Creole Black Drum

Hello from Beautiful Topsail Island! Weather is wonderful with warm days and cool nights. Black drum are biting at the docks and bridges. Catch a mess and try this recipe.


Creole Black Drum

2 lbs black drum fillets
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
½ green pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Cayenne pepper to taste
3 tablespoons butter
olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan. Coat a large baking dish with olive oil and lay fillets inside it. Top black drum with remaining ingredients and pour butter over dish. Bake 15-20 minutes until fish is done. Great with wild rice. Serves 4-5.

Till next time....
Tight lines!
Johnny

Salt Works II Foodie Review

Donna and I had chores in Wilmington today, and wouldn't you know it, we just happened to be there right around lunch time. So, knowing it would take too long to get back home, and then cook lunch, I persuaded Donna to take me out for lunch. With the toss of a coin, it was Salt Works II, on Wrightsville Ave. in Wilmington.
A sign greeted us at the door with something about coupons and new menus and prices and such, didn't pay much attention to it, as is my usual. Don't care to much for signs, it seems they are always "messin up the scenery, blowin my mind." We found a seat in in the corner, my prefered spot, must be from my previous life as an 19th century wild west gambler, you know, never sit with your back to the door.
A very courteous waiter, I think they are called "servers" now, ask us for our drink order, which was sweet tea of course. Who was this guy, this is the south. Sweet tea with lunch is pretty much understood around here. We checked the menu for lunch specials, me being a tight wad and all, I prefer the term thrifty, but I'll accept tightwad. I noticed they served breakfast until 3pm. That's great! I love breakfast when it ain't breakfast time. It wasn't unsual for my Grandma Caddell to whip up some country ham, grits, biscuits and eggs, over easy of course, for supper. Had to have those over easy eggs with biscuits. Toast is ok for scrambled eggs, but you gotta have something to sop with those buttermilk biscuits that Grandma cooked in her wood fired cookstove.
Ok, back to Salt Works II. Donna and I have eaten at Salt Works II many times. It was one of Donna's mother's favorites places to eat. Ms. Lee, that's what all the local Surf City crowd called her, even though her name was Bernice Reece, loved the liver and onions that was on the menu.
The little restaurant had a different atmosphere this time, and Donna questioned our server about the changes. Turns out Salt Works II is now under new management. Not only that, they will be featured in an episode of the Food Network show "Restaurant: Impossible."  It's a show where the Food Network folks hi-jack someone's failing restaurant and do a make-over. It will air Feb. 9, at 10 pm. 
The lunch specials included meatloaf, chicken pastry, ........ and ....... OK, so when I got to chicken pastry, I kinda zoned out. So we ordered the "Chicken Pastry." Ok, now heres something else. I was born in the sandhills of North Carolina, raised in piedmont North Carolina, and until we moved to coastal North Carolina, Surf City, we had never heard the term "chicken pastry." As Alan Jackson would say, "Back where I come from" it's chicken and dumplins, which was really more dumplins than chicken. Our standard family recipe called for a lot of butter, hand rolled and cut dumplins, made from flour and buttermilk, and shredded boiled chicken. Sounds good, right? Well, believe me, it is!
But when the plates were delivered to our table by our waiter, uh sorry, server, there it was, right in the middle of the plate, a whole half chicken breast. I know what you are thinking. "A whole half chicken breast?" You know what I mean. There's two pieces of breast in a chicken, one on each side of the breast bone. So I got one half and Donna got the other half. Yea, I am sure they were from the same chicken, they looked like a perfect match. And laying there on the plate with the whole half chicken breast that the server brought out to us, was the "dumplins." BIG dumplins. But folks, I gotta tell you, they were devine. The chicken was tender and so juicy, not like any boiled chicken I have ever had. It had a garlic and buttery flavor that was great. Along with the chicken pastry, we had delicious fresh cooked collard greens, the server said he couldn't get me the recipe, and delicious, to die for, home made maccaroni and cheese. It seems that the hijackers from the Food Network told these folks that they should not serve anything out of a can. Our server told us this. He said everything they cooked now is from scratch. Nothing was from a can. Sounds great to me. Folks, This meal was delicious! Real southern taste and hospitality ....... And, only eight bucks a head!
Salt Works II is a winner in my book!

Till next time.....
Pig out!
Johnny

Salt Works II
4001 Wrightsville Ave.
Wilmington, NC  28403-6331
Telephone:  (910) 794-2478
FaceBook Salt Works II                                        

Red Drum Recipes

Another great recipe from our kitchen and our readers. Enjoy! Johnny and Donna http://www.fishintopsail.com/

Baked Carolina Redfish
2 pounds redfish fillets
1 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon salt
dash pepper

Place fish in a lightly buttered shallow baking dish. In a cup combine remaining ingredients. Pour over redfish fillets and bake at 350° for 20 to 25 minutes. The baked redfish should flake easily with a fork when done. Serves 4 to 6.




Redfish Parmesan

6 redfish fillets, 8 to 10 ounces each
2 cups half and half cream
2 eggs
1 cup of flour
2 teaspoons white pepper
3/4 cup cracker meal
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons oregano
1 tablespoon basil
2 tablespoons parsley
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup olive oil
1/4 pound butter, unsalted
2 lemons cut in wedges, for garnish

Combine all ingredients except the flour, half and half cream, eggs, oil and butter. Dust the fillets in the flour, then dip in cream and egg mixture. Coat with all of the other dry ingredients combined. Sauté fish in olive oil and butter on medium high heat until fillets are golden and fish starts to flake. Garnish redfish with lemon and parsley. Serves 3.

Creole Red Drum
1 lb red drum fillets
1⁄4 cup flour
1⁄2 cup chili sauce
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons minced onion
1⁄2 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon minced parsley
2 tablespoons melted butter

Sprinkle drum with flour, salt, and paprika. Place in shallow greased baking pan. Combine remaining ingredients; pour over drum. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes basting frequently. Turn fish, bake another eight minutes or until done, basting frequently. Serves 3/4

Jim’s Fish Taco Recipe

Another great recipe from our kitchen and our readers.
Jim’s Fish Taco Recipe

Fish Taco Recipe (mine):
Sorry there are no quantities, it is all to taste.

Lime
Napa Cabbage
Sirachi Chili Sauce (Chinese Chili Sauce)
Mayonnaise
White Fish (I like grouper of course, but flounder or black bass are good, whatever is freshest)
Panko (Chinese bread crumbs)
Corn Tortillas 
Black Beans (Canned)
Eggs beaten
Canola Oil
Simple recipe but pretty darn good.
Slice cabbage very thin.  Combine mayo, lime juice (about a half of lime) and sirachi to taste,.  I use the hot sirachi with garlic. Combine cabbage and mayo, don't over do it with the mayo/sirachi, a little goes a long ways.  

I fry my corn tortilla, I try to get the best shape I can to hold the ingredients.  Next dip fish into beaten egg  and roll in Panko crumbs. If you've never used Panko you should, It is an excellent alternative to other breaders. (try a boneless pork chop pan fried with panko- awesome!)
Fry Fish, place on metal mesh to drain and salt, not paper towel.
Heat beans, use a stick blender to puree the beans. You can serve the beans as a side dish with a dollop of sour cream or use sparingly on the taco.
Combine shell, beans, fish and top with cabbage and maybe a squeeze of fresh lime. 

Cerveza recommended


Thanks Jim!

Enjoy!
Johnny and Donna
www.fishintopsail.com

Flounder Italian Style

Another great recipe from our kitchen and our readers.

This flounder recipe is delicious and really easy.

Ingredients:
2 pound flounder fillets.
1 can Campbell's condensed tomato soup
1 small onion
1/8 cup parmesian cheese
1/8 teaspoon italian seasoning
1/8 teaspoon lemon pepper


Spray a shallow glass baking dish with Pam. Arrange flounder fillets skin side down. Ad some black pepper, but don't add any salt, as there is plenty of salt in the tomato soup. Slice onion thinly and place over flounder fillets. Ad black pepper and italian spices. Pour tomato soup onto the fillets. Don't add any water. Cover with aluminum foil. Place into a 350* oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle liberally with parmesian cheese and bake an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve hot with cole slaw or salad.


Enjoy!
Johnny and Donna

www.fishintopsail.com

Sea Mullet and Hush Puppies with Coleslaw

An interesting tid-bit: HUSH PUPPIES, A Southern U.S. specialty consisting of balls of cornmeal batter, seasoned with chopped onion, garlic, etc. and fried. The name supposedly originated when Southern hunters were gathered about the fire to cook the evening meal, and the dogs would start barking and begging for food. The cook would drop bits of corn meal batter and toss them to the hungry dogs with the admonition, 'hush, puppy!'" Now back to the recipe!

Hush Puppies
1 Large onion, diced
1 16-ounce can tomatoes
1 16–ounce cream-style corn
Salt and pepper to taste
Tabasco Sauce to taste
3 cups self-rising cornmeal
1 cup self-rising flour

For hush puppies: Combine onion, tomatoes, and corn in large bowl. Mix thoroughly, using hands to mash and combine. Add salt, pepper, and Tabasco.

In another bowl, combine cornmeal and flour. Add just enough of the tomato-corn mixture to make a thick, doughy paste. Use teaspoon to shape hush puppies into rounded ovals. Drop into deep fat fryer and fry until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. They will float to the top and turn themselves over when done. Remove, drain, and serve with mullet.

Mullet
2 to 4 pounds mullet, catfish, or mackerel
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 cup seasoned flour (salt and pepper added)
1 package crackers (Charles uses Ritz), crushed into fine crumbs

For mullet: Combine milk and eggs. Roll fish in seasoned flour. Dip into egg-milk mixture and then into cracker crumbs until well coated. Drop fish into deep fat fryer and cook until they float to top, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove and drain. Serve hot with hush puppies.

Old-Fashioned Cole Slaw

1 small head cabbage
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tablespoons mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 small onion, minced
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
Pinch of salt
Paprika for color

Chop cabbage into finely cut pieces using hand chopper or food processor. Mix sugar, vinegar, and mayonnaise together until thoroughly blended.

Pour mixture over chopped cabbage and combine well. Add minced onion, celery seed, and salt. Mix again. Sprinkle paprika over top for color and cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.



Enjoy!
Johnny and Donna

Aunt Clara's Shrimp Gumbo

Another great recipe from our kitchen and our readers.

* 1 pound fresh shrimp
* 3 medium onions
* 1 quart water
* 2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
* 1/4 cup raw rice
* 1/2 pound okra
* butter
* 1 tablespoon flour
* 4 tomatoes (canned tomatoes may be used)
* 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1 teaspoon chopped parsley
* 2 bay leaves
* a pinch each of salt, pepper, and sugar

Boil the shrimp and one of the onions, chopped, in 1 quart of water with the vinegar for 10 minutes. Reserve the water. Peel and clean the shrimp. Cover the rice and okra with one inch of water and cook dry. Fry the remaining onions, finely chopped, in butter over low heat, smooth in the flour, and add the shrimp stock, then the okra, rice, shrimp, tomatoes, and seasoning. Simmer for 20 minutes and serve piping hot.


Enjoy!
Johnny and Donna
www.fishintopsail.com