CookWomanFood.com » Fish

Tuna Wiggle

admin — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 12:35:54 +0000

Tuna Wiggle? That’s right. It is the epitome of comfort food. There is no rocket science to this recipe. It isn’t really very healthy for you though if you drink lots of water the sodium will wash out kind of quickly. It is the meal to make on a cold winter’s evening when the wind is howling and the temps are below 0. This recipe came down from my mother-in-law who used to make it for my husband when he was growing up. I decided to make it last night just as a reminder to him of what life was like and what it is now. Make sense? Probably not, but I won’t go there. You could spice up this recipe quite nicely with some sauteed onions and mushrooms, along with fresh garlic. You could also make this more heart and body friendly by using low sodium canned soups. I didn’t as his mother’s recipe didn’t call for it and my husband would have shoveled it on anyways. I also would have added the onions, mushrooms, and garlic if I was eating it, but it is his remembrance of years gone by, the way his mom make it. Actually, I used to make this on Thanksgiving Eve since the next day, even week, we would be eating turkey and this is such an opposite. Funny, today we are having turkey! Enjoy Dan!

An update!!: When it was time to have this meal as leftovers, I added about 1/2 cup diced fresh tomatoes to the casserole. After heating it, covered in the microwave for about 2 minutes, I topped it off with 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese and zapped it for another 30 seconds on High in the microwave and as all microwaves vary in intensity, use your own judgement. (You might want to add a little bit of water to the dish if it is dried out).

Tuna Wiggle

1 bag of broad egg noodles (this is what makes the wiggle)
1 can Campbell’s cheddar cheese soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup (Cream of anything works really. Broccoli and cheddar soup is very good too.)
1 large can of tuna in water (chunk light or solid white)
1 cup of frozen peas or broccoli if desired
1/2 cup water
salt and pepper
For the topping some people like crumbled potato chips but I like French’s fried onion bits.

1. Boil the noodles. Drain tuna.
2. Rinse peas (if you are using frozen) so they are not all clumped together.
3. Put cooked noodles, drained tuna, soups, water, and rinsed peas into 2 quart casserole dish. Mix and add salt and pepper to taste. Cover with Italian bread crumbs.
4. Bake in 350* oven for 1/2 hour or until the bread crumbs brown and the casserole is bubbly.

Happy National Crab Stuffed Flounder Day!!

admin — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 13:46:08 +0000

February 18 is National Crab Stuffed Flounder Day! How do they come up with these holidays? I tried to find out but with no success. So, I am starting to wonder if I should just start randomly coming up with new holidays. Hmm. Lemon Fluff Day, National Peanut Butter Cup Day, … I could go on and on, but I won’t. I did think that today would be a great day to get out, go to my favorite fish market, and cook up an incredible dinner in honor of this famous holiday. One thing, kind of a warning, make sure to remove the toothpicks before serving. Kind of like the warning on a hot cup of coffee. Duh!! But, nonetheless, they would be hard to digest even though they would add some fiber. Enjoy the holiday and the dinner!

Crab Stuffed Flounder

2 tbsp. butter plus 1/4 cup for baking
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 cup crabmeat,cleaned (no cartilage, etc.)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 egg
1 tbsp. lemon juice
3-4 lbs. flounder

Prepare stuffing:
Saute celery, onion and garlic in 2 tbsp. butter til tender.
Remove from heat.
Stir in crabmeat, bread crumbs, parsley, salt, and pepper.
Mix in the egg.

Prepare flounder:
Wash and pat dry.
Spread stuffing over flounders.
Roll up and secure with toothpicks.(Make sure to remove before serving!!)
Melt 1/4 cup butter and stir in 1 tbsp. lemon juice. Pour over flounders.
Place fish in a butter coated pan.
Bake for about 30 minutes in a 375* oven til done.

Homemade Fish Chowder for a Snowy Evening!

admin — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 21:38:13 +0000

Care for a bowl?

The weather outside is frightful, and then some. Winter is here so it is time to get the pot on the stove and put together a warming meal: fish chowder. Today is the perfect day to make this. I visited the local fish market and purchased some fresh haddock. Living in the northeast has its benefits and having a local fish market that visits the docks each morning is an added bonus. It is almost a shame to put this in a stew or chowder but then again, who would want to use yuck fish in a chowder? Not me, that’s for sure.

1 cup water

1 cup diced potatoes

3 slices of bacon

1 onion

1 lb. fish fillets (clams may be substituted)

¼ tsp. thyme

1 cup half&half

salt/pepper

fresh parsley

Boil water in a large pan. Add potatoes, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Fry bacon, (not crisp), add onion and cook until onion is soft and bacon is browned. (I fried the bacon for a minute, chopped it coarsely, and finished frying with the chopped onion.) Do not drain. Add this to the potatoes along with fish fillets and the thyme. Simmer until potatoes are tender. Add half & half, salt, pepper and simmer for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.

Bacon Wrapped or Baked Sea Scallops-Your Choice!

admin — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 01:12:13 +0000

Sea scallops are a quite unique food. They are my favorite sea food. Scallops are harvested in different ways. Usually they are dragged across the ocean floor by a dredge or trawler. Unfortunately this method causes the scallop to be collect sand. Divers also hand pick scallops off the ocean floor. This method allows for less or no grittiness. One summer, while vacationing on Cape Cod, I went to a seafood restaurant and eagerly awaited my broiled scallop dinner, only to be sadly disappointed by all the sand in them. Gross. It took a while to get over this atrocity, but, I did. I recently had the pleasure of my family visiting. My son, CookManFood Dan, helped prepare a feast of seafood delicacies. One of these treats was, you guessed it, scallops prepared two different ways-baked and wrapped in bacon (one of CookManFood Dan’s signatures). Both were delicious, one was healthier than the other. Can you guess which one?

Bacon Wrapped Scallops

1 1/2 lbs. sea scallops, rinsed
1/2 lbs. bacon
garlic
butter
toothpicks
Wrap each scallop with 1/2 slice bacon and secure with a toothpick.
Melt butter in pan, add garlic and saute. Add scallops and cook until opaque and turn.
Serve with parsely and lemon.

Baked Sea Scallops

1 1/2 lbs. sea scallops
3 tbsp. butter
2 cloves garlic
fresh parsely, chopped fine
1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs

Butter a broiling pan.
Melt butter in a pan, add garlic and saute for a few minutes.
Add Italian breadcrumbs. Stir.
Remove from heat and sprinkle on top of scallops.
Sprinkle on the fresh parsely.
Bake @ 400* for about 20 minutes.

Pico de Gallo

admin — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:34:48 +0000

We recently had a huge family gathering. One of the delights of our oceanic culinary feast, (fish night), was baked cod with pico de gallo. Pico de gallo, (Spanish for “rooster’s beak”), is a fresh uncooked condiment made from chopped tomato, onion, and sometimes chiles (typically jalapeños or serranos). Other ingredients may also be added, such as lemon or lime juice, fresh cilantro which is the leaf of coriander, cucumber, radish or other fresh firm pulpy fruit such as mango.

Pico de Gallo with Cod

2 lbs. fresh cod
2 chiles
cilantro
4 tomatoes
1 onion
1 tbsp. lime Juice
salt & pepper
Parsley

Chop the vegetables, add in the lime juice to taste, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread on cod and bake in a 400* oven for 20 minutes. Serve with chopped parsely and lemon.

Baked Scrod/Schrod

admin — Sun, 03 May 2009 22:55:29 +0000

One of the best things about living in Massachusetts is having fresh fish. I like fish, but not fishy fish. I like fish that is white and mild. I like both haddock and cod. I recently saw a Boston newsman poll people on the streets as to what is the difference between scrod and schrod? Very few people knew the answer. Scrod is a young cod and schrod is a young haddock, which are both Atlantic fish. They are tender and when cooked properly, are very good. I decided to serve this for dinner tonight. I prepared the cod, captain’s cut, with the following recipe. I served it with fresh green beans, with oregano and butter, and garlic mashed potatoes. A couple of interesting fishy news items are to soak the fish in milk and rinse to get rid of any fishy smell (I never have done this as I only buy fresh fish) and burn a candle while the fish is cooking to avoid fish smell buildup!

Boston Scrod/Schrod

1 lb. cod or haddock fillets
1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs
1 lemon
1/4 cup melted butter
minced fresh parsely
salt and pepper to taste

Rinse fish. Melt butter and brush some on fish.
Mix bread crumbs and remaining butter and sprinkle on the fish.
Sprinkle with garlic powder, minced parsely, and lemon juice.
Add salt and pepper if desired.
Bake at 375* for 20 minutes or until fish turns white. Do not overcook!