Sautéed Louisiana Drum with Garlic Lemon Butter with a side of Light Pea and Corn Orzo

My mom insisted that we make Louisiana drum fish. Personally, I wanted to make cod, but she knows a lot more about fish than I do. I also seem to be the only one in my family that likes salmon, which is a bummer. Especially because it is so good for you! Why do people dislike salmon so much? I don't get it. Is is not classy/sophisticated or something? Anyway, we went with the drum. And it was good, but I undercooked it. And unlike salmon, just saying, this fish can't get away with being slightly undercooked. The butter sauce that was on top though was incredible! We had some leftover and couldn't stop spreading what was left on our warm, homemade naan.

The orzo was also a hit. Orzo is easily forgotten as a side dish, but is it so easy to make, and flexible when it comes to ingredients. You can have a lot or a little, and it will still be delicious. It has definitely become my go to as a side dish for fish. I use seafood stock instead of chicken when I make it wish fish to give it a more unifying flavor. I'm not wild about peas, but they add a nice color and aren't too noticeable in the dish. Also, instead of buying more peas than I needed, I went to the salad making section of whole foods and bought just what I needed so I didn't waste money or ingredients. The sweet corn is a must-do ingredient though.

For the Sautéed Louisiana Drum with Garlic Lemon Butter, I used the butter sauced from the blog The Stay at Home Chef found here. I highly recommend that you make this incredible butter stuff. Actually, double the recipe and have it on hand. It's that good. We also used it as a spread on our homemade naan and it was beyond delicious! -I also put the lemon slices in for about a minute or two before the fish while the pan was heating up to infuse the fish and oil with lemony flavor.

Corn and Pea Orzo
makes enough for 4

Ingredients
1 cup orzo
1 ear of fresh sweet corn
about 1/2 cup skim milk (for cooking the corn)
about 2/3 cup of cooked peas (or more if you really like peas)
1 Tbs. of chopped, fresh basil
1 Tbs. of olive oil
1 1/4 cup seafood stock (you can use all stock, but I always add water to make it slightly less strong)
1/4 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

1. Begin by lightly browning the dry orzo with the tablespoon of olive oil. It's up to you how brown to make it, but just like browning butter, it sneaks up on you. So, the browner it is the nuttier it tastes.

2. Pour the water and seafood stock on top of the orzo, mix a little and then cover and let cook untouched according to the package directions.

3. When the orzo has absorbed the most or all of the liquid, mix in the rest of the ingredients. Serve immediately. (If not, you may need to add more water/stock later because it tends to dry up a little if it rests on the stove for too long).  It tastes best with a spoon directly out of the pan if you ask me...

As you can see, I prematurely put the butter sauce on top of the fish, which prevented me from flipping it back over and cooking it more on the other side like I needed to. 

Crabby Crab Cakes

Last summer my mom and I would cook a home cooked meal of my choice every thursday when my step dad was across the lake at his private practice. This summer we decided it would make more sense to cook on Wednesday, the night before Jon is away, so he could actually eat with us. Regardless of the day of the week, this is probably one of my favorite things to do over the summer. My mom and I really get to spend time together, while she can teach me knew things at the same time. Hands down, my mom taught me how to cook. She trusted me in the kitchen at a really young age, and I can't thank her enough for that. She let me bake box cakes and cookies from her warn down recipe collection. She even let me cook the family dinner a couple of times. I just loved serving people, and of course I still do. I think that is why I am so attracted the the culinary industry. I just don't know if I have the balls.... 

Also - sorry it has taken me so long to post this! I misplaced my camera for like two weeks and I had at least 3 blog posts still saved on there that I hadn't uploaded to my computer. I was having palpitations to say the least.... 

Click "read more" for more pictures and the recipe!


Crab Cakes 
This recipe is mildly adapted from Paula Dean

Ingredients 

1 pound crab meat (warning $$$)

½ cup crushed Ritz crackers

3 green onions (green and white parts), finely chopped

½ cup finely chopped red bell pepper (about half a pepper)

¼ cup mayonnaise

1 egg

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon dry mustard

½ lemon, juiced

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

Pinch of cayenne pepper

All-purpose flour, for dusting

½ cup peanut oil

*Tartar Sauce 

Directions

Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl, excluding the flour and peanut oil. 

Lightly flour one large plate and somewhat heavily flour a small plate. With your hands, scoop about a palm size of the crab mixture, flatten it lightly with your palms, and then place it on the small plate with the flour. Scoop a generous pinch of the flour and pat it on top of the cake until it is nicely covered and just comes together. Then place the cake on the large, lightly floured plate. 

**Your hands will get really sticky very quickly so I suggest rinsing off your hands in the sink after every crab cake has been shaped. Otherwise you wont be able to form them well and nothing will stick together (other than to your hands). 

When all of the cakes have been shaped, refrigerate for at least an hour. (*optional)

Pour your oil into a cast iron skillet and heat over medium to medium low heat. When you oil is hot, gently place about four cakes in the skillet at a time. Cook on each side for about 2 and a half minutes. (depending on the temp of your oil, it may take a little longer. We started with the oil being too hot, so it didn't take too long for each side to cook) 

Tartar Sauce 

Recipe adapted from a clipping out of an old Martha Stewart Living magazine. This recipe also reminded me that I don't like capers. They're classy, I know - and my mom and step dad thought it was a nice touch, but I could easily do without. 

ingredients adapted from a recipe I found in an old issue of Martha Stewart Living

Ingredients 

1 cup mayonnaise
3 1/2 tablespoons sweet relish

1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon drained capers (I would exclude this all together. and the original recipe even called for 3 tbls....)
3 tablespoons freshly chopped tarragon
1 teaspoon course salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions - mix together in a bowl and voila!