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. 

Ooey Gooey Butter Cake

My step dad Jon used too get an ooey gooey butter cake as a gift around christmas time every year. For some reason we don't get them anymore and I can't tell you how depressing that really is. I've been dying to make it every since we stopped getting them and I finally finally got around to doing it. I mean the cake mix had been sitting in the cabinet staring at me for a while so it really had to be done. It was sooo good. However, as you can see from the pictures, they are not as ooey or gooey as they should be. (although my amazingly sharp and efficient Shun knife also can contribute to the super clean edges as well) When I was baking it I was honestly too scared to under-cook it and have it too ooey, so I put it back in. Bad choice. It's called ooey gooey cake for crying out loud! It was still delicious but it would have been better if I had only cooked it for 40 minutes. Remember for next time! I also really think it tastes better cold too. Perhaps its because the first time I tried it it was right out of the fridge, but who knows.

Ooey Gooey Butter Cake
from Paula Deen

Ingredients
for the Crust
1 Box of Yellow Cake Mix
1 egg
1 stick of unsalted butter, melted

for the ooey gooey
1, 18 ounce package of cream cheese
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla
8 stick of unsalted butter, melted
2 cups of confectioners sugar

Directions 

1. Preheat the oven In a bowl with an electric mixer, mix together the cake mix, egg and melted butter.

 

2. Pour the mixture into a greased square or rectangular pan. Firmly press down with a spatula until smooth and even.

3. In that same bowl (which should be clean because the previous crust mixture should have formed somewhat of a solid mass) beat the cream cheese until light and smooth.

4. Then add the eggs, vanilla, and butter. Blend well.

5. Lastly, add the confectioners sugar and blend on high for about 2 minutes.

6. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the crust and bake for 40-50 minutes. (I baked closer to 50 and I regret it. I was afraid of under-cooking it too much but don't be! that's the point!) Next time I will only bake for 40.

7. Let it cool completely and sprinkle gently with confectioners sugar

Shrimp and Oyster Pasta in a Garlic Butter Sauce

This recipe has few ingredients and is beyond simple to prepare. It was a pretty big hit, especially with my little brothers - one of which was never willing to try an oyster until now (I'd say that's a pretty big success considering the young lad pretty much only eats Swedish fish and cereal AND he ate more than one. winning) 

Ingredients
A dozen Shrimp
A dozen oysters
About 2 teaspoons of finely chopped garlic
angel hair pasta (my favorite!)
butter
olive oil
Parmesan cheese 
salt and pepper to taste

First you boil the pasta with water along with the remaining juices from the oysters (you know, the gross looking liquid they are floating in when you buy them from the grocery store) so the pasta soaks up the delicious fishy flavors (this was my dads idea. it actually made a big difference and added a nice saltiness too). In the mean time, saute the shrimp in a pan with the garlic and a couple of tablespoons of butter and olive oil (I like using both but it's up to you). When those are finished cooking, remove them and set them aside. Then toss in the oysters (there should still be some juice with those as well). These cook in pretty much two seconds so remove them the second they turn greyish so they don't get tough. When your pasta is finished cooking, drain it and toss it in the saute pan with the leftover butter and olive oil (you can also add more butter and oil of course because the pasta tends to dry up a bit and stick together after it has been drained) and add salt and pepper to taste. Then put the pasta in a bowl and garnish with your shrimp, oysters and Parmesan cheese. pretty simple (and delicious too)!