Mike, Gina & Zoe's Home Cookin' Episode 7: Blackened Tilapia

This post was originally called "Blackened Catfish". We are currently on episode 7. We have thus far had 6 successes and two utter and abject disasters. One had to do with losing pictures and videos due to a technical error. The Blackened Catfish failed because of the use of two store bought spice mixes that threw the salt content completely out of balance. Lesson learned.

My name is Zoe. I'm the resident feline of the Little household.

I am still haunted by the two failures.

“Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.” 
― F. Scott Fitzgerald

As a family, we put our collective heads and paws together and went back to the drawing board. 

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” 
― Winston S. Churchill

This is what we came up with...

INGREDIENTS

3 Fillets of Fish (Catfish, Tilapia)

Paprika

Ancho Chile Powder

Dried Mustard

Cayenne

Dry Oregano

Cumin

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

Ground Black Pepper

Salt

Eggs 

“Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.” 
― Truman Capote

We are going to provide 2 sets of measurements the first will be enough for the meal at hand. The second set will be if you want blackened seasoning left over. The Small One used the leftover blackened seasoning on portobello mushrooms and I'm told it was quite delicious. There are many other possible applications. The Large Hairy One suggested eggs. He always suggests putting everything on eggs.

“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed.”
― Theodore Roosevelt

Blackened Seasoning

2/4 Tablespoons Paprika

2/4 Tablespoons Ancho Chile Powder.

1/2 Teaspoons Dried Mustard

1/2 Teaspoons Dried Oregano

2/4 Teaspoons Cumin

1/2 Teaspoons Garlic

1/2 Teaspoons Onion Powder

2/4 Teaspoons Ground Black Pepper

1 Teaspoon Salt

Whisk together.

Run the end of a chopstick under water and dip into the blackened seasoning. Taste. Does it need a bit of something? This is the time to fix it.

“I didn't fail the test, I just found 100 ways to do it wrong.” 
― Benjamin Franklin

Crack 1 egg on a plate and mix with a fork.

“Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” 
― Samuel Beckett

Coat a frying pan with peanut oil and turn the temperature to high.

Dredge your fillets and coat with blackened seasoning.

“It is true that success is the most boring thing, it is tinny and brittle, failure runs deeper. Success is dangerous. I have a very complicated relationship with that word.” 
― Arundhati Roy

Provided your pan is hot enough, your fillets should only need between 1-2 minutes on either side.

“If your failure is not a lesson, it's indeed a failure.” 
― Ogwo David Emenike

Time to plate them up...

You'll want a nice wedge of lemon to add a hint of brightness. Cucumbers will give your mouth a bit of relief from the intensity and heat of the blackened seasoning. A nice starch will round out the dish. We chose mushroom pierogies for their umami flavor.

“Failure seldom stops you. What stops you is the fear of failure.” 
― Jack Lemmon

Enjoy!

D

Mike, Gina & Zoe's Home Cookin' Episode 6: Green Chile Burgers

My name is Zoe. I am a part of the Little family. The Small One likes to say that I'm the, "Littlest Little".

Here I am with The Small One. When I am hungry and she refills my bowl of Hill's Science Diet, I call her "Food Bestower". When we are having moments like the one above, I call her by her secret cat name, "A Ray of Sunshine". All these names would sound like "Meow" to the untrained ear.

Today's recipe is Green Chile Burgers...

I heard them both say that they really enjoyed the green chile burgers that they had at Bun Hugger's in Flagstaff, Arizona. 

I looked up their menu and found out that there was also pepper jack on the Fiesta Burgers they ordered. They used sharp cheddar in this recipe, but pepper jack would be a good substitute. 

This recipe is inspired by the recipe in The Great American Burger Book by George Motz. 

The Small One found a bag of Frieda's Hatch Chiles at Trader Joe's.

About Hatch Chiles

INGREDIENTS

2lbs Hatch Green Chiles

Beef Broth

Salt

Pepper

Big Marty's Buns

Grapeseed Oil

Butter

Cracker Cut Sharp Cheddar

Big Marty's Buns

80/20 Hamburger

On a foil lined cookie sheet, oil your Hatch Green Chiles with Grapeseed Oil. Sprinkle a twist or two of salt evenly across your Chiles. 

The recipe was not clear in the book how long and at what temperature to cook the Chiles to achieve the charred skin look.

That's not quite it.

Much better. After some trial and error it was determined that you need to cook the Hatch Green Chiles on the top rack for 30 minutes at 425 and 10 minutes at 475 in order to get the desired effect.

You'll want to cover the pan with a dish towel. This will create steam and make peeling easier. 5-10 minutes ought to do it.

The charred skin should peel off easily at this point. 

Slice the Chiles lengthwise.

Use a spoon to remove the desired portion of seeds. The more seeds you remove the milder the end product will be. If you like your food spicy hot, leave a larger portion of seeds. 

Chop your Chiles up and put them in a saucepan. 

Add beef broth, but don't overdo it or you will end up with a soupy consistency. Just enough to cover ought to do it. 

Simmer and reduce. 

Now on to the burgers...

The Large Hairy One considers himself a, "Meat Master". 

I consider most of this sort of talk to be braggadocio. He is competent and has honed his skills over the years, but he is no Aaron Franklin. 

Add a pat of butter to a hot cast iron skillet.

Patties should be even sized for cooking consistency. Do not season until they are in the pan. The burgers should make a loud sizzling sound when they hit the cast iron. If your cat flees the room, you are at the right temperature.

Leave them alone for about 3-4 minutes. You'll know when to flip when you see juices bubbling up on  the surface.

Make sure to season both sides with salt and pepper.

Immediately after flipping, add a piece of Cracker Cut Sharp Cheddar to each patty and cook for an additional 3 to 4 minutes. What you want is a crunchy crust and nice tender medium temp inside. This is difficult to achieve and may take several attempts before you achieve True Burger Perfection. 

I watched The Large Hairy One as the pan sizzled as if it were being licked on the underside by the fires of hell itself. The fan was on full blast and The Small One was standing with the door open. Great clouds of smoke billowed. The Large Hairy One slid on grease that had splattered onto the floor like a deranged ice skater. He would let out periodic yelps as hot grease splattered his arms. His brow furrowed as he had one eye on the clock and one eye on the smoking cacophony before him. It is a few days later and I am still licking the taste of hamburger out of my fur. 

Butter your buns and toast in a frying pan.

This is what you want at this stage. Melty cheese. The burgers rested on a paper towel for about 5 minutes, so they are not greasy. The buns are toasted golden brown. Only one thing left...

Add a generous helping of your Hatch Green Chile concoction. 

Pro Tip: Roll a lemon on the counter, slice in half and squeeze a few drops onto your Green Chile Burgers right before chowing down. This bright note of acid will elevate the dish. Add nothing else. The Hatch Green Chile is such a lovely and treasured ingredient that you don't want anything else interfering with it.

Bonus: There was enough of the mixture left over to make Green Chile Eggs the next morning.

Enjoy!

Mike, Gina & Zoe's Home Cookin' Episode 5: Shrimp Boil

My name is Zoe...

I am originally from Valrico, Florida. The Large Hairy One is from Phoenix, Arizona and The Small One is from New York. I was told that they met at a Barnes & Noble where The Large Hairy One works, although he didn't work there when they met. They got married on September 9, 2007. I came to live with them on April 29th of this year. I am 5 years old.

This is our family version of a Lowcountry Boil.

aka Frogmore Stew

INGREDIENTS

3 Clementines

4 Lemons

Mushrooms

Celery

Sausage or Kielbasa

Shrimp

Old Bay Seasoning

Red Pepper Flakes

Bay Leaves

Clove

Grapeseed Oil (not pictured)

1 stick of Butter

Dill

Peppercorns

Thyme

Chili Oil

Marjorum

Hot Sauce

1 Onion

8 Garlic Cloves

Corn (not pictured)

1/2 Bag of Fingerling Potatoes

Fill a large stock pot up 2/3 of the way with water. 

Turn burner on high. Tip: Your water will boil faster if you add hot water rather than cold.

Add 3 ounces of Old Bay Seasoning. If you buy the 6 ounce container, use half. 

Add 4 peeled clementines.

Zest 4 lemons and then add the zest and the zested lemons.

Add 1/4 cup peppercorns.

Add 6 bay leaves.

Add 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes.

Add 1/4 ounce bag of marjoram.

Add 1 tablespoon thyme.

Add 1 teaspoon clove.

Add 8 cloves garlic.

Add 1 tablespoon chili oil.

Chop 4 stalks celery.

Chop 1 whole Vidalia onion.

Put the chopped celery and onion into a food processor and blitz.

Act like the onion and celery mix is a rebel traitor scum and put it in.

...

Pardon that last bit. I had retired to the bedroom for a cat nap and when I awoke I caught The Large Hairy One at my computer desk. There will be no more Star Trek references throughout the rest of this blog post. 

Add 1/2 bag of fingerling potatoes.

...

That was The Large Hairy One again. I was indisposed in the litterbox.

The potatoes need to be at a rolling boil for at least 30 minutes.

Oil your cast iron skillet. Use grapeseed oil. Do not use olive oil as it will smoke. Turn the burner on medium high.

Cut 2 packages of sausages into bite sized pieces

Heat in skillet until you have some nice caramelized bits. Sit on a paper towel when done. No, not you. The sausages. Do not add to boiling mixture. Add when plating.

Add mushrooms.

Cut 2 full cobs of corn into 6 pieces. Be careful with your knife skills. I knew a cat once who lost his right front paw to a short tempered badger. We called him Lefty. The corn needs to be at a rolling boil for 20 minutes. To time it right, add it in 10 minutes after the potatoes. Remember: The potatoes need to be at a rolling boil for 30 minutes.

Once the timer is up on the potatoes and corn, shut the heat off. This is important because you don't want your shrimp to overcook and turn into an expensive bag of rubber squeak toys. 

Add 1 stick of butter to a sauce pan. This does not have to be at a high temperature. You want your butter to melt, not scorch.

Add fresh dill.

Skim as much of the foam off as you can. Finish with a touch of lemon. You should end up with liquid gold.

...

Apparently a cat can't step away for a minute to get a few mouthfuls of Hill's Science Diet without The Large Hairy One adding a GIF.

Add your shrimp to the hot water. It should no longer be boiling. It should only take a couple of minutes. Have a colander ready in the sink. You might want to have at least two glass pans on standby as well. Be careful of the hot liquid and steam. There was this one cat... nevermind. Best not to dwell on morbid subjects.

In the end, you should have quite a bountiful feast. By the looks of the newspaper, it looks like A Warm Place To Sleep and A Ray of Sunshine are a couple of Lefties. I wonder if they had a disagreement with a short tempered badger as well?

Meow for now!