Tag: appetizer
Catfish Cakes
Catfish Cakes
Catfish cakes are a great alternative to crab cakes; costing a fraction of the price. These fish cakes can be eaten as an appetizer or as a main course; served with either tartar sauce or remoulade, and lemon wedges. Not a fan of catfish? You can substitute tilapia, cod, haddock, or any other firm fleshed whitefish.
Ingredients
- 1 lb catfish nuggets
- 1/4 cup white onion finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup saltine or ritz crackers crushed
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp hot sauce
- 1 tbsp creole mustard
- 2 tsp creole seasoning
- vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Simmer the catfish nuggets until they are cooked through. Drain and let cool.
- Mash the catfish with a fork. Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl.
- Form into 1/3 cup fish cakes. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before frying.
- Heat up 1/4” deep of vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Place the fish cakes in the pan.
- Fry the fish cakes for 5 minutes a side until golden brown and crispy. Drain grease on paper towels.
Spicy Refrigerator Pickles
Spicy Refrigerator Pickles
I’ll be honest. I like pickled things, but have never liked straight up eating pickles on their own. I’d eat them on things, but never just a pickle…until now. These refrigerator pickles have changed my views on pickled cucumbers. Unlike many pickles that I’ve despised, these are crispy, not soggy, and have a freshness to them that I’ve never had before. All you have to do to make them is combine all of the ingredients in a jar, shake it up, and let sit in the refrigerator for 2 days. If you don’t want whole pickles, you can slice them into chips or spears; speeding up the pickling time to a day.
Equipment
- 1/2 gallon jar
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs mini cucumbers
- 8 sprigs fresh dill weed
- 1 tbsp mustard seeds
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 2/3 cups water
- 1 1/3 cup white vinegar
- 2 tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 6 dried whole red chili peppers
- 4 bay leaves
Add all of the ingredients into a jar, shake it up, and refrigerate for 2 days before eating.
Belizean Grilled Chicken Wings
Belizean Jerk Chicken Wings
I was recently on vacation in the beautiful country of Belize and picked up some jerk seasoning from a farmers market. Belizeans have their own version that differs from Jamaican jerk seasoning. The extra ingredients that aren’t part of Jamaican jerk are dried oregano and orange peel. In addition, they use allspice leaves instead of ground allspice berries. Since you’ll have a problem finding the leaves, ground will do. I chose to use wings, but any pieces of chicken will work great. This seasoning is also really good on pork, turkey, fish and shrimp.
Equipment
- chimney starter
- charcoal
- grill
Ingredients
- 8 large whole chicken wings
Belizean Jerk Dry Rub Seasoning
- 1 tbsp habanero pepper powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp allspice
- 2 tsp ground dried orange peel
- 2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Mix together the jerk ingredients.
- Liberally season the wings. Let marinate for 8 hours; preferably overnight.
- Let the charcoal get grey in a chimney starter. Pour the grey charcoal into the grill. Place the wings over the charcoal.
- Sear the wings on all sides for 10 minutes in total.
- Pull the wings off to the side away from the charcoal. Cover the grill with the vent open. Grill for 20 more minutes; occasionally turning to cook evenly.
Serve the wings with fried plantains; sweet or savory.
