DECEMBER 2013;"What's Cooking In The Kitchen?"

UNCLE JIMMY wrote:Today was a lazy day. My head hurts from I guess the tooth extraction. Plus my head feels like a sponge, and the sinuses are blocked. Grrrrr.

Tina cooked a small pot of tomato sauce, with pork neck bones and meatballs.
I just tried a meatball, and she did a great job. Can't eat with this darn headache, so I guess tomorrow or maybe way later tonight. Have to play it by ear. LOL

Barbara101 wrote:


  I did plan on shrimp in it.But they looked so good I ate them   right from the pan..

UNCLE JIMMY wrote:
The cod is just the way I like it, and my mom always made the cod like that.
Haddock too. They are my favorite fish.

bethk wrote:

UNCLE JIMMY wrote:
The cod is just the way I like it, and my mom always made the cod like that.
Haddock too. They are my favorite fish.

I think I've finally figured out how to get the very light crust I like to protect the delicate, moist fish and how not to cook too hot so the corn flour gets a burned flavor.

The French fries are just a little added bonus, I figure if I'm going to have hot oil I might as well make something I really like....now, the potatoes have to be cooked a lot hotter than the fish or they come out soggy....ewwww.  I only like 'em fresh & crisp.

Only problem is I had to cook in the house - it has been drizzling on & off all day, a few showers earlier.....enough I didn't want to take the chance of having hot oil on the side burner of the grill outside.  So, I've got the patio doors open and screens closed with all the fans on high so the smell of deep fat frying gets out of the house.  Nothing I like less than waking up at 2:00 a.m. and smelling fish fry!  Yuck.

bethk wrote:corn meal is too heavy for my liking...that's why I was so happy to find Bob's Red Mill corn FLOUR...it's much finer ground and is what they use to coat the fried clams I loved in southern Maine.  I just use a bit of buttermilk (just a splash) to get enough corn flour to coat the dry fish filets.  Egg isn't a favorite of mine because it tastes gummy to me.  

But you cook your fish as you like ~ you won't get any complaints from me!

bethk wrote:Yeah, I use Hellmann's as a slather on fish when I'm using panko to pan fry.  (NOT to be confused with Miracle Whip, here, for sure!)  It just holds the crumbs on and adds a bit of moisture (you let it sit for about 10 minutes so the panko absorbs the moisture of the mayonnaise) so the panko stays stuck and doesn't fall off in the pan.  The mayo doesn't give any flavor - just a way to have the panko stay stuck.  Good stuff.  

Have Tina look for the Bob's Red Mill corn flour....it's a fantastic light coating without that gritty feeling.  It doesn't seem to absorb too much moisture and fat, never gets gummy like flour can....just a nice crunch.

NormM wrote:Ever heard of Jambalaya with pasta?  It was on the menu at Ruby Tuesday's yesterday.  I didn't have it because it didn't come with the salad bar and that's the best part of that restaurant.

bethk wrote:My jambalaya is a spicy tomato sauce, peppers, onions, chicken, smoked sausage & shrimp that I serve over white rice....well, sometimes the Uncle Ben's brown rice...

but I suppose it would work over a pasta.  It would be different, that's for sure.

NormM wrote:I have never heard of it with pasta either. My ex-not Charlie's mom- only had a few dishes that she could cook and jambalaya was one she thought she could cook. It was not good.

Uncle Jimmy wrote:We have Bobs Red Mill here!.. I will have to ask Tina to get some.