Catfish and Grits with Creole Sauce

This year the United States Personal Chef Association (USPCA) annual conference was held in New Orleans, Louisiana. I am always inspired by one particular meal at our conferences, and this year was no different. We were treated to a soul food cooking demo by world-renowned chefs, Frank Brigtsen (Brigtsen's Restaurant) and Leah Chase (Dooky Chase Restaurant). Frank, who has recently opened his second restaurant, Charlie's Place, paid homage to his mother with a Mustard & Cornmeal Fried Catfish with Stone Ground Jalapeno Cheese Grits with Creole Sauce recipe.

We joyfully watched the friendly banter between Frank and Ms. Leah, who have a genuine mutual respect and love for each other. For the benefit of those that are new to Creole cuisine, Frank explained the mirepoix or trinity and professed his love for Paul Prudhomme's seasonings. Ms. Leah, patiently stirring the grits while Frank cooked the catfish, told us about a New Orleans Holy Thursday tradition of eating green gumbo (gumbo z'herbes), and made us laugh about how Barack Obama sat down to a bowl of her gumbo and immediately started pouring in the hot sauce without tasting it first.

Now I can make grits--Frank said so (I'll tell you later about the Chef's Knock Out judged by Mr. Brigtsen, himself)--and I've definitely fried my share of catfish--but after tasting Frank's catfish, I really don't want to make it any other way. The mustard batter and blend of flour and cornmeal is key to the recipe, but the other trick is pan-frying the battered catfish immediately after it has been dredged in the dry mix. Frank explained that when you batter in advance the dry mix becomes wet and the crust won't be crispy.

Mustard & Cornmeal Fried Catfish
with Stone Ground Jalapeno Cheese Grits
& Creole Sauce

Creole Sauce:

3 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups diced green bell peppers
1 1/2 cups diced celery
2 cups diced yellow onions
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried whole-leaf sweet basil
1/2 tsp dried whole-leaf oregano
1/2 tsp dried whole-leaf thyme
1 tbsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp minced fresh garlic
6 cups canned whole plum tomatoes (pureed with their juice)
1 tbsp granulated white sugar

1) Heat the olive oil in a pot over high heat. add the bell peppers and celery and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2) Add the onions and bay leaf and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions become soft and clear.
3) Reduce heat to low. Add the sweet basil, oregano, thyme, salt, cayenne, black pepper, white pepper, and garlic.
4) Add tomato puree and sugar. Reduce heat to very low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Grits:

8 cups milk
4 tsp salt
4 tbsp very finely chopped fresh jalapeno peppers
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups stone ground grits
4 cups grated sharp Cheddar Cheese

1) In a heavy-duty pot over low heat, add the milk, salt, and jalapenos. Cook just until the milk is scalded.
2) Add the butter and grits and whisk until thoroughly blended. Cook until the grits are thick and tender, whisking occasionally.

Catfish:

4 eggs
1 cup yellow mustard
1 cup Zatarain's Creole mustard
2 cups milk
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 cups yellow corn flour*
4 cups yellow corn meal
about 1 cup Chef Paul Prudhomme's Seafood Magic seasoning
3 1/2 lbs catfish filets, cut into thin strips, about 2 to 2-1/2 ounces each
Vegetable oil for frying

1) In a mixing bowl, add the eggs and whisk until frothy. Add the yellow mustard and Creole mustard and whisk until well blended. Add the milk and whisk until well blended. Set aside.
2) In a separate mixing bowl, add the white flour, corn flour, corn meal, and 3/4 cup of the seafood seasoning. Mix until well blended. Set aside.
3) heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat to 375 degrees. The oil should be about 1/4 inch deep, so that it comes up the sides of the catfish, but not over the top.
4) Season the catfish pieces lightly and evenly on both sides with the seafood seasoning.
5) Dip the catfish pieces into the (wet) mustard batter and then into the (dry) seasoned flour batter. Place the battered fish pieces immediately into the hot oil. Fry until crispy on both sides, turning once, about 2 minutes per side. Place the fried catfish pieces on paper towels to drain.
6) To serve, ladle about 1/2 cup of Creole sauce onto each serving plate. Place about 1/3 cup of grits in the center of each plate. Top with two pieces of fried catfish. Serve immediately.

*if you can't find corn flour, you can substitute masa flour or Zatarain's fish fry.

Note: I only used one cup of cheese when I made the grits and they were still very good.

When Life Gives You Lemons... Make Lemon Bars

If you don't know this by now, I'll admit it. I'm not much of a baker. Baking is too precise and doesn't fit well with my ADD personality; so naturally, we don't have many home-baked goodies in our household. My son PJ used to make wonderful lemon bars, but he's moved out on his own and lives in another state. Last week at the urging of my 6 year-old niece, I decided to try my hand at them. I didn't use PJ's recipe--he used the one in our 30+ year old Betty Crocker Cookbook. First I discovered the index pages had been ripped out of the book. Then I found the pages where the lemon bar recipe might have been were permanently glued together with some kind of sugary mess! So I turned to my faithful Google and after some brief comparisons, decided on my girl Ina Garten's version. I only used one tablespoon of lemon zest and 3/4 cups of juice but these bars were still really, really tart--but delicous. And they were so easy, even I couldn't mess them up!

Lemon Bars

For the crust:
1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For the filling:
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup flour
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into the greased baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the lemon layer, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes (less if you are using the thinner topping), or about five minutes beyond the point where the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into triangles and dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Makes 20 squares

Dilled Crab Salad

My friend Mark Tafoya and his partner Jennifer Iannolo at the Culinary Media Network are preparing to publish the Gilded Fork Cookbook and they've asked for volunteers to test and photographs some of the recipes. One of the recipes I tested was Dilled Crab Salad on Artichoke Bottoms, part of their Summer Picnic menu. The recipe could be served as an appetizer on artichoke bottoms or on a bed of lettuce as a salad. What I loved about this recipe was the combination of fresh flavors--lemon, dill, cucumbers. The lump crab was a little pricey, but well worth the extra dollars. I also liked that the preparation was super simple and fast (about 20 minutes), but the final presentation was very impressive. After tasting the appetizer and salad, my mom and I enjoyed the remaining crab salad on water crackers with a glass of white wine from Argentina. Perfecto!

Dilled Crab Salad on Artichoke Bottoms

Serves 16 as an hors d’oeuvre; serves 4 as a salad

6 ounces jumbo lump crab meat, picked over to remove any shell bits
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and sliced to 1/8” thickness
1 red bell pepper, 1/8” dice
2 celery stalks, strings removed and finely diced
3 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fine quality extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sweet cider or raspberry vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 15-ounce cans artichoke bottoms

Prepare the vegetables:
Peel the cucumber and halve it lengthwise. Using a small spoon, gently remove the seeds and slice thinly into 1/8” slices. Dice the red bell pepper to 1/8” dice, then remove the strings from the celery, cut into lengthwise strips, and dice to 1/8” dice. Finely mince the dill.

Make the salad:
Pick over the crab meat to remove any stray pieces of shell or cartilage. Leave the large lumps intact. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the mustard, olive oil and lemon juice to form an emulsion. Add the diced vegetables and dill and stir to combine. Gently fold in the crab meat, being careful not to further break up the lumps.

At this point you may add a splash or two of the vinegar and mix until the salad reaches the desired consistency. It should be neither too dry nor too wet. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place the crab salad in a sealed container and refrigerate until ready to use.
Just prior to serving, open the can of artichoke bottoms and carefully shave off the bottom end of each so the artichoke bottoms sit flat and level.

Service:
If serving as an hors d’oeuvre, place one or two heaping tablespoons of the crab salad on each artichoke bottom and garnish with a small sprig of dill. If serving as a plated salad, line the serving plates with lettuce leaves, place the salad on top, and serve immediately with a crusty baguette.