Taco! Taco! Taco!

We had a bit of fried flounder leftover from the other night's dinner. As you know, the Hawthornes don't do leftovers , so I'm making flounder taco moreoevers for lunch.

I love this. A light and satisfying meal. Delicately fried fish accompanied by lettuce, tomato, onion, and a creamy citrus sriracha aoili on top of a crunchy crisp tortilla.

While the flounder bites were heating up in the toaster oven, I fried corn tortillas in a very thin layer of oil. Drain on paper towels.

Top the tortilla with the flounder, lettuce, tomato, and onion. Drizzle citrus sriracha aoli over top. Ingredients for Citrus Sriracha Aioli: 1/2 cup lemon and/or lime juice 1-2 TB sriracha sauce 1/4 cup Splenda or sugar 1/2 cup mayonnaise Mix all ingredients. Taste test and adjust accordingly. Start out light with the sriracha sauce and taste test. That stuff can creep up on you. Another lovely lunch.

Rosie Makes Crab Rangoon.

Wonderful crisp little Crab Rangoons, with a crabby, gooey, cheesy filling, with Sriracha Aioli.

About 4 ounces cream cheese. About 3 ounces mozzarella. A little basil.

Some mild goat cheese.

I snipped some scallions into the mix.

Mix your various creams together.

A tablespoon or so of cream.

2 cups of crab meat into the cheese mixture.

Mix in crab meat. Care to guess what this is?

It's cornmeal on my cutting board. Keeps the wontons from sticking.

Spoon a bit of the crab meat mixture onto the wonton.

Brush the sides with water and press to seal. You can make triangles ...

... or make little packets.

A headless Mr. Hawthorne wraps his Crab Rangoon.

Drop into hot oil.

Fry about one minute, or until the wontons are nice and brown. Drain.

Serve with your favorite dipping sauces. I'm going with a Citrus Sriracha Aioli.

The Hawthornes Get Their Oyster Fix. Again.

Yes. We're having more oysters. One must strike while the iron's hot. We have a window of opportunity for oysters - the months that have "r's" - but we don't count September. That's still a little too early for them. So we feast on them when we can. And feast we do.

Tonight's oysters are fried

and served with three different sauces: my Pineapple Mango Habanero Salsa, the squiggle on the left, Rosie's Pig Shack Sauce (her quite accurate rendition of Boar & Castle), her squiggle in the middle and Mr. Hawthorne's Lemon Sriracha Aioli, the barely visible pool of sauce on the right.

As usual, we have company in the kitchen.

They seem quite comfortable.

Jonquils and hyacinths from my garden adorn my counter.

After you shuck your oysters leave them in the erster likker. Dredge the oysters individually in a mixture of 3 parts flour, 1 part fine cornmeal, and Old Bay seasoning. Or use your own flour mixture. Sometimes we use a mixture of flour and semolina flour. And of course you could use your own seasonings.

Into 350 - 375 degree oil.

Maybe 45 - 60 seconds. Touch with the spatula. If they feel crispy, take them out.

Drain on paper towels.

Oooooh! Lookie! Lookie! Rosie got a little crabbie!!

This is a delicacy.

Plate. Add sauces. Serve.

Too bad I have to shoot this under indoor lighting.

It would be so much prettier under natural light.

Hey, Zzzadig? We need to talk. Don't you have a friend traveling from the Outer Banks to your area some time soon? I'll send you a cooler care package.

Mr. Hawthorne Makes Fish And Shrimp Tacos.

Two of our little Hawthornes are home and they love tacos.

Especially the way Mr. Hawthorne fixes them.

We're having shrimp and mahi mahi tacos with a citrus aioli and lettuce, onion, and tomatoes. First, Mr. Hawthorne wanted to doctor up his lemon sriracha aioli. Here's his original recipe: Ingredients for Lemon Sriracha Aioli: 1/2 cup lemon juice 1-2 TB Sriracha sauce 1/4 cup Splenda 1/2 cup mayonnaise Mix all ingredients. Taste test and adjust accordingly.

Mr. H. juiced a few limes ...

... and added the lime juice to his original Lemon Sriracha Aioli.

A little more mayo.

A tablespoon or two of sriracha.

And a tablespoon of some Splenda or sugar. Dressing done. Next up, Tempura Batter.

Ingredients for Tempura Batter Mix: 3/4 cup cornstarch 3 cups cake flour 2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp Kosher salt For batter, mix 3 parts of tempura mix with 2 parts sparkling water.

Dixie's chillin'.

Beau's having sweet dreams.

Back to the tacos.

Mr. Hawthorne thinly sliced his mahi mahi filets.

He peeled and deveined the shrimp.

Pat dry for the tempura batter mix to properly coat and adhere to the fish.

Shred some lettuce and chop some tomato.

A little red onion never hurts.

Corn tortillas, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, diced red onion, sliced mahi mahi, shrimp, Citrus Sriracha Aioli Sauce, and the middle container has minced parsley and cilantro.

Mr. Hawthorne prepares the Tempura Batter mix.

Whenever you fry, do so in batches. Never crowd the pan. Crowding reduces the temperature of your oil and results in a greasy final product.

Fry about 1 minute until crisp and golden brown.

Drain on paper towels.

To heat the corn tortillas, place a damp towel over top and nuke for a few seconds.

Everybody assembles their own tortillas.

I seem to have extra mouths at the table.

That lemon/lime/sriracha/aioli is the crowning glory of this dish. Trust me. Have I ever let you down?

Crispy fried goodness. On a warm corn tortilla.

Add the fixin's.

Delectable sweet shrimp and mahi mahi. Crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside. The freshness of the lettuce, tomato, onion, and cilantro. Citrusy sriracha aioli.

A perfect meal.

I love a good salad!

Enjoy!