5 Tips for Fish and Seafood Made Easy

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Today, I am sharing a few fish and seafood tips I have learned through many years of cooking.  Having grown up on the Severn River in Annapolis, off the Chesapeake Bay, my roots are "grounded," or should I say "watered." by the food that came from my environment.  In terms of food, my first love is seafood, including the many varieties of fish we find. 

Tip #1.  Preparing and cooking seafood is not difficult.  This is a common misperception that has kept many a home cook from attempting to prepare a quick and sumptuous meal.

Tip #2.  In general, fish and seafood should never be overcooked.  Because of its delicate nature, seafood will become rubbery or dry or even tough.  Seafood is at its best when cooked quickly.  There are exceptions, of course; as when we make crabmeat, scallop and shrimp quiche or the rich tomato-laced Italian stew, cioppino or fish curry or Louisiana gumbo.

Tip #3.  Be creative.  Go beyond macaroni and tuna salad. Mix flavors and textures using pasta and rice with seafood.  Cook spinach bow tie pasta with mushrooms, peas, canned tuna or salmon and cream for a change.

Tip #4.  Use a combination of seasonings you would ordinarily use to rub on chicken or meat to spice up your fish steaks or fillets.  Cook in a hot oiled skillet, like cast iron, for 3-5 minutes on each side depending on the thickness of each steak or fillet.

Tip #5.  Combine 1/2 cup Panko flakes with 1 cup yellow cornmeal and Cajun seasonings for extra crispy and light fried fish fillets.

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Molasses Crisps (Cookies) for Spring

Not all chefs are professionally trained in culinary schools.  Most of us are self-taught or a least, learned at home.  Personal chefs, for example, are not all formally educated in a cooking school.  Most of us just have a passion for food.  We love taking wonderful ingredients and transforming them into a magical performance.  We learned at home from family or just always had a desire.  Some, to our surprise, never had the desire, yet found that we enjoyed creating masterpieces for ourselves and others to eat.

I learned cooking at home as a child even though I never did the cooking until I got married.  I realize that I have always been inspired by the cooking from my childhood in Annapolis.  The tastes and smells of the kitchen come back to me often.

Today, I was thinking of crispy molasses cookies Mom made in the springtime.  These would be the last of the season, because summer was coming and it would be too hot to have the oven on.  The cookies have a deeply satisfying taste reminiscent of home.

Molasses Crisps

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 Tbs sugar
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup molasses (I like dark molasses)
1/2 lb butter (2 sticks)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift flour and measure.  Add next 5 ingredients and sift again.

Heat molasses to boiling.  Add butter and stir until melted.  Add dry ingredients and mix well.  Roll dough in a long roll about 3 inches in diameter and refrigerate over night or at least 4 hours.

Cut dough into very thin slices with a sharp knife.  Place on a greased baking sheet and bake until golden brown.  (10-12 minutes)

Makes about 4 1/2 dozen cookies

Hmmm. Yummy!

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The Magic of Spice Rubs

Spice rubs provide rich deep flavor to many foods.  They can liven things up and make a dish outstanding.  They can range from quite hot and robust to mild and sweet.  There are various versions depending on the kind of meat you use.

The rub acts as a dry marinade and can be made from whole toasted spices or a blend of dried ground herbs and spices.  You can buy commercial blends in supermarkets or specialty food stores, however, they can be too salty for my taste.

Despite what many new cooks may think, spice rubs are easy to make at home.  An added bonus is that they can be stored for about 3 or 4 months.  So make your own magic.  Just make sure you measure out what you need so you do not contaminate the rest.

You can choose just about any herbs and spices for mixing like marjoram, thyme, savory, oregano, paprika, nutmeg, Italian seasoning ginger, sage and garlic powder.  Spice rubs are good on pork chops, duck, roast pork, leg of lamb, beef tenderloin and grilled fish steaks.

Check out the magic of spice rubs.  See what it does for your food. Here is a blend I like especially to add some excitement to a whole chicken or parts:

Spice Rub for Chicken

2 Tbs dried Italian seasoning
1 Tbs dried thyme
2 Tbs dried crushed rosemary
2 Tbs garlic powder
2 Tbs dried parsley flakes
1 Tbs freshly ground peppercorn blend (like Trader Joe's brand)
1 tsp red pepper flakes or 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix in a small bowl.  Place in an airtight jar.

Makes about 2/3 cup.

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A Diabetic Dessert and Beautiful Memories

Cooking is a little erratic this week, because I'm packing up 25 years of accumulation.  Some of the things I am throwing away; believe me, that takes a long time.  Deciding what is really valuable to keep and what to throw away takes awhile.  Anyway, the cooking is suffering a bit, because of time and space; or the lack thereof.  There is a diabetic dessert following my thoughts here.

Moving brings forth some beautiful memories.  Interestingly, I found two letters wrritten by my father to my grandmother, his mother in-law, when he was in boot camp preparing to go into WWII.  I'm so glad I found tthem.  Even though there was no date, I believe they were written around 1944 or so.

He talked about how he was so fortunate tto have her as a mother-in-law and how much he loved her daughter and missed  his "sweet little rascals," that was my brother and me.  He mentioned that the guys in his unit were suprised at how he close he was with my grandmother.  They did not have the typical in-law relationship.  It was really cool; I remember that.

Meanwhile, I was thinking that I needed to write in my blog in case someone was reading.  I happened on this diaberic dessert recipe from recipe secrets blog and decided to share it.

DIABETIC PINEAPPLE DESSERT

15 oz can Crushed Pineapple ( drained )
1 small carton of cream cheese
1 small pkg. Sugar free instant Vanilla Pudding

Mix pineapple and cream of cheese add pudding and place in graham cracker pie crust (medium ) and mix well. Top with cool whip Let it chill for at least 20 minutes.

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Personal Chef Syle Moving and Making Big Changes!

It is March already.  Time to think of springtime.  And, as is fitting for the season, I am embarking on some big changes in my life.  Moving in with my daugher at the end of the month.  Cleaning out 25 years of papers, books, memories and all sorts of things..  Moving on to a new high in my life and looking forward to a fabulous and new experience.  We are both excited about this.

This has taken its toll on my ability to contribute to my blog recently; getting mired in the details of the move.  I'll be writing more soon, adding some more recipes and other comments.  Wow!  Moving into a house after having been 25 years in a small condo.  Parking right outside the door rather than having to walk long halls to bring my cleaning and groceries in.   That will be neat for a change.

Being able to walk in the streets of the neighborhood and talk to neighbors from their backyards and on their walks and jogs.  That will be fun.  Looking across the street and outside the window at homes and trees and flowers rather than other apartment buildings.  What a great new adventure.  To say nothing of having a really big kitchen in which to cook!  Yea!  Will keep you posted.

By the way; I overindulged in some more fish tacos last night.  I made enough for two or three people and ate them all.  This time I used my daughter's sauce recipe with light sour cream and light mayo rather than yogurt which I used before.  I also experimented with crystallized lemon (True Lemon brand) to give it a tangy taste.  The sauce was really good.  I'll bet adding some avocado to the tacos will add some nice flavor and texture.

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Global Cuisines and Culture: Italy

Every culture has its own cuisines.  Often the geography and culture of a country determine its foods, recipes and ways of cooking.  Take, for example, Italy; this is a country with varied regions that affect the kinds of cuisine produced.  As we know, sauce-laden spaghetti is not the only kind of food that comes from Italy.  This country of many regions produces different culinary delights depending on its geography.  In fact, the cuisine is so varied, you could spend a month or more trying just a few recipes from a given region.


Italy is a culinary Eden with its rich array of flavors, tastes and textures.  Food is a sensual pleasure and no food seems to evoke this experience quite like the creations from this Adriatic county.  After all, this is a country of Venice and its famous glass, gondolas and Risi e Bisi (peas and rice); of Rome and its famous art, architecture, fountains and Saltimbocca, a well-known veal dish;  of Tuscany and its villas, olive oil and wines; and Sardinia, the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea known for its spectacular beaches, suckling pork and pecorino cheese.

Italian food is made up of fresh vegetables, seafood, aromatic spices, flavorful olive oils and wonderful pastas.  In the movies of Ancient Rome, the tables are always laden with rich food and drink.  You will be happy to know that many Italian recipes are very simple and easy to make.  Much to my personal delight, many call for anchovy fillets.  I love anchovies!  The flavor can enrich a dish without overpowering the flavor of the other ingredients.  Done right, you never know they are there.


Italian culture and cuisine has a rich history.  Discover for yourself some new Italian recipes.  Not just pizza and spaghetti.  Make your own pasta.  It's not as hard as you think.  Try something with anchovies for a change.


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Baked Shad and Pancake Day: Memories of the Coming of Spring

Every year when Fat Tuesday comes, heralding the beginning of Mardi Gras and also Lenten season, I remember back to my childhood.  Spring was fast approaching.  Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday, the official start of Lent, was called Pancake Day at my house.  It was the day when we ate pancakes for dinner. Pancake Day is celebrated in many places around the world.


As a rule, we had fish every Friday in my family.  When it was Lent, however, we would have also have fish on Wednesdays.  That was just fine with me.  My mom would often bake shad, a rather large fish from the waters of the Atlantic.  I must admit that this was not my favorite fish dish, covered with a tomato sauce.  However, I was overruled and did eat it.  Liked the fish itself, except for the many bones, I just could not reconcile tomato sauce over my fish. To get the bones to soften, you have to cook them for a long time.


Shad, though, also meant having shad roe, which I did love. I still love it; I just don't eat it anymore.  It is soooo rich.  Anyway, the big thing for me was that Shad meant that Spring was upon us! Yea!


I looked back at on my mom's old cookbooks to see if I could reconstruct the Baked Shad recipe.  This is close, I believe.  I admit, that I do not add sauce to mine.  I'm more likely to top whole baked fish with lemon and onion slices and dill.  However, since this is a "memory lane" type recipe, I'll stick with the original
Nope, I think I'll go with mine.  You can add tomato sauce over the top, if you like.

Baked Shad with(out) Tomato Sauce

1 large Shad, about 4 lbs

Olive or canola oil

Garlic salt and pepper

1 medium onion, sliced

Dried dill flakes

2 lemons, sliced

1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175C).  Gas mark 6.   Wash and dry fish.  I always have the head removed by the fishmonger.  Lay half of the sliced onions and 1 sliced lemon on the bottom of a well-oiled baking pan or oven-proof dish.  Sprinkle fish with garlic salt, dill and pepper and lay on top of the lemon and onion slices.  Brush top and sides of fish generously with oil.   Place remaining slices of onion and lemon on top of fish.  Sprinkle with dried dill flakes.   Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup water to bottom of pan.  

Cover pan with aluminum foil.  Cook for 2 hours.  Be careful of bones!

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