Whitney Miller's Oven-Fried Catfish with Fresh Dill Tartar Sauce

I love the TV show Masterchef!  I have a secret crush on Gordon Ramsey....shhh, don't tell anyone!  Whitney Miller was the first winner of Masterchef and just released her first cookbook."Modern Hospitality:Simple Recipes with Southern Charm".  Recently Whitney made an appearance on Masterchef with several of her recipes for the contestants to try and recreate.  This catfish recipe was chosen for all of them to copy.  It looked so good at the time, so when I got my hands on the cookbook I knew it was one of the first recipes I wanted to try. Whitney's cookbook is beautifully illustrated and her recipes really are simple with an obvious southern flare. The catfish was so yummy and very simple to prepare!

Let's get started:

Catfish

1 cup low-fat buttermilk

4 catfish fillets (about 1/2 pound each)

3/4 cup fine-grind cornmeal

3/4 cup teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon crushed freeze dried chives

Pinch of cayenne pepper

2 tablespoon canola oil

To prepare the fish: Pour the buttermilk into a shallow baking dish. Place the catfish fillets in the buttermilk and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 25 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine the cornmeal, onion powder, garlic powder, lemon pepper seasoning, salt, chives, and cayenne in a shallow dish or pie plate.

Pour the oil into a large cast iron skillet and turn to coat the bottom. Place in the oven to heat for 6 minutes.

Working with 1 fillet at a time, shake off the excess buttermilk and dredge in the cornmeal mixture to coat.

Place cornmeal-coated fillets in the preheated skillet. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn the fillets and bake until golden brown and crisp, 10-15 minutes (depending on the size of the fillets).

Fresh Dill Tarter Sauce

1 cup mayonnaise

2 teaspoons stone-ground mustard

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

3/4 teaspoon minced fresh dill

3/4 teaspoon minced fresh chives

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.

Serve the hot fish with the tarter sauce.

Those are Whitney's bacon wrapped brussels sprouts with the fish and tarter sauce.  See the previous post for that recipe or click on the link provided!  If you like brussels sprouts you are gonna love these!!

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Spicy Island Shrimp

Spicy Island Shrimp

This is one of my favorite shrimp dishes of all time.  I think it's similar to a shrimp creole recipe.  The original recipe I started with came from a Taste of Home recipe card but I've changed it so much over the years I don't think it's worth posting the original inspiration. I did however, keep the original name. My two older children love this dish too!  It's easy enough to tone down the hot spices for them also.  I like to add a little more cayenne for myself though!

Let's get started:

Spicy Island Shrimp

1 large green pepper, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1/2 cup butter or margarine

2 pounds uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined*

2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce

1/3 tablespoons chopped green onions**

3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley**

2 teaspoons of salt

2 teaspoons of black pepper

3 teaspoons of paprika

2 teaspoons of garlic powder

3 teaspoons of oregano

2 teaspoons of thyme

1/2-1 teaspoon of white pepper***

1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper***

Cooked rice

In a large skillet saute the green pepper and onion in butter until tender.  Reduce heat and add shrimp.  Cook for about 5 minutes until shrimp are pink.

* I have used frozen cooked shrimp many times with this dish.  I usually run cold water over them until defrosted and then pat dry.  Instead of adding them once the bell peppers and onions are ready, you must add them during the last 5-7 minutes of cooking.

Stir in the tomato sauce, green onions, parsley and other seasonings. Then bring it to a slight boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes or until slightly thickened.

**I have also used dried parsley and freezed dried chives instead of fresh several times.  If this is something that you might do just reduce the amount by a 1/3.

***If you are making this for children or someone who is not fond of spicy foods reduce the white pepper and cayenne pepper.

This is one of those sauces that you can play with a lot.  If you want more oregano...add it.  Or less garlic powder....reduce it.  In that 20 minutes of simmering taste it a couple of times and increase as desired.  Start on the low end at first to be on the safe side when you add the spices. I've added basil and rosemary a few times too!  I've also substituted red, yellow, and orange bell peppers for the green ones. That is what I love about this dish.  If I'm feeling a little spicy then I just add a dash more cayenne pepper.  If you want more sauce just add another can of tomato sauce and increase your spices.  This is why I love this dish!

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