Flounder Quiche, Lobsta Mac, Creole Omelet and much more

New England Style Baked Flounder

We got some beautiful frozen flounder filets from Costco and I've been looking for some different ideas on how to prepare and serve this delicate, mild fish. Baking appealed for its simplicity.

4 Flounder filets, thawed, rinsed and patted dry

1 cup Panko or other bread crumbs

4 Tbsp Butter, melted

Old Bay tm Seasoning, or salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Pour a little of the melted butter in a baking dish and spread to coat the bottom. Combine the bread crumbs with the rest of the melted butter.

Spice both sides of the fish, and lay in the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle bread crumbs evenly over the fish.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until fish is cooked thoroughly (and flakes easily). Serve on top of lemon slices and with fresh lemon wedges to squeeze liberally!  

I served it with a side of:

Mojo Green Beans

Add some magic to your green beans, with a splash of mojo sauce in the cooking liquid.

Mojo Breakfast Burrito

Speaking of mojo sauce, here's another Cabana breakfast.

3 Eggs, beaten

1/4 cup diced Celery

1/4 cup diced Onion

1/4 cup diced Bell Pepper

1/4 cup diced Crimini mushroom

1/4 cup shredded White Cheddar cheese

3 oz ground Turkey

2-3 Tbsp Mojo Criollo Sauce, I like the Badia tm brand

1 large Wrap tortilla -- I use the green 'spinach' wraps from Toufoyan tm

Saute the stuffing vegetables in a splash of oil for a few minutes until they start to soften. As they soften add the mojo sauce, and then the ground turkey. Continue cooking until the turkey is nearly browned. Now add the eggs and scramble everything together.

Mound the filling in the center of the wrap and top with the cheese. Roll everything up. Top with additional cheese if desired. Serve with sides of salsa and sour cream or yogurt.

Red Hot Bleu Sauce

I've got a problem. See, I like hot sauces, but not gratuitiously hot hot sauces; I prefer those that have flavor as well as some heat. I also like bleu cheese dressing on my salads. In a moment of inspiration -- like the mingling of chocolate and peanut butter -- I created Red Hot Bleu Sauce. 

Take some Frank's Red Hot tm Wing Sauce or any similar hot sauce, and cut it about 50% (more or less) with a good chunky Bleu Cheese Dressing. Now you're talking!! Great on wings, chicken nuggets or a roast beef sandwich.

Lobsta Mac & Cheese

Sally requested this for Valentine's Day Brunch with Mum. So of course she got it. This recipe makes a ton of pasta and cheese sauce. I used about 3/4 of each and froze the rest separately for later consumption.  This isn't a cheap dish, but it's great for a special occasion.

12 oz Lobster -- I used 4 of the little ones, which happened to be on special at the megamart.

1 box Macaroni -- I used Cavitappi/Corkscrews with the grooves to hold sauce better

2 cups Sharp Cheddar

2 cups Mixed Cheeses

4 cups Heavy Cream

4 Tbsp Butter -- we use Olivio tm

5 Tbsp AP Flour

1/2 cup diced Onion

1/4 cup White Wine

1 Tbsp Tony Chachere's Creole Spice tm or paprika, salt and cayenne to taste

1 cup frozen Peas

1/2 cup Panko or breadcrumbs

Pre-cook the lobster tails. I baked them @ 350 for about 7 minutes. Cool, then chop the meat into pieces.

Make the pasta according to the box. Drain. Cool.

In a pot, slow cook the onion in the butter. When the onion is translucent, add the flour and stir to make a roux. Let the roux cook for 4-5 minutes, to cook out the flouriness. Cut the roux with the wine, stirring. Reduce heat to low. Slowly add the cream, whisking to get rid of any lumps. Add the creole spice. Keep whisking. Finally, add the cheeses, a handful at a time, whisking until every thing is smooth and cheesy.

Measure the cooked mac that you'll need into a baking dish, then transfer the mac to a mixing bowl. If you use the whole box of mac, you're gonna want a pound of lobster at least, and a 9x13 baking dish. Add the lobster and frozen peas and stir to combine. Now add the cheese sauce until the mix gets a soupy as you like. Top with panko or other breadcrumbs.

Bake at 375F for about 30-35 minutes until bubbly and hot. Let it rest about 5 minutes before spooning out portions.

Red Velvet Roll

I didn't really "make" this. The megamart had the delicious looking cream cheese filled Red velvet cake roll. All I did was slice up strawberries and raspberries add some simple syrup, and ladle the fruit onto slices of yum.

Creole Quiche

This one is for Susan Duplantis, my blogger friend from Baton Rouge. I created this for our cabana guests who wanted something with lots of veggies and eggs, on a Saturday morning when Sally and I had to be somewhere early. They had two slices one day, and two slices the next, along with a bowl of cut fruit.

3/4 cup diced Celery

3/4 cup diced Onion

3/4 cup diced Bell Pepper

3/4 cup chopped Mushrooms

12 Shrimp, cooked and shelled

4" of diced Andouille sausage if you can find it. Or a Johnsonville tm New Orleans "sausage"

4 eggs, beaten

1/2 tsp ground Cardamon

1-1/4 cups half & half or whipping cream

6 oz shredded mixed Cheese

1+ Tbsp Tony Chachere's tm Creole Spice Blend, to taste

1 premade frozen Deep-Dish Pie Crust

Preheat the oven to 425F.

While that's happening, saute the meat and veg filling until the celery and onion are tender. Drain and reserve.

Beat together the eggs and dairy and cardamon. Add half the cheese. Reserve.

Put the still frozen pie crust on a baking sheet. Spoon the filling into the crust and pack down if necessary. Pour the egg/dairy/cheese mixture overall, to fill, add more dairy if needed. Top with the remaining cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until firm and set, golden brown and mouth-wateringly delicious. Let rest at least 15 minutes before serving.

Kabocha & Swiss Chard Galette

Sally found this recipe in an issue of the Oprah magazine. It was 'way too fussy and complicated as written (an excerpt from Anna Thomas' cookbook Vegan Vegetarian Omnivore), so I've simplified it considerably.

Basically this is a vegan, or at least vegetarian, pizza featuring a strange winter squash and Swiss Chard. Slightly sweet, slightly nutty.

1 Kabocha Squash (substitute a Butternut, it will be lots easier to work with... trust me)

1-2 large Sweet Onions (Valdosta, Maui, WallaWalla, etc)

2 large Garlic cloves

1 bunch Swiss Chard or Rainbow Swiss Chard

1 cup fresh grated Parmesan or similar cheese.  Vegans use soy-cheese.

1/3 Raisins

1/3 cup Pine Nuts or Sunflower kernals

1 lb fresh Pizza Dough - from your megamart or local pizza parlor

Juice of half a Lemon

Salt & Pepper to taste

EVOO as needed

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Peel and seed the squash and cut it into 1" cubes. You want 3-4 cups of cubes. Toss with a pinch of salt and a tablespoon or so of EVOO. Spread the cubes on a baking tray and roast them for 30-40 minutes, turning periodically, until they get some nice color and soften a bit. Reserve.

Slice the onion into strips and caramelize in a skillet until golden (medium-low heat). Again, this will take about 30 minutes. Near the end, slice the garlic and add it to skillet. Don't let it burn.

While that's happening, rinse the chard and cut the long stems into 1" lengths. Add the stems to the onion/garlic mix and continue to cook until they soften a bit (about 3 minutes). Add the chard leaves and a pinch of salt and pepper, cover and cook until the chard wilts (about 5 more minutes). Remove from the heat and stir in the raisins, cilantro, pine nuts and lemon juice. Reserve.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the pizza dought to make a 16" disk, or roll it oblong to fit a baking sheet, like I did. Spread the onion-chard mix around, leaving an inch or so of the dough edge bare. Add the roasted squash. Finish by sprinkling the cheese overall. Bake at 400F for 30+ minutes, until the crust browns nicely. Slice and serve. Serves 4-6.

Overall, pretty tasty, but it needed "something" to give it pizazz. A spice blend perhaps, other than a pinch of salt and pepper.  Perhaps a base sauce, not necessarily tomato.  Next time I'm going to give the rolled-out dough a schmear of Romesco sauce, or even French dressing, before laying down the veggies, just to take the flavor profile to the next level.