Fried Fish

My mother gave us some ling cod she caught last year. My husband has become an expert fish fryer so it was only right to eat the fish battered and fried. It was amazingly good. The batter keeps the fish incredibly moist and tender. We were out of mayonnaise to make tarter sauce (just mayo and relish) but I put together a decent sauce using a spoonful of cream cheese, milk to thin, splash of lemon juice and a spoonful of zucchini relish. The result was not exactly tartar sauce but a good compliment to the fish. Frying fish is easy. Wash the fish, pat dry, dip in the batter and lay in hot oil until crisp (turning once). Hubby doesn't use more than about an inch of oil for the frying. The batter is just as easy: Mix together - 1 cup flour 1/2 cup milk 1/2cup water 1/4cup baking powder 1 teaspoon salt We use bay seasoning for all our fishy foods (and many non-fishy foods) and last night he used whole wheat flour which didn't affect the texture or flavor at all. Well that might not be true because we thought this was the best fried fish he has ever made so maybe there's something to the whole wheat flour.

Hushpuppies

My husband loves hushpuppies and I just don't make them but I have decided they are worth the effort. These are deep fried in oil but we want to experiment with making them in the abelskiver pan which would reduce the calories and fat but I didn't have enough dough to experiment with when I came up with this recipe.
Normally, hushpuppies are made with baking powder but I was out that day and since I was using yeast for the beignets I thought it would be easy to make them with yeast. The result was awesome.

Hushpuppies
1/3 cup onion, diced
1 cup cornmeal
4 TB flour
1 TB yeast
½ cup buttermilk (whey)
1 TB sugar
¼ teas pepper
Cooking oil
Heat buttermilk to about 100 degrees. Add yeast and sugar and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile add onions, cornmeal, flour and pepper to a medium sized bowl. Add buttermilk. Mix gently until completely wet. Pour oil into cast iron skillet, about 2-3 inches deep. Heat to 375. Form 1 inch patties and cook until golden.

Beignets

With winter here, I have been craving fried foods like crazy. I think it has to do with the perpetual chill that has settled over our home and lives. Fried foods are little bits of joy. Beignets are the most perfect food. Traditionally, they are served as a dessert with powdered sugar but there is nothing in this recipe that demands they have to be a dessert. We eat them with soups and sauces like biscuits. Pieces not eaten with dinner are often covered with butter and honey. They are not unlike Indian Fried bread except that this particular recipe uses yeast instead of baking powder. I make small pieces but you can easily make larger ones to use in place of bread for sandwiches or for tacos.

Beignets
1 cup milk
1 TB yeast
1 egg
2 TB sugar
2 TB oil
3 ½ - 4 cups flour
Cooking Oil
Heat milk to about 100 degrees. Add yeast and sugar. Let sit 5-10 minutes. Add egg and oil, beat well. Add flour ½ to 1 cup at a time until the dough is firm but still sticky. Remove from bowl and lay on floured surface. Knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky and still pliable. Roll out to ½ thickness and cut into squares. Heat 2-3 inches of oil in a deep skillet to 375 degrees. Fry until golden.