I consider today to be the last day of summer. Here in Maryland, there is already a crispness in the air in the mornings. School buses are on the move, and dare I say it, but I’ve already seen a few leaves changing color. It’s been a wonderful summer for me and my family. We’ve got a new baby on the way (due on Christmas Eve!), had an abundance of fresh seafood, many glorious days at the beach, and plenty of good food on the table. Even though I have not been regular with my blogging, rest assured I still have been putting out “good eats” on the regular. This, my friends, was one of our favorite dishes this summer. Beef tacos and chicken tacos are wonderful, but a good fish taco is on another plane of existence!

Now, of course you could grill or pan sear your fish for a healthier option. But, I gotta give two-thumbs up for the beer batter. I used my husbands home brewed 60 Minute IPA, and the beer flavor really shined through. The fish also stayed crispy long after frying. We were nibbling on fish nuggets long after dinner was over! I like to employ a double-shell technique for these. I had some wonderful blue corn taco shells that I got while in the “big city” a month or so ago. But, they are very fragile. My solution was to wrap a flour tortilla around the corn, and it really does give it a little something extra as far as the texture is concerned. We topped ours with a spicy chipotle ailoi, pico de gallo, and of course the traditional thinly sliced cabbage.

They’ve definitely become a favorite in our household, even with our 2 year old Drew. He couldn’t get enough of the fish, as well as the Spanish rice I served it with (which, I will have to blog on it’s own in another post…it’s insanely good as well!). I see us having this dish in the cold winter months as well for sure!

For the tacos:

1 firm white fish filet (cod, haddock, catfish, flounder)

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 cup beer (whatever you’ve got laying around)

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp kosher salt

6 hard corn taco shells (blue is nice, but yellow is fine too!)

6 small “fajita-sized” flour tortillas

finely shredded cabbage

pico de gallo or chopped tomato

vegetable oil for frying

For the chipotle aioli :

1/2 cup good mayonnaise

3 tbsp chopped chipotle in adobo sauce

2 tbsp chopped cilantro

1 tsp hot sauce

juice from 1/2 a lime

Combine 1 cup flour, paprika, chili powder, cumin, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the beer to the flour mixture and let it sit for at least 30 minutes to let the yeasts in the beer develop. Meanwhile prepare the fish by patting the filet dry with paper towels, then cutting into 1×1 inch chunks. Place the remainder 1/2 cup of flour into a small bowl, and toss the fish chunks in the flour to coat.

For the aioli, combine the mayonaise, chipotle pepper, cilantro, hot sauce and lime juice. Add salt to taste. Place in serving dish and set aside to let flavors mingle.

Heat 1/2 inch vegetable oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat to 375 degrees.  Remove fish from the flour bowl, and place about half of the chunks into the beer batter. Once coated in the batter well, place in hot oil, being careful not to overcrowd. Fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Remove to paper towel lined plate to drain. Repeat with remaining chunks of fish.

Heat corn tortillas in a 350 degree oven to crisp, and warm the flour tortillas on a plate covered with plastic wrap in the microwave for about 45 seconds until pliable. Place the corn tortilla inside the flour tortilla. Place fried fish inside the shells (I had to cut some of the chunks in half as they were large), and top with shredded cabbage, chipotle aioli, and pico de gallo. A squirt of fresh lime juice is nice as well. Enjoy with a nice cold beer!

Source: Inspired by a dish at Gordon Biersch

I know I’ve been scarce lately. The week before last I was struck down with some kind of horrible stomach virus. I diddn’t eat anything for 5 days! Needless to say. There wasn’t much cooking OR blogging going on. I’m just getting to feeling completely like myself again this week. So, pardon my little leave of absence. I’m back, and looking forward to the changing of the seasons! While I love summertime, I think I am more of a fall/winter kind of gal when it comes down to it.

I just can’t believe that September is already upon us. Christmas will be here before we know it! We said goodbye to summer proper on Sunday. I know it’s not officially fall yet, but to me September = fall.We went to the beach and spent all afternoon. Ran into some friends there, and camped out next to them. It was wonderful! We swam and enjoyed the sun for hours. Because of the remnants of Hurricane Bill, there were great waves. We had a blast! Even Andrew, who has been hesitant about the ocean thusfar, was enjoying being in the water. And, he’s learned that the sand isn’t good to eat. Which, is a relief. Anyways, we came home and I made a quick dinner. It actually wasn’t this shrimp alfredo (it was taco salad), but it could have easily been. You could also easily substitute chicken breast, scallops, or even steak. I’ve made alfredo with crab too, but that’s another post!

Shrimp Alfredo

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tbsp lemon pepper seasoning

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

1 lb fettuccine

1 1/2 cups alfredo sauce (recipe follows)

fresh parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Toss shrimp with lemon pepper seasoning and olive oil. Add to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes. Or, until the shrimp turn pink and begin to curl. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove from skillet and place in a small bowl. Cover with foil and set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, and place back in the pot. Toss pasta with alfredo sauce to coat. Place shrimp on top of pasta, and top with chopped parsley.

Alfredo Sauce

1 stick unsalted butter

1 cup heavy cream

1 tbsp flour

3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the flour, and cook, whisking occasionally, for 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in the heavy cream. Cook, over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened. About 5 minutes. Take off heat, and whisk in the Parmesan cheese.

Fresh shrimp are very easy to come by here on the Eastern Shore. Shrimp are wonderful, you can virtually do anything you want to with them. I will spare you all any Bubba Blue quotes, but the man did have a good point. I’d go as far as to say they are the most versatile thing in the whole ocean. But, I have to say, my favorite preperation of a shrimp is the good old batter and fry. While I absolutely adore a zesty shrimp scampi, or an piping hot batch of Old Bay-laiden steamed shrimp, there is something to be said about the simplicity of a fried shrimp.

Because shrimp cook so quickly – things easily go awry. The difference between perfectly cooked and shrimp jerky is a matter of seconds. And, nothing is worse than an overcooked shrimp. Well, okay, I’m sure there is something worse…but, it’s pretty damn bad people!

Feel free to use frozen shrimp (I pity the fool!). Just make sure they have been thawed completely before battering and frying.

Fried Shrimp

1 1/2 lbs large shrimp (20/25 count), peeled and deveined

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup cornmeal (yellow or white)

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp Old Bay (or another seafood seasoning)

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

2 tbsp hot sauce

Vegetable oil for frying

Place 2 inches of oil into a large saucepan or dutch oven and heat to 375 degrees. While waiting for the oil to warm up, prepare the shrimp.

Combine the flour, cornmeal, Old Bay, salt and pepper in a small bowl. In a shallow dish combine the egg, milk, and hot sauce.

Drege the shrimp in the flour mixture first. Shake to remove excess flour from the shrimp. Then, place shrimp into the egg mixture. Turn to coat, remove and let excess drip off, then place back into flour mixture. Dredge in the flour thoroughly to make sure all sides are coated. Repeat process with remaining shrimp, working in batches of 4 or 5 at a time.

Place shrimp in the hot oil, and cook, turning over in oil several times, for about 2 minutes or until the shrimp are golden brown. Be careful not to overcook! Once you see the shrimp start to “curl up”, you know they are almost done. Give then another 30 seconds to 1 minute at that point, to let them finish their browning – then pull them out immediately and let drain on a paper towel lined plate.

You can keep shrimp warm in the oven on a wire rack set over a baking sheet.  But honestly, they are great at room temperature too. Serve with lemon wedges and a good, spicy cocktail sauce.

Father’s Day weekend is usually a big weekend around here. My dad’s birthday usually falls on, or on the day before. And, of course, since the baby has come along we’ve been celebrating Father’s Day. It also kind of signals the beginning of summer. And, for me, nothing says “summer” more than blue crabs from the Chesapeake Bay.

I’ve been eating these for every summer as far back as I remember. My dad, mom, and I would go “trotlining” early in the morning. By 10 o’clock we’d have a bushel of crabs. Now-adays, we live 20 minutes from “The Crab Capital Of The World”. Also known as Crisfield, Maryland. We buy the crabs by the bushel, live, right off the boat.  I don’t know that I’ve ever had a pre-steamed crab, and I don’t know that I’d care to. You just need to make sure you have a large enough steaming vessel to cook them…a 7 gallon turkey fryer is ideal.

Steamed Blue Crabs

1/2 bushel live blue crabs (4 dozen)

2 cups apple cider vinegar

2 cups beer (any kind will do)

8 cups water

1/2 cup Old Bay (seafood seasoning)

1/4 cup kosher salt

Combine the Old Bay and kosher salt. Combine the water, vinegar and beer in the bottom of a large steamer pot . Add the crabs in, a few at a time, seasoning with a tablespoon of seasoning here and there as you go. Bring the vinegar/water to a boil, then add the steamer basket full of crabs.  Cover. Cook on medium-high heat for 40 minutes. Remove lid, and continue to steam for an additional 5 minutes with the lid off before removing.

Serve on layers of newspaper, with vinegar and melted butter for dipping.

Happy Father’s Day to all you dad’s out there!