Blackened Catfish

I’ve been looking for flavorful ways to eat simply yet create memorable dishes. In my search I flipped back through some of my binders of magazine pages and recipe cards I've squirreled away over the years. I have fond memories of using this spice rub on chicken, tossing it on the grill and enjoying a fruit filled vodka concoction while prepping a refreshing salad of greens and vine ripened tomatoes from Papa-in-laws garden.

This recipe is a bold, spicy and easy to throw together addition to any building collection of go-to meals. Consider doubling or tripling the rub ingredients to have extra rub already mixed for a quick, flavorful addition to shrimp, chicken or steak.
This time I chose to bake the catfish in the oven but you could broil, or grill the fish as well. 

Blackened Catfish

Serves 4

Spice Rub-

• 1 Tablespoons Paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

• 2 teaspoons Dried Oregano

• 1 teaspoon Salt

• 1 teaspoon Black Pepper

• 4 6-ounce Catfish Fillets

• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1.    Preheat oven to 450°F.

2.    Combine all the spices in a small bowl.

3.    Drizzle catfish fillets with olive oil.

4.    Generously sprinkle spice rub over catfish. Using your hands, rub the spices over both sides of the fillet and place in a baking dish.

5.    Cook in preheated oven 8-10 minutes, until fish is cook through and flaky.

6.    Serve immediately.

Cooking with Class

Well, I did it. I’m done. It’s over. I’m out.

My classmates and I shut it down with a sigh of relief after our final exam on March 31^st and graduated from the French Culinary Institute on April 3^rd with degrees in Classic Culinary Art. Comments from the chef’s and proctors of our final are full of praise for a smooth, calm, catastrophe-free night in the kitchens.

Throughout the nine month, three night a week program we were exposed to classic techniques for traditional dishes such as Bœuf Bourguignon, Pot au Feu, Consommé, Pots de Crème and many other delights.

We were presented with half of a pig and guided in the butchering and preparation for a Charcuterie buffet.

We were taught by chef instructors from The International Culinary Center, which was recently awarded the title of “Vocational Cooking School of the Year” by the International Association of Culinary Professionals…not a bad reference to have on our resumes.

Chef Nick told us in one of our first couple of classes that we would become very close as classmates and build strong friendships along the way. I’m not sure how many of us believed it, but I think we all do now.

Cheers to all my partners, teammates and kitchen crooners….we did it.
We’re done. It’s over. We’re out.

*Some photos were taken by friends, family and classmates.

On the Menu

This week rounds out my final classes at The French Culinary Institute. Throughout the program we were taught techniques and recipes that were traditional to French Cuisine then brought to the kitchens of L’Ecole to demonstrate those techniques in contemporary interpretations.

Along the way we were assigned an elaborate menu project that included a short research essay on an ingredient featured in one of the recipes we created for a four-course dinner party. With a harvest theme in mind I chose a meal filled with farm fresh fruit and vegetables to satiate and garner a perfect grade.

A taste from my menu project…

“Having lived the last seven years on a 37-acre farm just outside of Paso Robles, California, I acquired a love for fresh picked fruit and savored the local landscape of almonds, olives and vineyards. Planning a dinner party with seasonal ingredients allows for the freshest choices of a recent harvest from local sources (if not homegrown), which gives you more flavorful food while considering sustainability and locavorism. Sampling a variety of apples and root vegetables throughout the meal brings me back to fall gatherings of comforting warm aromas with rich satisfying flavors. Shopping the green markets is as close to the farm as I have gotten since moving to New York City, with the world renowned apples of Hudson Valley nearby, I have been exploring the medley it provides.

     There are over 7,000 varieties of apples available worldwide with at least 200 grown in the Hudson Valley. While the apple may be the oldest of fruits, starting in the Garden of Eden, it was brought to the United States by the Pilgrims in 1620 and first exported to the West Indies from Long Island, New York in 1741. Apple seeds were spread throughout the country by the now infamous Johnny Appleseed as well as others to lead to successful cultivation and commercialization providing the state of Washington to be the countries top-producing.

     Apples are available year round from various sources and storage options but best in quality starting in the fall and lasting until March, with some of the rarer varieties availability being very limited to their seasonal peak. It’s a versatile ingredient considering the wide array of flavors from one variety to the next, from sweet to tart, it can work well in savory dishes as well as desserts. In addition to it’s adaptability in a recipe, an apple can provide numerous health benefits, including but not limited to–the fight against heart disease, reduced risk of some cancers, provide defenses to asthma and diabetes. Aside from the cranberry, apples have the highest level of antioxidant activity of the usually consumed fruits.”
From my menu, a refreshing salad that is tart and crisp.

Harvest Fruit and Greens with Toasted Walnuts 
Yield: 8 Servings
• ½ cup walnuts
Vinaigrette-
• 6 Tablespoons Pear White Wine Vinegar
• ½ teaspoon Whole Grain German Mustard
• 175mL (6oz) Extra-virgin Olive Oil
• Coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Salad-
• 2 Pink Lady Apples
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• 4 Clementine, peeled and suprêmes removed
• 142g (5oz) Baby Spinach, and or any mixed baby greens


Toast walnuts-
1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Spread the walnuts out in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
2. Toast walnuts in oven for about 5 minutes. Toss and continue baking, checking often until lightly colored and aromatic. Remove from the pan and allow to cool on double layer of paper towel.
Vinaigrette-
1. In a small mixing bowl whisk together vinegar and mustard. Continue whisking while slowly pouring in the olive oil until well emulsified.
2. Add salt and pepper to taste, set aside.
Salad-
1. Core and slice apples into julienne, toss lightly with lemon juice to prevent oxidizing.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine clementine suprêmes, apple julienne and baby greens.
Toss gently to mix.
3. Lightly drizzle vinaigrette along inside of bowl (careful not to overdress) and toss salad to coat.
4. Portion salad on chilled plates and sprinkle with toasted walnuts.

Berries for the Brain

Every now and again my Mother will mention a fruit or some other food that she heard was so good for you, and that she bought some so she would be sure to get the benefits the food is known to possess. The funny thing is that usually it’s something she knows she doesn’t like but she is willing to force herself to eat it because it’s SOOOO good for her... blueberries are one of those foods.

All those wonderfully smart scientists who conduct their thorough tests and give us the nutritional breakdown of the foods we eat have provided enough praise for the little blue berry that it tops most nutritionists lists for “you, really should be eating these”. Known for their polyphenols to fend off memory deterioration as we age as well as many other benefits from compounds like anthocyanin that are antioxidant and anti-inflammatory are just a few reasons why there should be one of those tiny cartons of berries in every shopping basket you take to the cashier.

I’ll admit that I am a fan of the super-berries and love throwing a few into a morning bowl of oatmeal or afternoon yogurt snack and they are sure to find their way into my baking that I happily share with my Mother–which to her dismay she likes even though it’s popping with blueberries.

Blueberry Poppy-Seed Coffee Cake

• 1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter, cold and cut into pieces
• 1 Tablespoon Poppy Seeds
• 3/4 cup low-fat Buttermilk
• 1 Egg
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 teaspoon Lemon Zest
• 1 cup fresh Blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in large bowl. Cut in butter, using a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in poppy seeds.
3. Combine buttermilk, egg, vanilla and lemon zest in small bowl until blended.
4. Stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture just until blended.
5. Spread half of the batter into prepared pan; top with blueberries.
6. Drop remaining batter in 8 dollops onto blueberries, leaving some berries uncovered. Bake about 35 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Cool 15 minutes in pan on wire rack. Remove coffeecake from pan. Remove paper from bottom of cake. Serve warm.

Hearts and Flowers

I have had a crazy-busy few months...besides the usual holiday madness I was interning as an editorial assistant at Food Arts magazine, helping cookbook author Judith Choate develop content for her next project (more about that later), all around attending my classes at The French Culinary Institute which moved me into the kitchen for L’Ecole and required an elaborate menu writing assignment. So, unfortunately, devoting any time to my personal projects simply slipped away...

I’m sending hearts and flowers to all my friends and family who haven’t heard from me while I’ve been buckled down and otherwise occupied.

Citrus Shortbread
Makes about 60 2-inch cut cookies

• 16 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened  
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar  
• 1 orange, zested and juiced  
• 1 lime, zested and juiced  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract  
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted; plus more for dusting while rolling the dough  
• ¼ teaspoon salt  
• 1 egg, beaten

1. Preheat oven to 300° F.  
2. Cream the butter and confectioners’ sugar in a mixer until fluffy.  
3. Add the orange and lime zest and juice along with the vanilla, flour and salt; blend until just combined. 
4. Divide dough into thirds, shape into flat rounds about 4 inches wide. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.  
5. Working with one portion of dough at a time-roll the dough between two sheets of parchment lightly sprinkled with flour to ¼-inch thickness. Cut out hearts, flowers, puppies, stars, or any shape you want.
6. Place cut cookies on parchment paper lined baking sheet about 1-inch apart. 
7. Lightly brush the top of each cookie with the beaten egg.  
8. Bake for 9-13 minutes in pre-heated oven, turning pan halfway through to encourage even browning.

*All ovens vary, so watch the first sheet of cookies carefully to determine the proper cooking time for your oven.

An Apple a Day...

It’s that time of year, bring on the apples!

Find your favorite, most juicy and delicious variety and take advantage of this bounty. For me, snacking on a Honey Crisp or Jazz apple takes care of any craving I have for a sweet treat and gets me closer to that recommended nine (yes, I said 9!) fruits and vegetables a day.

Feeling creative? Bring that fresh picked delight to your kitchen and brainstorm ways to incorporate it into your go-to salad, perhaps a tiny dice whisked into a vinaigrette, or feeling really adventurous? How about a Crabmeat, Apple, and Mango Salad? Looking for a heartier dish, something to bring to the table that can sit center stage next to a perfectly prepared pork chop, try this Apple, Potato, and Onion Gratin.

But let’s face it...our first instinct is dessert! And call it what you want, Apple Pie, Tart, Tarte Tartin, Cobbler, Crostata...they all bring comfort and scrumptiousness to any day.

Creating such a dessert might seem intimidating, making the perfect dough, rolling it to just the right thickness, then do you go with a more rustic presentation allowing the beautiful filling to shine on it’s own or use that extra touch of arranging the meticulously thin slices just-so for a classic look. Don’t stress! Food, especially dessert is meant to be enjoyed and to make you feel good. Take the time to play in the kitchen and I can think of no better recipe to relax and have fun with than whatever your version of pie is.

My play day featured an Apple and Cranberry Tart. With all my ingredients gathered and my mind set on just that creation I was a little disappointed to find my official “tart” pan has not arrived from California yet (How was that not in the priority boxes?). Nonetheless, a “tart” was made. Using a spectacularly simple recipe recently learned at FCI, except I added a my own twist by tossing in a handful of cranberries, my dessert was a success.

Still want to roll that perfect thickness of dough? Get yourself an Adjustable Rolling Pin from JosephJoseph, I love mine.

Apple Tart

Crust~

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/4 cup (or more) ice water

Filling~amounts determined by the size of your pan

3-5 apples (Granny Smith)

1-4 Tablespoons of water

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 lemon

1/2 cup dried cranberries (optional)

Finish~

2-3 apples (Golden Delicious)

1/2 lemon

2 tablespoons butter, melted

For crust~

Blend flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in processor. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add 1/4 cup ice water to processor and pulse until moist clumps form, sprinkle with more ice water if mixture is dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 1 hour. 

Roll out dough on floured work surface to approximately 3 inches larger than your tart pan, about 1/8” thick. Brush off excess flour and transfer to pan. Gently fill in the corners of the pan with the dough and create a side edge about 1/4-1/2” above pan walls or to desired finish. Chill crust while preparing filling.

For Filling~

Peel, core and chop the apples into 1” cubes. (Rub the apple with sliced lemon if necessary while cutting to prevent browning.) Combine the apples, water and sugar in a pan over medium high heat. Cover the pan with a parchment paper lid cut to the size of the pan with a whole in the middle. Cook the apples, stirring occasionally, until soft and resembling chunky applesauce. Add more water if needed throughout cooking. If adding the dried cranberries do so in the last minute of cooking, stirring in the berries allowing them to absorb some of the juices. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.

For Finish~

Preheat oven to 350° F. Pour filling into prepared crust, spreading to form an even surface filling to 3/4 full. Peel, core and thinly slice the topping apples to desired thickness either by hand or with a mandolin for precise consistency. (Rub the apple with sliced lemon if necessary while cutting to prevent browning.) Carefully arrange the apple slices covering the filling completely since the slices will shrink slightly during baking. Brush the apples with the melted butter.

Bake for about an hour. The apples should be soft and browned slightly on the edges.