Potato Wrapped Snapper

We picked up a bag of snapper from one of our friends the other day. I wanted to do something different than our old standby. Fish is an easy and economical food for us in this town. This coming year we plan to fill our freezer thus I need to expand my fishy recipes. This one is definitely a keeper!

Potato Wrapped Snapper

Fish - any fish would work. Salmon would be good too.

Seasoning or marinade for the fish

Russet or other starchy potato - peeled

Potato Starch

Italian Panko
1 Clove Garlic - pressed

Seasoning for dry mix

Cut fish into 2-3 inch x 1/2 - 3/4 inch pieces. Marinade or otherwise season. This can be done the previous day.

Using a mandolin, CAREFULLY, slice the potatoes. Paper thin is best. Mine doesn't go that thin so I will tell you what I did about that later on. Do not rinse potatoes. The unrinsed starch will help them stay folded on the fish.

Mix potato starch, panko, garlic clove, and any other seasonings. Set aside.

Lay down the potatoes like so on a piece of plastic wrap. As mentioned above, my mandolin only goes so thin. To make the slices cooperate I placed them in the microwave for about 45 seconds. They came out flexible but not cooked all the way through and nice and tacky.

Spread panko and potato starch mixture on the slices.

Top with a piece of fish.

Fold the potato around the fish and wrap tightly with the plastic wrap. Continue with the rest of fish.

Pan fry at medium - medium high heat for 3 minutes on each side, or until the fish is done and the potatoes are browned.

Place on a bed of rice and top with your favorite sauce.

Thank you Dennis!

Yam Gnocchi...You Say Ricotta, I Say Potato

When I need something rich and a total carb and butter load, I turn to Gnocchi. Or in this case, I had too many root veggies rolling around and had to use them up.

Some like potato. Some like ricotta. I like a combination of both. Or a combination of what veggies I have running amok in my kitchen. Beets, yams, sweet potato, turnips, and parsnips all work well. It is also a great way to use up extra leafy greens such as kale, chard, collard greens and spinach. When that is the case for me, I steam then process in a blender or processor and strain out the excess moisture.

I have no recipe for mine so here are a couple of basic but sturdy recipes from Epicurious.com

Ricotta Gnocchi
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Ricotta-Gnocchi-242001

Potato Gnocchi

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Gnocchi-101335

For this batch I used yams, sweet potatoes, russets and ricotta.

First I formed a soft tender dough until it felt right and rolled into little ropes. Next I cut the rope into pieces about the length of the first knuckle of my index finger to tip.

Next, I rolled them into balls.

And then from there rolled them on the back of a floured fork. Here is my little army awaiting the boiling water.

I like mine boiled and then pan fried until brown and crispy. To this batch I added some chopped apple sausage.

It was the perfect comfort food!

Getting back into the swing of things.

OK, I have been seriously negligent about updating my blog. It is time to get back to it. My hard drive is fixed and my computer is working better than it did when it was new. So I have no excuse now :)

Just because my computer was down doesn't mean that I wasn't cooking. I have lots to catch up on. Here is a fun one. This was from our annual golf tourney on the mud flats this month. It is our way of staying sane during the sloppy time (break up) between winter and summer. This year it was brutally cold so we happily let the tide push us back towards the bonfire. Here is an ice tee just to prove my point!


And here are a couple of beautiful views!

Who can resist a pic of happy dogs?

Since xtra tufs are a way of life a good portion of the year and a requirement for the golf tourney, I was sure to include them on the cupcakes.

Real xtra tufs

My version. I regret that I didn't plan ahead. These were thrown together the day of. The event is annual, so it wasn't like I didn't know it was coming :)

The orange triangles that look like slices of cheese are replicas of the tourney flag. It is an orange pennant hung on a golf club. The material has a golf ball hanging from a short piece of chain. On windy days it can be down right dangerous to be near it! Each year the flag is embroidered with the current year. I had hoped to replicate something like that but alas... I didn't plan!

We had a fabulous time and the cupcakes (frozen from the cold day) were enjoyed....by the bonfire.

Now for the food part. These were chocolate stout cupcakes with silt colored Bailey's cream cheese frosting. All decorations were MMF.

To all my friends: Bug the heck out of me if I do not post again soon!!

Happy Halloween!

We have been busy preparing for Halloween over here and I haven't had a chance to post. Here are a few Halloween pics to hold you over. Stay tuned for the detail posts next week. I will have plenty of time to post while I am stuck on my butt after knee surgery. That is only if I am not too loopy to type :)

Key Lime Ghosts

Mummy Meatloaf

Body Part Cupcakes

Tombstone cupcakes

Colorful Spiderweb Cookies

It is that time of year again! It is time to start getting carried away and wrapped up in cutout cookies. Boy, I sure do find a way to get wrapped up. These cookies were made a couple of weeks ago to celebrate the beginning of October. My boyfriend was away visiting family so for several days I immersed myself in cookie baking and decorating.

I like to use a recipe from kitchengifts.com. I have used it for years and it is very reliable and easy to work with. And the best part is that it tastes great! Sometimes I use almond, sometimes vanilla, always whatever citrus zest I have.. you get the picture. As with most of my recipes, it is one that you can adjust to fit your mood or event.

6 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. salt

Combine dry ingredients together in a bowl. Cream the butter and sugar. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Add in the dry ingredients a small amount at a time. Stir together until well incorporated.

Chill dough

Everyone has their thickness preference. I like about 1/4 inch. Roll the dough and cut into desired shapes.

Bake for 8-12 minutes at 350. Watch the edges closely. They will turn from lightly browned to crispy critter in a heartbeat.

Cool and then decorate.
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Why do I cut off the edges of my dough? Because I can :) No, really, I am persnickety. If I cut off the edges there is no chance of a cookie with sloping edges.


I let the first layer of royal icing dry overnight.


The next day I finished decorating.


Another pic just because I like all the bright colors!


And another :)

Ummm.. Veggies!

I have been having a bit of a veggie kick lately. Maybe the fall weather is making me crave fresh veggies while I can. Or maybe it is that everyone has been going their own direction so I have time for me food. Either way, my waistline certainly isn't suffering!

For this dish I roasted golden beets. To that I added romano beans, cremini mushrooms, a shallot, bok choy, and some of the roasted macadamia nuts I picked up at the fair. I lined a plate with wilted purple kale and served the veggies with wasa crackers and black olive hummus.

The dish grew like a taco salad does on you. It left me with plenty for the next few days. I certainly didn't complain!

Music Fair Food

I am so far behind on posts. The pictures have been piling up and I have no excuse. Wait, I was working on Halloween decorations.. I think that qualifies as a worthy excuse :)

Logan and I went to the Music Fair a couple of weekends ago. It was chocked full of live music and crafts. There was even a kiddo area where the kids learned to ride unicycles, juggle, spin plates, and other fun things. I was pleasantly surprised to see some yummy and healthy food booths.

I loaded up on hummus, veggie pot stickers, no sugar added granola, and seasoned macadamia nuts. The granola was a bar but it suffered a cosmetic misfortune when Logan dropped it on my rig floor. I am still finding pieces of it in my upholstery. Oops :)

**Rig = vehicle, car, truck and so forth to all you lower 48ers.