Crispy, Crunchy Cornmeal Encrusted Cod w/ Lemon-Dill Tartar Sauce

fish fry Fridays...

'Tis the Lenten season of the fish fry. Although I'm not Catholic and didn't grow up that way, much of Cincinnati is. So, when Lent rolls around each year there are so many fish fries on Fridays you could go to a different one for the entire season and still not hit up even half of them. Here's a list for the 2015 Lenten season you can search by neighborhood, so it should be easy to find one near you. And, hey, it's Friday, so grab some friends and go check one out.

Or, you could stay home and make my Crispy, Crunchy Cornmeal Encrusted Cod w/ Lemon-Dill Tartar Sauce. It's quick and easy to make. And, quite inexpensive to feed a crowd - I guess the Catholic Church knew what they were doing when they instituted these meat free Fridays!. Even if you aren't Catholic, sometimes its fun to be part of a tradition. You know what they say, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. If you do decide to stay in (it is freezing out!) keep the fish fry tradition alive. Here's how to make my fried fish...

Ingredients - Serves 4
Fried Fish
1 1/2 - 2 lbs. Cod, skinned
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
Vegetable Oil, for frying
1/2 C All Purpose Flour
2 Large Eggs
2 T Cold Water
2 C Yellow Corn Meal
1 tsp. Dried Parsley
1 tsp. Lemon-Pepper Seasoning (suggest Mrs. Dash, no salt added)
1/2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
To Serve: Lemon Wedges & Cole Slaw

Lemon-Dill Tartar Sauce
1/2 C Mayo (suggest w/ Olive Oil)
2-3 T Fresh Dill, chopped
Zest 1 Lemon
1 T Fresh Lemon Juice

Directions
Cut the cod into 4 fillets. Season with salt and pepper on both sides. Set aside. On med-high, heat a large castiron skillet filled with enough oil to shallow fry the fish to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, setup the dredging station: Put the flour on a plate, beat the eggs in a shallow bowl with the two tablespoons of water, and put the cornmeal in another shallow dish. Add the dried parsley, lemon-pepper seasoning, and cayenne pepper to the corn meal. Mix well.

Next, dredge the fish: Coat the fish in flour, then egg, and finally press into the cornmeal mixture. Repeat this process until all of the fillets are coated. Carefully add the fish to the hot oil and fry for 5 minutes on each side until medium-golden brown. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain.

As the fish fries, make the lemon-dill tartar sauce: In a small bowl combine the mayo, chopped dill, lemon zest and juice. Stir together and set aside.

Finally, serve the fish with the tartar sauce, lemon wedges, and your favorite Cole slaw. Here's to the Lenten season. Enjoy!

Easy Caesar Salad w/ Cornbread Croutons

waste not, what not...

It is a winter wonderland here in Cincy. We've been getting snow since Monday and it's only stopped briefly. I think we have about a foot as of today...it's just a bit much. But, it is February. Given the weather we've had, I haven't made it to the store this week. So, I was quite limited for this post to what I had in my refrigerator and/or pantry. So, I'm getting creative with this series. I'll be focusing on corn meal and the variety of things you can make with this versatile ingredient.

To start off I've made a simple Caesar salad. To put a twist on this classic salad I'm using leftover corn muffins I made earlier this week to create cornbread croutons. If you don't have leftover cornbread, just buy a pre-made loaf from the store. I like the Jiffy Cornbread mix personally and use it all the time. Other than the croutons, this salad is pretty standard. I'm finishing it with a dressing from Anne Burrell of Food Network fame and lots of cracked black pepper. If you are stuck inside like me and have these ingredients on hand, make this salad tonight. Here's how...

Ingredients - Serves 4
Salad
2 C Cubed Cornbread, 1 inch pieces
1 Romain Heart
1/2 C Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Cracked Black Pepper

Anne Burrell's Caesar Salad Dressing
1/2 C Grated Parmigiano Cheese
1 Lemon, zest & juice
1-2 Cloves Garlic
1 T Dijon Mustard
2-3 Anchovy Fillets (I used 1 T anchovy paste)
2 Shakes Worcestershire Sauce
1/3 C Olive Oil
Kosher Salt, as needed

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Make the croutons: Put the cubed cornbread on a large baking sheet. Cook for 15-20 minutes, flipping halfway through. The croutons will be dry, crisp, and browned. Set aside to cool.

Make the dressing: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the parmigiana, lemon zest and juice, garlic, mustard, anchovies, and Worcestershire sauce. Puree until the mixture is smooth, 15-20 seconds. With the machine running, add the olive oil through the feed tube. Let the processor continue to run another 10-15 seconds. Taste and season with salt if needed.

Make the salad: Chop the lettuce and divide among 4 bowls. Top with the cornbread croutons, shredded Parmesan, Caesar dressing, and lots of cracked black pepper. Toss lightly and serve immediately. Note: To make this a dinner, split among two large bowls and add some cooked shrimp or chicken! Stay in, stay warm, but eat well. Enjoy!

Pomegranate Sparkler

will you be my valentine?

My sister sent a picture this morning of my niece Nora and I had to share it. Isn't she so adorable? I could just eat her up! If I didn't already have a valentine, I'd choose her. Anyway, obviously it's Valentine's Day, time for my last red recipe post. For this festive occasion I've made a simple champagne cocktail. Perfect to start out a night promising to be full of love, passion, and romance.

This recipe starts with a simple syrup, which is just equal parts pomegranate juice and granulated sugar. The only other ingredients are sparkling wine or champagne and pomegranate seeds. I suggest a brut (dry) sparkling wine. The pomegranate simple syrup is pretty sweet. Toast your valentine tonight with this Pomegranate Sparkler. Here's how to make it...

Ingredients - Serves 6
1 C 100% Pomegranate Juice
1 C Granulated Sugar
1 Bottle Sparkling Wine, chilled
To Serve: Pomegranate Seeds
Optional: Love, Passion, Romance, and all that gooshy stuff...

Directions

Begin by making the simple syrup: In a small pot combine the pomegranate juice and granulated sugar. Heat over medium until the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat to cool. Store in a sealed container at room temperature until ready to serve.

Make the cocktail: Pour 1 oz. pomegranate simple syrup into the bottom of a champagne flute. Top with sparkling wine and garnish with a few pomegranate seeds (and all that gooshy stuff). One bottle of sparkling wine will make 6 cocktails. Here's to Valentine's Day! Cheers!

Roasted Duck Breasts over Wild Rice with Pomegranate-Orange Sauce

duck...duck...food!

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm focusing on pomegranates and Valentine's day with this series of red recipes. How appropriate that color falls at this time! Last night I made a dinner worthy of any date night and perfect for Saturday. It's a meal that will impress, but really was quite easy to make. The hardest part is waiting for the duck to roast, it smells so good!

This recipe was inspired by duck a l'orange, a classic French dish that pairs roasted duck with an orange sauce. My sauce not only contains orange juice and zest, but also pomegranate juice and molasses. Pomegranate molasses can be found at specialty stores (try Jungle Jim's) or you can make your own (follow this recipe). If you want to impress your Valentine's Day date don't go out to dinner, make it! Here's how...

Ingredients - Serves 2
2 Duck Breasts (1/2 lb. each)
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper
1/2 C Pomegranate Juice
1 Orange, zest & juice
2 T Pomegranate Molasses
2 T Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 T Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Fresh Thyme, chopped
To Serve: Wild Rice and Pomegranate Seeds

Directions
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. We are roasting this duck low and slow!

Pat the duck breasts dry with paper towels. Using a sharp knife, score the skin and fat side in a crosshatch pattern, making the cuts about 1/2 inch apart. Be careful not to cut into the breast meat. Season the breasts well with salt and pepper.

Heat a large cast iron skillet over med-high. Sear the breasts skin and fat side down, about 6 minutes. Remove the breasts from the pan. Reserve or discard the fat. Wipe out the skillet and place the duck, skin side up, back into it. Put the skillet into the preheated oven to roast for 35-40 minutes. Or, until the duck registers at 145-150 degrees on a digital read thermometer. Once cooked, remove to a cutting board, rest for about 5 minutes, and then cut into thin slices.

As the duck is roasting, make the wild rice and sauce. For the rice: cook to package directions and keep warm. For the sauce: combine the pomegranate and orange juice, zest, molasses, vinegar, brown sugar, thyme, and 1 tsp. salt in a small sauce pan. Heat to a boil and reduce by 2/3, about 15 minutes. The sauce will be think and syrupy. Keep warm.

Plate the sliced duck over a bed of wild rice. Pour the sauce over the top and around the sides of the dish. Top with fresh pomegranate seeds. Valentine's Day dinner never looked so good. Enjoy!

Winter Fruit Salad

heart healthy...

If there's ever a month to be good to your heart, February is it. With the American Heart Association brilliantly dubbing February "National Heart Month" and spreading the word about how to care for your heart, eating smart is a large part of it. Some of us will celebrate Valentine's Day by wearing red, others will go out to dinner, and some of us won't celebrate at all. So, I say, celebrate your heart all month, not just on February 14th. I'll be focusing on pomegranates for this series in all their ruby red glory.

This Winter Fruit Salad is a good place to start caring for your heart. Loaded with a variety of fruits and lightly dressed with lime juice, this is an excellent source of vitamins and antioxidants. And, it's super easy to make. Pomegranates are just going out of season (you can still find the seed however) so make this salad soon! Here's how...

Ingredients - Serves 6
1 Pomegranate (or 1 1/2 C seeds)
2 (10.5 oz.) Cans Mandarin Oranges in juice (not syrup)
1 Mango, diced
2 Firm Bananas, sliced
2 Kiwi Fruit, pealed & diced
1 Lime, zest & juice
1/2 T Granulated Sugar
Big Pinch Kosher Salt

Directions
Fill a large bowl with water. Extract the pomegranate seeds: Score (don't cut through) the skin of the pomegranate with one circular cut around the top and bottom. Then, score the skin by cutting down from the circular cut at the top to the bottom. Score the pomegranate 5 or 6 times from top to bottom.

Next, submerge the fruit in the large bowl of water. Gently pull the pomegranate apart to expose the seeds. Work carefully to remove the skin and membrane that hold the seeds in. The membrane will float to the top of the bowl and the seeds will sink to the bottom. Discard the skin and membrane. Then, scoop out the seeds and lay them on paper towels to dry.

Meanwhile, mix the other fruit together: Drain the mandarin oranges and add to a large bowl. Toss in the mango, bananas, and kiwi fruit. Add the pomegranate seeds, lime zest & juice, sugar, and salt. Stir everything together well.

Allow the salad to sit for about 10 minutes. Stir again to distribute the juices and serve. It's easy to be good to your heart. Enjoy!