directions and mix up your flour spice mixture in a shallow dish and splash the milk into another shallow bowl. (Don't forget to slice your onion rings.)

Now put enough of the peanut oil into a large heavy skillet to make a 1/2" deep puddle of oil. Kick the heat up to medium high under the skillet and shoot for 375 degrees F. (It really helps if you have a thermometer that clips on the side of the skillet to tell you the oil temp continuously--I do.)

The key here is to get everything done at the same time, so you need to keep cooking down your tomato/olive mix while at the same time prepping your onion rings and the fish fillets.

Dip your fillets and onion rings in the milk, then dredge them through the flour to get a nice thin coating on all sides. Reserve them on the side on a plate or foil.

Once your tomato/olive mix is cooked down nicely and your oil is up to at 375, drop your onion rings into the oil and fry them for a couple of minutes on each side, then drain them on paper towels.

Let the grease come back up to temperature, then toss in your floured fillets and cook them for two or three minutes per side, until they're flaky. Place them on paper towels on the side to drain. (Your rice should be done by now and you might preheat a couple of big pasta bowls in the oven if you want to.)

Plating it all up (it's real hard):

Dump some rice into your bowls, place a fillet on top of each rice pile, dump half the tomato/olive mix on top of each serving, then lay two or three onion rings on top, Grab yourself a fork, and EAT.

I've got to go finish making Pizza now...Y'all have a nice evening.