Seafood Dinner Tonight. Big Surprise There.

Last night, Mr. Hawthorne came home with some lovely wahoo fillets.

He seasoned them with salt and pepper.

Then sauteed them in extra-light olive oil and unsalted butter.

On all sides.

Perfectly cooked. But YOWZA! They tasted like CRAP. Waaaay too fishy. I don't know what happened. We love wahoo, but hated these fillets. So, we put them away, until today, when Mr. Hawthorne tried to redeem the wahoo. We're talking fish cakes.

First, he diced onion and green and red peppers.

Then, he added the torn wahoo to the mix.

Some panko breadcrumbs went in along with 1 slice, torn, of whole wheat bread.

Two beaten eggs.

A glop of mayo.

Some yellow mustard.

A bit of Old Bay seasoning went in then he formed the fish mixture into patties and rolled them in more panko.

Saute in extra light Bertolli olive oil and unsalted butter.

Turn over.

Oh golly. This was good. No fishy taste. Just good fish. The sauce is mayo, coarse ground mustard, smushed capers and a bit of caper joos, lemon juice, and a tiny bit of sweet relish. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I'm preparing THE FIRST OYSTERS OF THE SEASON!

I'm going to be broiling oysters with toppings. And here's my first topping mixture: Chopped spinach Red pepper Onion

I melted a bit of unsalted butter in the skillet, then added the spinach.

After coating the spinach with the butter, I added a little bit of water and let the spinach steam. Then drained whatever water was left.

Next, I added in some more butter.

And added the peppers and onions.

Saute for a minute or two.

Then add in some cream.

Season with salt, pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg.

Here are my lovely oysters.

I shucked away until I got a pan full of oysters.

Now, I decided to make three different toppings: 1) Corn salsa with jalapeno tostados and Monterey Jack cheese. 2) Gremolata with cheeses. 3) Spinach mixture with Swiss cheese and panko breadcrumbs.

On the left, I have the corn salsa we bought at the Amish Market in Yanceyville, NC. Mr. Hawthorne saw a lady there putting 5 jars of this stuff in her cart and he decided he must have some. It's good stuff. In the middle, I have some gremolata topping.

On the right, I have my spinach/onion/red pepper/cream/nutmeg mixture.

For the corn salsa topped oysters, I'm going to add crushed jalapeno tostados and Monterey Jack cheese. For the spinach oysters, I'm going to add Swiss cheese and panko.

Here are the corn salsa and tostado toppings.

Close up.

Close up of spinach topped oysters.

Another close up, since they looked soooo good.

Corn salsa and tostado topped oyster.

Another one, just because it looks gooood.

I topped the spinach oysters with Swiss cheese and Panko.

The gremolata topped oysters have tostado and panko on them, plus cheese.

Close up of spinach oyster with cheese and panko.

Corn salsa and Monterey Jack cheese and tostado.

Spinach.

Corn.

Spinach.

Spinach oyster ready for the broiler.

I put them under the broiler (at 350 degrees - I have a very HOT broiler) for 5-6 minutes.

Corn salsa, tostado, Monterey Jack cheese oyster on the left, gremolata oyster in middle, and spinach, Swiss cheese, and panko oyster on the right.

Enjoy the views.

Delicious.