Beer-battered cod

Years ago I snipped a newspaper clipped recipe for beer battered onion rings as I wanted to try making those 'blooming onions' that were so popular back then. Well my onions turned out just awful and soggy :( Not exactly the way I had wished for.
So I held on to the recipe to try again and then just never did.

But when a good friend brought me some fresh caught cod I dug out my clipping to give it another try, so I fried up some fluffy beer-battered cod. It's just such an easy recipe and you can easily use it for fish, shrimp or if you are a master onion ring maker, unlike myself ..even them. I still can't figure out what I did wrong? This isn't the healthiest of options for preparing fish, but I had not made fried fish in eons.. it was just time. I served it with my roasted red pepper remoulade.



Beer Battered Cod

8 TBLS flour
2 eggs, separated
2 TBLS olive oil
8 TBLS flat beer, at room temperature - I used Corona
Sea salt, white pepper to taste
1 1/2 lbs cod, halibut or any white fish cut into 2 inch pieces
2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp paprika
Vegetable oil for frying
Fresh lemons

Put the flour in a large bowl and whisk in the olive oil and egg yolk. Gradually whisk in the flattened beer to make a smooth batter. Season with sea salt. Allow to stand for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, in another bowl toss the cut fish pieces, coriander, pepper, paprika and refrigerate until the batter is ready.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or paper towels.

In a deep skillet over medium high heat, pour vegetable oil to 2 inches.

Now whisk the egg whites in a small bowl until stiff, but still moist and fold it into the batter. Working in small batches and not overcrowding the pan, dip the fish into batter and fry until golden brown all over, about 3 minutes. Transfer the fish to prepared baking sheet and into the oven to keep it hot until serving time. Serve with lemon slices, tartar sauce or red pepper remoulade... a good Italian Pinot Grigio or an ice cold bottle of beer. Enjoy!




Roasted Red Pepper Remoulade

1 jar roasted red peppers, drained
½ cup mayonnaise
2 TBLS lemon juice
¼ cup sweet relish
1 TBLS worchestershire sauce
1 TBLS Dijon mustard
3 garlic cloves
Toss it all into your food processor along with a bit of tobasco, fresh chopped parsley, a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar, sea salt & ground pepper. Enjoy!

Claws for Celebration! Crabby Patties

Claws for celebration! In addition to the 4th of July, you might be wondering what I am celebrating and not really crabby at all. Though this very hot & muggy weather is beginning to make us all wilt. I had my new refrigerator delivered today. Room! Space! And.. a large cheese drawer! Watch out Whole Foods now! :)

Our daughter came to visit over the holiday weekend and after another fabulous day on the beach along with a 3 mile walk, at the end of the day we had worked up our appetites, but no one wanted a large hot meal.. so we decided on lobsters and crabby cakes. I had never made crab cakes before, but just love them! With a little bit of prodding and some guidance from my very own sous chef, (daughter) Shawna….(who makes them all the time) I’m proud to report that these patties of succulent Maine lump crabmeat and scallops were a big hit at our dinner table! I’m not sure if I had more fun assembling them all or sampling them as I cooked them all! LOL Well.. I should add, we cancelled our order for lobsters at the pound as we were so full from nibbling along the way. We settled on sautéed spinach, jicama salad and delicious, Crabby Patties.



Crabby Patties with Roasted Red Pepper Remoulade
· 3 eggs
· 2 tsp mayonnaise
· 4 TBLS seeded Dijon mustard
· 1/2 lemon, juiced
· lemon zest of two lemons, 1/8 cup
· 2 scallions, chopped
· ¼ cup parsley, minced
· 4 T cilantro, minced
· 1 ½ lb. jumbo lump crab meat, picked through for shells
· ½ lb fresh scallops, diced
· ½ TBLS tobasco sauce
· ½ sweet red bell pepper, diced small
· 2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
· Salt and white pepper to taste
· Olive oil & Unsalted butter
This will yield approximately 30 Crabby cakes- 2 ½ oz or the recipe may be easily reduced in half. Or you may serve these as little 1 oz hor d’oeuvres. I think I’ll try this the next time our gang gets together.

Preparing the Crabby Patties
Lightly beat eggs . Whisk in mayo, mustard, tobasco and lemon juice. Using a wooden spoon, stir in scallions, parsley,red peppers and cilantro. Add crab, scallops, Panko, and salt and pepper and gently fold with spoon, being careful not to break the crab into smaller pieces. Gather crab mixture into small palm-sized balls and gently pat into a small rounded patty. Place on wax-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Heat butter and olive oil in large skillet. Cook 4-6 crab cakes at a time, depending on the size of your pan. You want to have room between each cake for even cooking. Cook 4 minutes each side, then drain on paper towels.

Serve with roasted red pepper remoulade

Roasted Red Pepper Remoulade

1 jar roasted red peppers, drained
½ cup mayonnaise
2 TBLS lemon juice
¼ cup sweet relish
1 TBLS worchestershire sauce
1 TBLS Dijon mustard
3 garlic cloves
Toss it all into your food processor along with a bit of tobasco, fresh chopped parsley, a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar, sea salt & ground pepper. Enjoy!