Shrimp Stuffed Tilapia Fish

324.  My honey picked up tilapia fish filets the other day and it inspired me to be creative.  I had shrimp in the freezer and decided to make a stuffing.

Shrimp Stuffed Tilapia 

6  Tilapia fish filets
10 cooked medium shrimp, peeled and chopped
1 cup day old crusty bread, crumbled
1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped fine
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 egg
salt & pepper
1/2 tsp dill
Old Bay Spice
Garlic Salt

Wash tilapia filets and blot with paper towels.  Set aside
Mix in a small bowl shrimp, bread, pepper, parsley, spinach,  lemon juice, egg, salt, pepper, dill, pinch of Old Bay Spice and garlic salt.   Blend together so the filling begins to collect.  Take the filling and form into 6 oval shaped balls in your hand.  Place the oval filling on the short end of a filet and then roll the filet up around the filling.  Push a toothpick through the fish to hold together.  Repeat with the remaining filets and filling.

Heat up a pan with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil.  Place each filet, large side down in pan and do not move.  Allow the fish to sizzle and slightly brown.  Turn each filet over using two spoon spatulas being careful not to tear the fish.  Filling may fall out but you can gently push it back into the filling.
Once the fish is no longer transparent, remove from the heat to a serving plate or directly on to individual plates.

Serve with rice.  Season the rice with butter, 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice and dill.

Cream Sauce

4 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon flour
1 cup milk or more as needed
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
salt and pepper
dill
garlic salt

In a small saucepan melt butter.  Add the flour and continue to cook over medium heat till flour has a nutty smell and a light brown color.  Using a whisk begin to incorporate the milk in the butter /flour mixture stirring constantly to avoid lumps.  Add lemon juice & seasons and continue to stir and cook till the sauce has thickened.  Pour over the stuffed tilapia and place remaining sauce in a gravy boat.


This meal is beautiful, so light and tasty and would impress your company.  It is very flavorful and each bite is delightful!

"In the hands of an able cook, fish can become an inexhaustible source of perpetual delight." 

- Jean-Anthelme Brilliant-Savarin

Fish Tacos

319.  Today was a "craving day" for Fish Tacos.  I just had to have them!!!
Bobby Flay had a great recipe he shared on his Boy Meets Grill episode of Fish taco.  You can see the episode here:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/fish-tacos-recipe.html

Here is my process and I must say, this recipe was flavorful, memorable and one to come back to time after time.

I also made sides of refried beans and Spanish rice to accompany the tacos.

 Condiments were chopped cabbage and radishes,  my homemade salsa, scallion, red onion and limes and sour cream.  Delicious!!

"Take risks and you'll get the payoffs.  Learn from your mistakes until you succeed."

-Bobby Flay

Pan Seared Salmon

291.  Fresh salmon fillets pan seared in a light panko crumb with fresh parsley.  A dash of lemon squeezed across the top and served sizzling hot on your plate.

This method is a process that makes for quick preparation along with boiled potatoes tossed with butter and fresh dill weed chopped and boiled carrots.  It's light, tasteful, very satisfying.

Purchase several pounds of fresh salmon.  You can be sure your fish is fresh if there is no smell to your fish and it is wet not filmy slimy.

Rinse the salmon, patting dry with paper towels. Cut into steaks. 

prepare an egg wash in a shallow bowl.  In a separate shallow bowl place 1 cup panko bread crumbs, salt and pepper, garlic salt, tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley, 1/2 tsp lemon zest.

Heat a skillet with olive oil till sizzling.  Dip each top and bottom of salmon pieces in the egg wash then in the panko breading.  Place coated salmon in hot pan skin side down.  Saute on medium heat till you begin to see the dark pink turn light.

Immediately place under high broiler till crumbs have toasted and center is light pink.

Plate immediately and serve with complimentary sides.  Finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon.

"Why does Sea World have a seafood restaurant??  I'm halfway through my fish burger and I realize, Oh my...I could be eating a slow learner."
~Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973)

Striped Bass Fillets with Lemon Rice

223. Today our friend John brought us beautiful fillets of striped bass caught fresh from the Atlantic off Long Island ( NY) shore .

John's brother Billy prepared the fish impeccably! The fillets were beautiful! And each was wrapped separately in plastic wrap.

The fish was so fresh it had no scent at all! John's brother Billy is the Executive Chef at Becco

in NYC. Billy said to season it with salt and pepper and place it in a hot pan with heated olive oil. Sear about 3 minutes then place under the broiler for about 3 more minutes.

The fish cooked beautifully.

It was so flakey and tender. I brushed butter on the top and small amount of lemon juice.

To accompany the fish I made a side of Lemon Rice.

Lemon Rice

I place 3 Tablespoons of butter in a saucepan and a cup of uncooked rice. I take a small bunch of Angel Hair Pasta and break it into small pieces and toss it in with the rice. Turn the heat on high and brown the uncooked rice and pasta pieces in the butter for a few minutes. Pour in 2 cups cold water, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest. Bring to a boil, turn heat to simmer and cover. Cook for approximately 20 minutes. Test for doneness and seasoning. Add more salt or butter to taste and juice from 1/2 a lemon before serving.

"A great lie is like a great fish on dry land; it may fret and fling and make a frightful bother, but it cannot hurt you. You have only to keep still, and it will die of itself."

~ George Crabbe

"A fish may love a bird, Señor, but where would they live?"

~Drew Barrymore, "Everafter"

Bluefish

186. This is a Bluefish, and yes, the Bluefish is on my kitchen counter. Several weeks ago, our doorbell rang and when I answered, it was our friends Danny and Ryan. They were arrayed in full length chest waders. Obviously, they had just been fishing. Danny pulled something large out of the back of his truck and Ryan ran up holding this huge Bluefish. I squealed with delight. You see, Danny talks about fishing and I have told him stories of how my father was a fisherman. So, I was promised a fish someday. Well that day came, and here in my hands I was holding a 31-inch Bluefish caught offshore Long Island.

They smiled as I held this prize and thanked them, but then they hopped back into their truck and drove off.

I was so excited...but then I thought...now what do I do??? So much for my father being a fisherman and going along fishing with him. Now I had to put my money where my mouth was.

I grabbed newspaper, rubber gloves...several sharp knives and garbage bags, donned an apron and headed out back to our patio table.

Many times I had seen my father fillet a fish, gut it and clean it. He showed me dozens of times but it had been so long ago. I first tried to remove the scales but the fish was too big!!! HELP, I NEED AN IRON CHEF, NOW!!!

So, I dove in, cut off the head. Cut along the back and filleted one side first, scales, skin and all. Then flipped it over and cut off the skin and scales in one swipe. Repeated with the second side and then checked for bones. Not bad for someone who has never filleted a bluefish before. I felt like an Iron Chef!

The bones were massive but the flesh was beautiful. Because the fish was fresh it barely had a scent.

Bluefish has many dark patches in the flesh and they can be very fishy tasting.

Danny told me the best way to prepare the bluefish is to soak it in lemon or lime juice for about 15 minutes. This helps to remove the fishy taste. Rinse thoroughly and then soak the fish in milk for 15 minutes. I found that it changed the texture of the flesh significantly. In a sense, the acid "cooked" the fish.

But I used a milk and egg batter and then mixed cornmeal, flour, garlic salt, cracked pepper and kosher salt as the coating.

I placed it on a lined baking pan sprayed with oil and then drizzled melted butter over the fish.

I broiled on high for about 15 minutes, rotating the pan and turning larger pieces.

It was so delicious. Bluefish is white with strains of dark red patches but tastes so delicious. It is similar in texture to a salmon or flounder and is very meaty.

What a great feeling of accomplishment! And, I served baby red potatoes with butter and fresh dill and brussels sprouts. Cocktail sauce and tarter sauce is a delicious compliment but the fish stood up very well on its own. Thanks Danny and Ryan!

"Don't tell fish stories where the people know you;

but particularly, don't tell them where they know the fish."
~Mark Twain

"Fish die belly upward, and rise to the surface.

Its their way of falling."
~Andre Gide