Saturday Chef Original: Pan-Fried Catfish Sandwich with Lemon Aioli

The ball has dropped. You're finding confetti in some very strange places. The champagne is gone. It is a new year! 1/1/11! Time for a new beginning. While I’m not exactly singing about it like Jennifer Hudson on the Weight Watchers commercials (she looks great!!!!), I am starting this New Year, like many of you, with a new outlook on life, food and where I want to be in 2011. And I’d like to be a few pounds lighter, and you know what that means…


Wait. Stop. Don’t leave! I’m swear on my new baking sheets that I’m not abandoning the delicious, often decadent things that you and I love. I’m just going to make healthier recipes too, use more vegetables and fruits, maybe even some whole grain. No brussell sprouts (yet) and rice cakes here. Promise!

We’ll start with one of my favorite foods EVER: Catfish. I love it the most out of all of the fishes in the sea. Sorry, salmon. I was a picky eater as a child, but I would eat an entire catfish happily.

I’m used to eating catfish breaded in cornmeal and fried with a side of spaghetti or my mom’s famous fruit salad. To switch it up, I’d decided to riff on blackened fish and just play with a bunch of spices. The result was a flavorful, healthier sandwich that is ready in 20 minutes or less. It’s a great meal to ring in 2011 or any day of the week!


Catfish Sandwiches with Lemon Aioli


2 medium-to-large catfish filets, fresh or thawed
Salt
Pepper
Cumin
Paprika
Garlic Powder
Cayenne
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 to ½ cups wild arugula
4 hamburger buns, toasted

Lemon Aioli, recipe as follows

Directions

Rinse fish. Pat dry. Cut in half cross-wise.

Season both sides of fish with all spices. Make sure to be a bit more generous with the paprika and more conservative with the cumin and cayenne, unless you want it spicy.

Heat a cast iron and 1 teaspoon of olive oil in pan over medium heat. When skillet is very hot—but not smoking—add two filet halves. Cook until golden to dark brown on both sides, about 3 to 5 minutes per side.

While fish is cooking, toast buns if desired.

When fish is done, place it on skillet to rest for 1 to 2 minutes. Spread aioli on the bottom bun. Add fish fillet. Add arugula and top bun. Enjoy.


Lemon Aioli

½ cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 clove of garlic, minced
Salt, Pepper

Mix mayonnaise, lemon juice and garlic powder together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If possible, chill in fridge to marry flavors.

Saturday Chef's Awesome Rosemary Spice Chicken Wings

*Recipe revised on October 26th.*

So many people I know LOVE chicken wings. You know, those squishy, messy, greasy, spicy little chicken arms that usually more bone than meat. I never got why they were so popular, maybe it’s all the alcohol traditionally consumed while eating them. I don’t really like them and certainly never crave them. The only time I eat a chicken wing is when I make or bring home a roast chicken. It is the first piece I taste, and that’s usually meaty and salty and delicious.

My mother has been admirably working to lose weight for months. She exercises with a determination I can admire—usually while I’m in the kitchen. (Can cooking be considered cardio?) Lately her resolve has been cracking and the fast food cravings are gaining power. Finally, she broke. “I want fried chicken wings. I want Popeye’s!” She proclaimed after an hour on the treadmill.


I promised her I’d make her some chicken wings that would settle her craving, but wouldn’t negate all of her had work.


So I set out on the ‘net, sorted through recipes with glazes and  super-spicy sauces and 25 ingredients, and settled on this one with a bit of trial and error on the mix of spices. These wings are baked, not fried, yet the skin is still crispy and the meat is still tender and flavorful. Now, these are chicken wings I’d like to knock back while watching a football game and drinking beer.


And they passed not one, but two tests. First, my mother LOVED them and declared her fast food craving had been satisfied. Second, my father, who puts hot sauce on pancakes, ate these wings without it.

Mission accomplished.



Awesome Rosemary Spiced Chicken Wings

Ingredients

4 to 5 pounds chicken wings

1 tablespoon olive oil plus more for drizzling

1 ½ tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped

1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder

½ teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt (such as Lawry's)

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¾ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon chili powder*

½ teaspoon cayenne*

Salt


Directions

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Line two banking sheets with aluminum foil.

Remove the tips of the chicken wings with kitchen shears or a knife. Clean wings of any stray hairs.
Thoroughly rinse wings and pat dry with paper towels. In a large bowl or large pan, drizzle chicken wings with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and mix with hands until all wings are evenly coated. Add all spices, mixing with hands to make all wings are coated.

Place skin side up in a single layer on baking sheets, allowing a bit of space between each wing. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil over the wings, and rub over the top to distribute. Finally, sprinkle each wing very lightly with salt.

Bake in the oven until wings are a deep golden brown and the skin is crispy, about 45 to 55 minutes. Rotate pans halfway through cooking process so wings will brown evenly.

Serve immediately.

*Measurements of spices and herbs may vary based on the amount of wings being prepared.
*You can make the wings as spicy as you like. I prefer just a little heat. Increase the chili powder and cayenne if you’d like more of a kick.

Saturday Chef Original: Larry's Heart-y Chicken Chili

When I posted my Ultimate Grilled Cheese, I jokingly laughed at the traditional New Year's resolutions to lose weight.  I stand by my post, but I also know that food's first purpose is nourishment.  So "fat for fat's sake" is not the best practice, and I promise you it's not one of mine.  Thus, I try to shave needless calories from my cooking whenever I can. 

I also mentioned that I give my father food as gifts, because it's pretty much all he'll accept.  I want those edible presents to be delicious and healthy to make up for the Bears tickets and the million of other things I can't buy him.  As one of thirteen children, he thoroughly appreciates a good meal.

So for Superbowl Sunday, I provided the eats in the form of chicken chili.  Originally planned as a white chili, it quickly turned into a vibrant explosion or color and a cornucopia of vegetables!  It has a good kick of backheat, thanks to the chipotle and adobo, and it is cleverly thickened with beans, instead of a roux.  This chili is a nourishing present that is good for the heart and soul.

Oh, and apparently a good luck charm for the Saints.  Hee!




Ingredients

4 chicken thighs, skinned
1 leek, sliced
½ white onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, ½’’ dice
1 yellow bell pepper, ½’’ dice
½ white onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 15 oz can white beans
1 15 oz can black beans
1 15 oz can chick peas
1 clove garlic
½ to 1 chipotle in adobo (canned, whole pepper)
1 ½ cup of frozen corn
32 oz of vegetable broth
salt
pepper
cumin
paprika
cayenne
onion powder
garlic powder
house seasoning
Olive Oil


Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Season both lightly sides of chicken with salt, black pepper, cumin, paprika, cayenne, onion powder, and garlic powder. Pour approximately 3 tablespoons of olive oil into a large, hot skillet over medium-high heat. When skillet is hot, add chicken breast and cook for 3 to 5 minutes on both sides or until chicken is browned. Place the chicken onto a cookie sheet lined with aluminum-foil and put into the oven for 20 minutes. When chicken is done, let it cool and rest for at least 15 minutes.

Drain oil and spices from dutch oven and reserve in measuring cup. Wipe away any burned bits.

While the chicken is roasting, dice onion, peppers, garlic, leeks, and carrots. Heat a dutch oven over medium heat and add a healthy drizzle of the reserved oil. When oil is hot, add the onions and leeks and sweat until soft and fragrant, about 4 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add bell peppers, carrots, and garlic. Cook until peppers are soft, about 5 minutes. Season vegetables with salt and pepper. Add vegetable broth and chiptotle with joining adobo sauce. NOTE: You can add as much as you want, but one pepper is plenty. When liquid starts to boil, turn down low. Simmer for about 15 minutes.

After chicken has rested, pull or slice chicken off of bones and shred with fingers.

Add cans of drained and thoroughly rinsed black beans, chick peas and 1/3rd of the can of white beans to pot. Take the rest of the white beans and mash with a spoon or masher. Scrape mashed beans into the chili and stir to thicken. Add chicken and continue to cook for a few minutes to let flavors marry. Add frozen corn if you wish. Taste and adjust heat to desired tolerance.

Serve with cornbread or tortilla chips.


Chefs Note: I am aware that I post a lot of recipes with chicken.  Clearly, I LOVE it.  But those who love beef need not be worried.  I am not a cluckatarian.  Beef and vegetarian recipes are on the way.  Promise.