Cajun Chef Ryan - Feeling & sharing a world of cooking ~ more than your average Cajun

Oven Fried Catfish

August 13th, 2010 · 25 Comments

Taking a traditional fried catfish recipe that has been in the repertoire for decades and only changing the final cooking method, results in an easier to prepare at home meal for anyone who loves to eat fried fish.

Back in the restaurant days, we would run through about 100 pounds of catfish filets every Friday, it was the featured fish. Served with hush puppies or French fries and this was always a sell out menu item!

Marinated catfish with breading and pan

Using our yellow mustard, crushed red pepper flakes, and red wine vinegar marinade, then dredging the coated fillets in the seasoned corn meal and corn flour mixture creates the crispy crust coating that pleases most aficionados of fried catfish; this really is a crowd-pleasing fried catfish.

Breading and panning up the catfish filets

The yellow mustard and red wine vinegar add a tasty twang flavor, sort of a hot and sour to the catfish, which permeate the tender flesh, then hidden beneath the crispy corn meal / flour coating provides an explosion of tongue tantalizing delicacy!

The catfish filets breaded and ready for the oven

Crispy crust on the outside, hot and sour catfish on the inside, this dish guaranteed to become one of those gastronomic sensations that are certain to add fond memories for you and your dining guests.

The recipe….

Ingredients for Marinade
2	Lb.	Catfish filets
1	Cup	Yellow mustard
½	Cup	Red wine vinegar
1	Tbsp	Crushed red pepper flakes
1	Tsp	Salt

Procedure Steps for Marinating the Catfish
1.	Combine the yellow mustard, red wine vinegar, crushed red pepper flakes, and salt in a large bowl, then mix well.
2.	Gently add the catfish filets and coat them well with the mustard marinade. Allow to sit covered and chilled for several hours.

The high oven temperature of 475° F ensures that the catfish filets get the same treatment as with deep-frying, yet without all the mess and bother of cooking with a large pot of hot oil at home!

Ingredients for Coating
1	Cup	Corn meal, yellow
1	Cup	Corn flour, yellow
1	Tsp	Garlic salt
1	Tsp	White pepper, ground
½	Tbsp	Garlic powder
½	Tbsp	Onion powder
½	Tbsp	Cajun Spice blend
		Cooking spray

Steps for Coating and Baking the Catfish Note: Pre-heat oven to 475° F.
1.	Combine all the coating ingredients into a large shallow dish or pan with high sides. Stir well to ensure that all the seasonings and the corn meal and flour blend well.
2.	Lightly coat a sheet pan with the cooking spray, then dredge one catfish filet at a time into the coating mixture ensuring that all surfaces of the filet are well and evenly coated with the corn meal / flour mixture. Gently transfer the catfish filets to the cooking sheet pan with the flat side of the filets down. Make sure there is some space between the fillets, you want to ensure even baking, and inch or so of space should be good.
3.	When all the filets are coated and panned, place them in the 475° F oven for 15 minutes. Then check on them, you may want to turn the pan around for even cooking, and continue another 5 to 10 minutes, or until they are browning on top. You know when ready, as they flake easily when tested with a fork.

Oven Fried Catfish out of the oven and ready to serve

Dinner is served, the Oven Fried Catfish is accompanied with two sides which I will provide recipes in future posts, the Rockin Herb Roasted Potatoes, and the Braised Cucumbers.

Oven Fried Catfish is served, along with Rockin Herb Roasted Potatoes and Braised Cucumbers

Bon appetite!

CCR
=:~)
©2010 CCR

→ 25 CommentsTags: Cajun · Entrees · Recipes · Seafood

Dreamy Peach Pecan Praline Cobbler

August 11th, 2010 · 29 Comments

We owe this one to my dear wife Monique, for she is the inspiration found in this recipe, she is always searching for new ingredients to cook and especially bake, desserts are her favorite.

While flipping through several cookbooks in our collection, she ran across another for the 9×13 pan, and this happens to be about the sixth successful find in as many weeks.

A basket full of peaches

On Saturday, our dear friend Janet dropped by with a basket full of fresh ripe peaches that her dear husband Chris had picked up for us on his travels back from business in Atlanta.

This was our second such basket of bountiful peaches bestowed upon us, and we had devoured the first basket before any hesitation of cooking their tender, juicy, flavorful fruit. This time around, we were not going to let them all go to just snacking, Monique had a mission.

The basket purchased from roadside fruit stands near the Georgia and North Carolina borders, contains several varieties of locally grown peaches, including a white fleshed, orange fleshed, and several cling types.

A cursory search for Georgia peaches turns out that there are 40 varieties available and grown in the state. It appears that our basket has three or four peach varieties included.

Dreams…peaches….pecans…pralines…cobbler…

These all seem like such great ingredients on their own, so why not put them together into one dish.

Dreams

If you can dream it you can believe it, all things start from a dream! I believe it is time to create a dreamy dessert!

The Peaches

Hemispheres of peaches

After slicing eight of the peaches for this recipe, it appeared that three varieties are in this particular basket; the noted tell tale flesh of each one with its varied color and texture.

Each peach is cut from the top of the stem end and then around the circumference using the chef knife, then separated into two hemispheres exposing the firm yet juicy, tender flesh, and pit. With the pit removed, and using the chef knife again, all the peaches sliced into nice equal wedges, ten slices per peach in fact.

Peach slices

Eight cups of peach slices

We decided to keep the skin on because peeling them seemed like torture, and such a waste of good nutrition, not to mention the loss of the juicy, delicate, tender flesh.

The Pecans and Praline flavor

The pecan meats chopped with the chef knife, and then added to the melted butter, combined with brown sugar, thus transformed into the praline filling.

Cobbler

Filling, a fruit concoction made with fresh, canned, or frozen fruit, mixed with water or fruit juice, thickened with cornstarch, and spices added, typically cooked until thick and bubbly. This is the fruit filling.

Dough, typically a sweet biscuit type, and this time turned on its head with the addition of the pecan praline filling in the fashion of a cinnamon or Danish roll.

The Recipe

Yield 12 servings, pre-heat oven to 400° F.

Peach Filling
Ingredients
8	Cups	Fresh sliced peaches
1	Cup	Granulated sugar
1	Cup	Cool water
2	Tbsp	Cornstarch
1	Tsp	Ground cinnamon

Procedure Steps
1.	Cut the peaches into wedges and reserve.
2.	In a large saucepot, combine the sugar, water, cornstarch, and cinnamon, stir to dissolve the sugar and cornstarch, then turn on the heat to medium and add the peaches. Stir well evenly coating the peaches, continue to cook until thickened, and just starts to bubble. Turn off the heat and cover, keep warm.

Pecan Praline Dough Filling
Ingredients
¾	Cup	Brown sugar, packed
¼	Cup	Butter, melted
1 ½	Cups	Pecans, chopped

Procedure Steps
1.	Melt the butter in a medium bowl, add the brown sugar, and then stir well to dissolve.
2	Add the pecans and stir until well and evenly coated, and then reserve for filling the dough.

Pecan Praline Dough, rolled out

Pecan Praline Dough, filled

Dough
Ingredients
¾	Cup	Milk
2	Tsp	Lemon juice
2 ¼	Cup	All-purpose flour
2	Tsp	Brown sugar
2	Tsp	Baking powder
½	Tsp	Baking soda
½	Tsp	Salt
½	Cup	Shortening or butter

Procedure Steps
1.	In a small bowl combine the milk and lemon juice, and then set aside.
2.	In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. If no food processor is available, use a large bowl.
3.	Cut in the shortening or butter using the food processor, or in the case of manual cutting, use a pastry blender or pastry knife tool. Cut in the shortening until it resembles coarse crumbles.
4.	Turn out the flour / shortening mixture into a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Add the milk mixture and stir just until the dough clings together and is in one solid mass.
5.	Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and kneed gently for ten to twelve turns.
6.	Roll the dough into an 8-inch by 12-inch rectangle. Then spread the reserved pecan praline filling evenly over the top of the dough.
7.	Roll up the dough from one of the long sides, and then cut into twelve 1-inch pieces.

Pecan Praline Dough, rolled

Pecan Praline Dough, cut

Putting it all together

Filling and dough in pan

Transfer the hot peach filling into an ungreased 9×11 pan or baking dish. Place the filled dough rolls with the cut side down on top of the peaches.

Bake uncovered for about 25 minutes or until golden brown on top and the dough appears fully baked.

Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes.

Cobbler cooling on wire rack for 30 minutes

Serve warm and if desired serve with heavy cream or half-and-half drizzle.

Dessert is served!

Bon appetite!

CCR

=:~)

→ 29 CommentsTags: 9x13 pan · Baking · Bread · Desserts · Recipes

Grilled Chicken Tenders

August 10th, 2010 · 23 Comments

Chicken Tenders on the grill

This recipe happened by accident as we thought the package was for boneless chicken breast, at least it was in the same section with all the other boneless breasts. Somehow, it was shifted from its spot in the meat case at the grocery. So at home when we started opening up our chicken breasts, the packages looked identical, with the exception of a few changes in wording we had one package of chicken tenders and one package of boneless chicken breasts.

Ingredients
1	lb.	Chicken tenders
1	Cup	Italian dressing
½	Tbsp	Finger Lickin’ Rub
½	Tbsp	Fresh rosemary, chopped
½	Tbsp	Fresh thyme, chopped
½	Cup	Barbeque sauce

Chicken Tenders on the grill, getting ready to flip

Procedure steps

I marinated both the tenders and breasts in some Italian dressing with the addition of some of my Finger Lickin’ Rub, because I now keep a large container of it in our easy reach kitchen cabinet, and because we love this stuff. We also added some fresh herbs from our garden, chopped them up first.

Just take the tenders and put them into a zip type plastic bag, add enough of the dressing to coat well then shake some of the rub and toss well. Seal the bag removing any excess air space, and then refrigerate overnight or for several days if you wish.

Chicken Tenders on the grill, with barbeque sauce, almost done

Once you are ready to grill, skewer several tenders onto a 12-inch bamboo stick, and then grill on your hot fire until browned well on both sides. We like to brush on some of my East Meets West Barbeque sauce at the last 10 minutes of grilling, flipping sides after about 5 minutes and coating it well.

Chicken Tenders done, and ready to serve

Variations

For Indian influences cut the Italian dressing by ½ the amount and add the remainder of plain yogurt to the mix, so you now have ½-cup Italian dressing and ½-cup yogurt, along with some curry powder and turmeric. Marinate, skewer, and grill as usual.

For Asian influences, eliminate the Italian dressing and use ½-cup of soy sauce, 1 tbsp of toasted sesame oil, ½ tbsp grated ginger, and ½ tbsp garlic. Marinate, skewer, and grill as usual.

For Southwest influences, eliminate the Italian dressing and rub the chicken with Annatto paste and season with 1 tsp chili powder, and ½ tsp cumin. Marinate, skewer, and grill as usual.

Grilled Chicken Tenders with East Meets West Barbeque, and grilled vegetables

Bon appetit!

CCR

=:~)

→ 23 CommentsTags: Barbecue · Recipes

Heavenly Hash Brownie

August 6th, 2010 · 32 Comments

Heavenly Hash Brownie

This is a recipe handed down from mother, who would make it for every holiday dinner, and it was always a favorite. Therefore, we asked her for it several years ago, she recited it to the dear wife; and then she detailed it onto a note card, and now makes it often in our home.

What makes this a quick to fix dessert is the use of a typical box of brownie mix, one that will yield a batch in a 9×9 or 8×8 pan. Of course, a from scratch brownie recipe would do just as well, so please feel free to use your own if you so desire.

Elmer’s Heavenly Hash Egg

Please note that this recipe and the name has nothing to do with illicit drugs, or anything with cooking with drugs. The name is derived from the Elmer’s Candy Company famous Easter candy aptly named Heavenly Hash Egg, please refer to this nice review of the famous Easter candy egg. It is one of our favorites, however, typically only sold in the New Orleans area.

Ingredients
1	Box	Brownie mix for a 9×9 or 8×8 pan
1	Cup	Walnuts, chopped
2	Cups	Mini marshmallows
1	Stick	Butter, melted
¼	Cup	Milk
2	Ounces	Baking chocolate
½	Pound	Confectioners sugar

Procedure Steps
1.	Prepare the brownie mix per the package directions, with the addition of the chopped nuts in an 8×8 or 9×9 pan.
2.	When fully baked, remove from oven and top with the marshmallows, allowing them to melt slightly.
3.	In the melted butter, add the baking chocolate, and milk, and allow to melt over a very low heat.
4.	Transfer the butter chocolate mixture to a large bowl then whisk in the confectioners sugar creating a chocolate icing.
5.	Pour the icing over the top of the marshmallows and allow to set up before cutting.