Another Quick Turnaround and a New Fish Recipe

I had a great night last night back in my own bed; though the temperatures here in southern California are a whole lot higher here than they were in Colorado. Luckily we have ceiling fans (even though we don't have air conditioning - don't really need it at 6,000 feet). I leave tomorrow morning for Monterey; I'm going to a conference of teachers' association chapter presidents. It takes place at the Asilomar Conference Grounds, where the high yesterday was 62˚. I'm looking forward to being cool again.

The fire has grown to almost 70,000 acres, but like we had hoped, has moved north and east of here. I really feel for those firefighters battling the blaze in 112˚ temperatures.

Here's a new fish recipe I came up with today, since I've decided I really like those crunchy coatings. I've been using the mahi mahi fillets from Costco, but this could be done with any white fish fillets, such as tilapia, flounder, or sole. You might want to adjust the crushed red pepper, though we really liked it this spicy.

Parmesan-Red Pepper Mahi Mahi


1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c milk
1/3 c panko bread crumbs
1/3 c grated Parmesan cheese
1 t crushed red pepper
1/4 t pepper
1/4 t salt
2-3 mahi mahi (or other white fish) fillets
3 T butter

Prepare three shallow bowls: in the first, put the flour. In the second, the milk. Combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, crushed red pepper, pepper, and salt in the third bowl. Coat the fillets with the flour, then the milk, and then the bread crumb-Parmesan mixture. Press the mixture into the fish. Melt the butter in a skillet, and sauté fillets until golden brown and flesh flakes easily. (I had to cover mine for a while to get them done, and then uncover to finish crisping up.)

One of my favorite side dishes with fish like this is what DH calls fried spaghetti. I cook up some spaghetti noodles, in this case Barilla Plus, then sauté them in a skillet with a little butter and garlic. Occasionally we top them with Parmesan cheese, but tonight we didn't, since there was already Parmesan in the fish.

Another Costco favorite is the huge bags of berries - a mixture of raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. Sometimes I just heat them up and put them over ice cream, but tonight I was in the mood for a cobbler. I used two individual ramekins and made two small cobblers for dessert for DH and me. I was able to make these in my toaster oven, and therefore not heat up the kitchen too much.

Triple Berry Individual Cobblers



Filling
3 cups frozen triple berry mix
zest of one-half lemon
1/3 c Splenda or sugar

Topping
1/2 c Bisquick
zest of one-half lemon
2 T Splenda or sugar
1/4 c milk

Preheat oven to 375˚. In a medium bowl, combine berries, lemon zest and Splenda or sugar. Divide between two individual baking ramekins. Bake for 15 minutes. In a small bowl, combine topping ingredients. Divide between two ramekins, spreading gently. You don't have to reach the edges of the dish. Bake another 20 minutes, or until topping is golden and cooked through.

Question for you experienced cooks: what do I need to add to this recipe to make the filling thicken? Cornstarch? Flour? I thought about flour, since I've used it in apple pies, but I guess I hoped the filling would magically thicken up on its own. Alas, it didn't. It tasted wonderful, but it was juicy, where I'd rather it be thickened. Let me know what you'd suggest.

See you next weekend!


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