I first tasted catfish when I lived in Dallas. There were these two shack-style restaurants on a corner near where I lived. They both served fried chicken and fried catfish. One had great chicken, the other great catfish. It was in Dallas that I acquired a taste for catfish.
This is surprising coming from me because I’m very particular about fish. I usually avoid it because I don’t like the fishy taste. But, my oh my, that catfish was yummy.
Later, when I lived in Maryland, I had the opportunity to have catfish at a swanky restaurant. It was horrible! I had to send it back. And I usually just suffer in silence!
So, imagine my pleasant surprise when I saw fried Louisiana catfish available at the Long Beach Bayou & Blues Festival this past weekend! And, after hearing that Peter Tork (yes, the former Monkee) had really liked it, really needed to give it a try.
First, the portion was generous. The picture above was for a Catfish lunch … only three pieces. I’m thinking they either don’t know how to count, or their definition of pieces is different than mine! (Note: I had already eaten a piece before I took this picture.)
Second, the catfish was divine. It was soft and buttery. No fishy taste at all. Just the right amount of meaty-ness. And the batter wasn’t oily at all. I snarfed it down amid mmmmm’s and ahhhhh’s. I felt like my tastebuds had gone to heaven!
So, if you ever have the opportunity to try Ben King’s Louisiana Catfish … take it! Their prices are very reasonable (I paid only $7 for all that fish, two hush puppies and a stack of fries … in Dallas it was $5 for two pieces of catfish only). The fish is prepared to perfection. They are worth going out of your way for.
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Tuna Alfredo Casserole
I’d been craving tuna fish casserole for awhile, but didn’t have all the ingredients I normally use. So I did a little experimentation and came up with a new twist on a classic dish.
Ingredients:
- 1 package pasta
- 2 5-oz cans chunk light tuna packed in water
- 1 package mixed veggies
- 1 jar alfredo sauce
- 2 cups shredded cheese
Directions:
- Cook the pasta until it is al dente. Strain and set aside.
- While the pasta is cooking, drain the tuna fish and set aside.
- Cook the veggies so they are soft and ready to eat.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare a large baking pan by spraying with cooking spray or rubbing with butter or shortening.
- Layer half the pasta along the bottom of the pan. On top of that layer, sprinkle half the tuna. Then place half the veggies over that. Pour half the alfredo sauce over those layers and top with half the cheese.
- Repeat the layering process with the remainder of the pasta, tuna, veggies, sauce and cheese.
- Bake for about 20 to 30 minutes, until small bubble form on the sides and the top layer of cheese is melted and slightly browned at the edges.
- Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving.
One of the timeless kitchen creativity questions is what to do with crusty, hard stale bread. French toast comes to mind first for me, but I don’t always want to have that for breakfast. Another option is a dish called Strata.
I had a bunch of hard rolls that had just gotten too, well, hard. I had some ground beef and didn’t really feel like hamburgers, so I went to the store to gather some ingredients to make a strata. They had sliced mushrooms and a spinach salad mix on clearance, and so the following recipe was born. De-lish!
Beef Strata with Mushrooms and Fresh Spinach
I love to experiment with cooking and baking. In this video, I walk you through today’s experiment with pumpkin and Fresh & Easy’s Ginger Bread mix.
Mentioned in this video:
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Product Review: Mighty Mug
This product is so cool, I had to do a video review!
So … did you get a kick out of my sound effects? I didn’t even realize I was doing that until I started editing the video!
Want a Mighty Mug for your self? You can grab one at Amazon.com. It comes in a variety of colors, including black, blue, red, green, orange, purple and cream. The one in my video is orange.
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Abuela’s Stuffing + My Modifications
One of my favorite Thanksgiving dishes growing up was the stuffing my abuela made. I try to make it each year, but like every other recipe, I can’t leave well enough alone. This year, I felt inspired to document my little Carma-izing journey of my grandmother’s stuffing recipe and share it with you.
Ingredients:
- 1 loaf of toasted stale bread
- 1 medium or half a large onion
- 1 lb ground meat (beef, sausage or both)
- 1 container sliced fresh mushrooms
- 1 small can olives
- 2 large eggs
- Poultry seasoning (to taste)
- Milk or chicken broth
Directions:
Step One: Prepare the bread
You need one loaf of toasted stale bread to make the stuffing. Abuela usually used french bread or sourdough. This year I found a loaf of multigrain bread with flax and pumpkin seeds and decided to use that.