TDogg's Surfside Sandwich

Ah the seaside. For me, it brings back memories of great family vacations to the Outer Banks, or Topsail, NC. Spending a week with family and friends, playing botchi ball, sunning on the beach listening to great tunes and getting a beat down by the waves. Even further back, I have tons of memories of day trips to the Jersey shore with the sights and smells of the boardwalk. Of course, you can't have a great beach trip without great food. Hence my inspiration for today's recipe.

Consumption of fish is recorded back through most of all written history, whether it was the Egyptians who floated in boats made of papyrus on the Nile, Oppian of Corycus the author from ancient Greece who wrote about fishing in the Halieulica, or the Moche people of Peru, who depicted fishing on their ceramics. Today overfishing and pollution has caused many issues and if not carefully managed, could cause the collapse of many of the sea's populations and put a serious damper on the continued use of these culinary delights.

Fish have many excellent nutritional values in addition to being downright tasty. Calcium, protein, iron and of course the highly touted Omega 3 can all be a part of this complete breakfast, lunch or dinner when dining on fish! You can check out some nutritional values of various types of fish here: http://www.fish4fun.com/nutrition.htm

Well enough of history and science. Let's get on to the recipe. I put together this recipe earlier this week, when I wanted to make quick and tasty dinner for my girlfriend and I. This sandwich would also be great for lunches, and a good mid-day beach energy booster. Enjoy!

TDogg's Surfside Sandwich

Ingredients

2 Tilapia Fish Fillets (removed of bones and skin)
2 or 3 Cloves of Garlic
1 bunch of green onions
5 Tablespoons of fresh Thyme (finely diced, stems removed)
1 Serrano pepper
5 Limes
1 container of Greek Yogurt
1 Red Onion
1 Cucumber
1 Tomato
1 Package of Pita Bread or Whole Grain Sandwich Thins
All purpose flour
Vegetable Oil
Salt and Ground Black Pepper

Preparation

Place the tilapia fillets in a large baking dish. Finely dice and add to a separate bowl the green onions, garlic, and 4 Tablespoons of the thyme. Dice and add the Serrano pepper to the bowl(you will want to remove the seeds from the pepper to reduce the heat). Juice 4 of the limes (you may need more depending on the size) and add this to the bowl. Stir ingredients together and then pour mixture over the tilapia fillets. Cover and let stand to marinate for 20 minutes to an hour at room temperature.

While you are waiting for the fillets to marinate, put 1/2 cup of plain Greek yogurt in a bowl and stir in the juice of the remaining lime and the remaining 1 Tablespoon of thyme. Cover and place in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. This can also be made a day ahead. The longer, the better as the flavors will meld together.

Once the fillets are done marinating, lightly shake off the marinade and then salt and pepper both sides of the fillets. Lightly dredge in flour. Put enough oil in a large saucepan to just coat the bottom. Set the pan on medium high heat for a couple of minutes to heat up the oil in the pan and then add the fillets and the marinade mixture. Cook fish until done, flipping halfway through. About 2 to 3 minutes each side. The fish is done when it flakes away easily with a fork and is lightly opaque in the center. Transfer to a plate with a papertowel, which will help drain a little of the oil.

Assembly

Take your pita bread or sandwich thins, and stuff (or top) with the fish. Add sliced red onion, thinly sliced cucumber, sliced tomato and the yogurt mixture for topping. Serve and enjoy!

Additional Notes: While I used tilapia in this recipe, feel free to use your favorite whitefish. Also the amount of limes will vary depending on the size and how much juice you get out of them. For the marinade you want enough lime juice to mix well with the diced items and to ensure you get a nice coating over the fillets.

Crazy for Crepes: Part Deux

I got my first summer job when I was 12 years old. Granted I think I only worked for two weeks that summer, but it was job nonetheless. A family in our church, the Rowands, owned a huge fruit and vegetable farm, and had a busy roadside market in Glassboro, NJ.

I worked at Rowands farm the following two summers as well, picking strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, apples, peaches, grapes and even cutting rhubarb. While the work was hard, I have many fond memories of the sights and smells of working on the farm. I often worked with a group of migrant workers from the Philippines who often amused themselves by teaching me how to say things in their language or trying to get me to try their strange looking lunch dishes that they always told me was monkey meat. "C'mon, try some monkey meat!" they would say, as I wrinkled my nose and vehemently shook my head as I moved to the far end of the lunch picnic table. I seriously doubt they were eating monkey, but they always found this to be quite funny, and would spend the rest of their lunch laughing and pushing their lunch plates towards me.

Now while the monkey meat episodes were not an inspiration to make crepes, the myriads of fresh fruits I ate daily on the farm as a youngster got me thinking. My previous savory crepes had turned out successfully (see Crepe Crazy blog) and I have often seen recipes for sweet crepes. So while my girlfriend diligently scrubbed the dining room floor this morning, I decided that a sweet creamy crepe might be a nice refreshment after all her hard work.

I followed the crepe recipe from my previous blog with the exception of adding a little more nutmeg. Since fresh berries aren't in season, I purchased a big bag of frozen berry mix. It should be noted however, that these frozen "mixes" are 98% strawberries with a few blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries thrown in to meet the marketing requirements. In addition, I did not have any cornstarch, however, it may be prudent to add some while cooking the berry mix to help thicken the sauce. Mine was a little juicy, but deliciously sweet at any rate. Follow my recipe for the crepes on my other crepe blog, and then here are the instructions for the filling:

Ingredients

1 Large Package of frozen berry mix or
1/2 cup each of fresh blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries.
1/2 cup of sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons of cinnamon
1/4 cup of water
Cornstarch
1 Package of cream cheese
Powdered Sugar

Preparation

Add the berries, sugar, cinnamon and water to a large pot and cook over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and then let simmer until sauce thickens. As I mentioned previously I did not have cornstarch to add, so I am not sure how much to add. I will venture a guess to start out with a tablespoon and add more if needed. Stir Occasionally and once sauce has thickened some, remove from heat. To cool the fruit mixture down some, I transferred it to a bowl and then placed it covered in the freezer for about 20 minutes.

Place a crepe on a plate and slice two pieces of cream cheese at your desired thickness and place in the middle of the crepe. Top the cream cheese with the berries and a little of the sauce mixture. Wrap crepe and then flip over, so seam is underneath. Top crepe with some additional berries and sauce and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve.

This dish is sweet and decadent. Could be used for a simple desert, or served with brunch. Would pair well with a Sauvignon Blanc or a somewhat hoppy beer (I paired with Troegs Hopback) to offset the sweetness.

On an additional side note: Andrea had asked if I could include some nutritional information with my recipes. I will do so when I can, however, I am not quite sure how to figure this one up, although with the cream cheese, sugar and additional natural sugars in the fruit, I would say that if you are on a strict diet or diabetic that this is probably not the dish for you. Or you can just indulge and enjoy!

Bowtie Shrimp and Spinach

I recently read a poem that referred to shrimp (I think it was by Ogden Nash) as the "wingless hummingbirds of the sea". Quite a beautiful visual this portrays!

Shrimp has quite a long history in cuisine, and even Marco Polo mentioned its abundance in Chinese markets way back in 1280. It is still quite the popular food dish with Americans alone consuming over 850 million pounds per year! And while only a few species of shrimp have a market value, there are over 300 species of these tiny creatures.

Shrimp have quite amount of nutritional value in addition to being pretty damn tasty, and can be prepared in all sorts of ways. Anything from your basic shrimp cocktail to a spicy creole dish, shrimp are definitely versatile.

Wanting to throw together a quick dish for two this past week, I decided to combine three of my favorite things: Pasta, Seafood and Greens. Below is a simple light recipe that any seafood lover can enjoy.

Patton's Bowtie Shrimp & Spinach

Ingredients

1 12 oz. box of bowtie pasta
1 package of baby spinach leaves
1 lb. shrimp (deveined and peeled)
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
Juice of one lemon
3 medium tomatoes
2 Tablespoons of minced fresh basil
Salt and Black Pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Preparation

Put water in a large pot (enough to cover the pasta) and add a couple tablespoons of Olive oil and a pinch of salt. Once boiling, add the box of bowtie pasta and cook until al dente. Then drain water, reserving one ladle full of the pasta water.

While the pasta cooks, devein and peel the shrimp then lightly salt and pepper them. Cut tomatoes into bite sized pieces. Mince the garlic. In another pot, add enough olive oil to just coat the bottom. Add the garlic and the shrimp and cook over medium-high heat until the shrimp are pink in color. Add the basil, pepper flakes and half the lemon juice and cook 2 minutes more. Drain the pasta (still reserving one ladle of the cooking liquid) and then add the pasta, tomatoes and the bag of spinach to the shrimp mixture. Cover with a lid and cook just until the spinach wilts. Once the spinach is wilted add the remaining lemon juice, the ladle of the pasta cooking liquid and any additional salt and pepper to your taste preferences. Toss entire mixture together and serve with lemon wedges as a garnish.

This makes a great weeknight dinner and makes four servings, so if there are only two of you, there will be plenty to take to lunch the next day!

Crepe Crazy

Last summer I went with a couple of friends to the farmers market that is set up under the bridges of highway 83 in Baltimore. Having never been to a farmers market, I was intrigued by the variety of vendors there. I had expected to just see fruits and vegetables piled on tables or in the back of pick up trucks being sold by dusty looking men in straw hats and overalls.

While there may have been a couple that fit that stereotype, I found the farmers market to be a place of wonder. Not only were there uncountable amounts of fruit and vegetables, there were also vendors selling various kinds of cheese, or cooking all types of meats for tasting, snow cones, coffee drinks, fruit drinks, bakers with treasure troves of artisanal breads and....crepes.

I purchased a large fluffy crepe that was stuffed with spinach and cheese and all sorts of spicy goodness and then wrapped in a bit of newspaper. As I walked through the market munching happily on this food delight, I started wondering if I could pull off such a kitchen feat at home.

While the crepe originated in the Brittany region of France in the late 1800's as a dessert, there is no end to the amount of ways they can be prepared. Sweet and savory fillings go equally well, and with a bit of practice, almost anyone can make a crepe.

You can experiment with any fillings that are to your liking. I chose to fill mine with spinach and an array of mushrooms that I then combined with a Parmesan sauce. Since crepes are so thin, they need a little more of your attention, so you can flip them before they burn. I would suggest making your filling first so you can devote your time to those tricky crepes. Since this was the first time I had ever made a crepe, I also used a small frying pan, one that was about six inches across, since I wasn't confident in my crepe flipping skills. As you can see from the picture above, I lost a couple along the way. While most pictures of crepes you will find on the Internet will be beautiful pieces of food art, I thought I would share a more realistic view of what happens in the home kitchen.

My first attempt at crepes were an overall success. I did learn that I should probably have sauteed the mushrooms longer before adding the spinach to remove more moisture, since I ended up with mushrooms that were more juicy and had a little more "earthiness" then I would have liked. I also learned that a little less showboating for my girlfriend while flipping crepes up in the air results in less crepes ending up on the floor. Enjoy!

Spinach Mushroom Crepes with Parmesan Sauce

The Filling

1 Bag of Baby Spinach Leaves
2 cups of chopped mixed mushrooms (I used Cremini, Shitake, and Portobello)
3 cloves of garlic
1 shallot
Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive Oil

Filling Preparation

Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of a large saucepan. Mince the garlic and shallot. Chop mushrooms into bite-sized pieces. If you are using Shitake mushrooms, be sure to remove and discard the woody stems. Add shallot, garlic and mushrooms to the saucepan and sautee over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to keep the garlic and shallots from burning on the bottom of the pan. Once the mushrooms have cooked down and most of the moisture has cooked out (about 10 to 12 minutes) add the bag of spinach to the saucepan. Cover saucepan with a lid and let the spinach wilt down into the mixture. Add salt and ground pepper to taste. Once spinach is wilted, turn heat down to very low while you make the sauce and crepes.

Parmesan Sauce Ingredients

1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/4 cup of milk, heated
Salt and Ground Pepper to taste

Sauce Preparation

Begin heating the milk over medium heat in a pan. Warm the milk just until little bubbles begin to form at the edges. While the milk is warming up, melt the butter in a separate saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a litte, but don't let it brown. This only takes a couple of minutes. Pour in your heated milk, and continue stirring as the sauce thickens. Bring to a boil and add the salt and pepper to taste. Turn the heat to low and mix in the parmesan cheese, stirring until it is all melted in.

Once the sauce is complete, mix it in with the mushroom and spinach keeping your heat on low. Return the lid to the sauce pan and then make the crepes.

Crepe Ingredients

3/4 cup of all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup of milk
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon of salt
pinch of nutmeg
1 tablespoon of melted butter

Crepe Preparation

Take the flour, salt, nutmeg and pepper and sift it together into a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, whole egg and the egg yolk, and then gradually add your flour mixture to this. Whisk all together until well combined. Once combined, force the batter mixture back through a fine sieve into a bowl.

Heat a small frying pan with medium-high heat and lightly brush the whole bottom of the pan with the melted butter. Use a small ladle or tablespoon to add some of the batter mixture to the frying pan. Add enough to cover the whole bottom of the pan with a thin layer of batter. Cook until the underside is slightly browned, then loosen the edges with a rubber spatula and flip the crepe. (or you can showboat, and flip it up in the air after loosening the edges). Cook until other side is just slightly browned and then transfer to a plate. Repeat this process, making crepes one at a time until all batter is used.

Add the filling down the center of the crepe, then roll it up, tucking the edges under. Serve.