Savory Cheese Cake, Sweet Fries, Catfish

Good morning!!!!
We are down to very little snow around here with yesterday being in the low 40's but we are to get ice and snow today. How confusing is this late winter weather anyway.

I worked yesterday and it was really busy. We like it busy but I have to tell you that if our friend Dianne hadn't stuck her head in when she did and pitched in to help, I think we would have all been in a puddles on the floor by the end of the day. Too cool for AC but when you are running like we were, the old "power surge" was kicking in for all of us working. Dianne stepped in and sure made a huge difference. Betty called me last evening so see if I had survived and be both felt the same that if Di hadn't stepped in when she did we were "goners" for sure.

We served a salmon fillet portion and every one seemed to really enjoy it. Salmon is kind of a love hate thing with me. I love the Omega3 that it brings into my life but unless it is done correctly and is quite fresh it is not a tasty thing in my book.

I very often will make a quick lunch for us using a good quality canned salmon drained, bones removed and all evidence of skin or dark meat removed. We like it in casseroles and in salmon cakes with béarnaise. I think that I gave you the homemade mac&cheese thing that I put the broken up salmon in. Salmon cakes are really simple and quick. Basically you must prepare the canned salmon as I mentioned above and break it down using a folk. Add in 1 egg, 1 scallion cleaned and thinly sliced (use some of the green top as well) and enough bread crumbs to make it hold together. I make cakes about 2 inches across in size and fry them in some melted butter in an open skillet over medium heat. Add some steamed veggies and maybe some rice and serve with Knorr's Béarnaise sauce and it tastes pretty fine.

However, for my money, nothing beats a nice catfish fillet. If you are buying fish in the grocery store and over the meat counter ask them to allow you to smell it before you buy it. If it smells fishy, take a pass and find something else for dinner. Catfish has taken on a much higher price of late when you find it in the meat case. the farm raised fish don't seem to have the mud vain that we are familiar with when Dad ran bank lines back when we were kids. Now a days they are kind of pricey but great. We always have something called Louisiana Fish Fry coating in the house. Don't let the Louisiana scare you, it isn't Cajun spicy, OK. I get out my big 12" cast iron skillet and put a good inch of canola oil in it. Turn the heat up to get the oil hot. Keep an eye on it thought. The fillets are laid out on paper towels and kind of patted dry. Then I coat them well and kind of push the coasting mix onto the fillets. When the oil is hot, I very carefully put the coated fillets in on at a time,being sure not to over crowd the pan. Try to only turn the fillets once in the cooking process. It doesn't take very long to cook then so no more than 4 or 5 minutes per side unless you have some really big ones (test for doneness by putting the tines of you fork into the thickest portion and twisting slightly, if the meat gives easily it should be ready. I would suggest using a cookie sheet with slices of bread on it to drain the cooked fillets, paper towels impart a taste that the bread doesn't. Now before you put that oil away, I would suggests that you make some "sweet fries" by paring and thinly slicing a couple of small sweet potatoes. Wash and lightly dust in the coating. Put those thin slices into the hot oil and cook until they float. Season whole thing with Lawry's and you have a feast.


Den's cousin, Bill, from the Houston area told me about making a Crawfish Cheese cake some time back and actually told me how and what was in it. It sounds good and all of the proportions sound about right to set up properly so with some of you being in Lent right now, I though that maybe you would want to try it. I have yet to find crawfish in the freeze of our local Fareway Food Centre but Bill tells me that thawed frozen crab, shrimp, lobster, scallops or the like would work as well, so the "mud-bugs" aren't essential to make this main dish. It just makes so much and I am thinking that I will wait for Bill to come visit so he can help us eat it all.

Crawdad Cheese Cake
Bill Poston
2 sleeves of Club Crackers
1 tbsp. garlic rosemary seasoning
1 stick + 1/3 stick butter
In a food processor, combine the crackers, seasoning and butter. Process to a fine mixture and press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9” spring form pan.
Bake @ 350F 10-15 minutes.
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1 C. frozen onion, celery, bell pepper and parsley (from the grocery freezer case) or I guess you could do your own)
1 C. mixed bell pepper, diced (yellow, red and orange) (make your own or buy frozen)
3 8oz. pkgs. Cream cheese, softened
½ C. sour cream
3 lrg. eggs
3 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. Tony Chachere’s seasoning (Cajun Seasoning)
Mix until smooth.
Fold in:
12 oz. frozen crawdad tails (thawed and drained) (you could use shrimp, crab or even lobster if you like)

Pour evenly into the prepared crust. Bake @ 250F for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and leave the cheese cake in the oven for about 1 additional hour as it finishes. Remove to a cooking rack and when it is completely cook, cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator.

Den and I will be leaving town for a visit to the Phoenix area early on Monday morning so we will be "out of pocket" (wonder where that one came from) until the 12th. So, I will make this the last one for a couple of weeks. I hope that I have given you something to chew on here if you are in that Lent period. I know that when some one tells me I can't have something, that would be the only thing on my mind for the duration, the old imagination just dries up with the "no" word, don't you know.
Will let you go for now.

God Bless and Hugs To All,
Linda