Mr. Hawthorne Fries Flounder.

 Well...

Would you lookie here?

 Lunch today is courtesy of Youngest Hawthorne.

What a nice flounder!

 From canal to table in just about 2 hours.

 I made a cole slaw.

Shredded about 2-3 cups worth of cabbage,

along with 1/2 carrot and a little green pepper.

Then I mixed the dressing:

1 TB sugar

1 TB cider vinegar

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 TB buttermilk

pinch kosher salt

couple shakes Lawry's seasoned pepper

Mix all or thereabouts together.

Pour over cabbage mix and toss to coat.

Let sit in fridge for about an hour

so the flavors develop.

For the fish fry batter -

2 handfuls dried potato flakes

1 handful cornstarch

1 handful cornmeal

1/2 handful flour

pinch of kosher salt

some Lawry's seasoning pepper

Mix all together and evenly coat flounder fillets.

Heat 1/4 " peanut oil in iron skillet

to about 350°.

Fry each side about 2 minutes,

or until golden brown.

Drain on paper towels.

 Sweet!

Flounder - Water To Table In About Two Hours.

 We are lucky enough to have several fine fishermen in our family -

 quite a plus when seafood is a major part of one's diet.

Youngest Hawthorne brought home this 18-inch flounder.

I am looking forward to lunch today.

 Boy did a nice job of fileting.

 We like to soak our filets in buttermilk for at least 30 minutes.

Drain the filets, knocking off excess buttermilk

and dredge through a mixture of

1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup semolina flour,

and 1/3 cup cornstarch with a generous helping of Old Bay.

Fry in small batches in 350° peanut oil.

Depending on thickness of filets,

fry for 3-4 minutes, until golden brown

Usually, they'll float to the top.

 Drain on racks.

 

 This is sublime on its own.

Just a twist of lemon.

The meat is sweet and tender.

The crust is light and crunchy.

 Fried flounder, 2 hours out of the water!

Green beans, just picked out of garden,

on the left.

For the green beans:

Blanch green beans in salted boiling water,

until al dente, about 3-4 minutes.

Drain and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking and set the color.

Make a simple vinaigrette with rice vinegar,

a little sugar, kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper.

Whisk in a bit of olive oil and taste-test.

Add in some crumbled feta and toasted walnuts and toss.

Cover, refrigerate, and let flavors get acquainted.

For the cole slaw,

I picked a purple cabbage out of the garden,

julienned a some carrots into it,

then made a 1/2 and 1/2 mayonnaise and buttermilk dressing

with a little distilled white vinegar and sugar.

Season with Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.

Toss and refrigerate for the flavors to meld.

My last accoutrement is a zucchini, squash, and cucumber salad

straight from the garden.

Use baby vegetables.

Slice and dice.

Toss together.

Make of dressing of mayonnaise,

rice wine vinegar, some chopped fresh dill, basil, and tarragon.

Season with Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.

Mr. Hawthorne Makes Flounder. Two Ways.

 Both my Hawthorne Boys are home

and they love fish.

 Middle Hawthorne prefers his flounder fried.

 And I have a perfect batter 

that's light as can be.

Tempura mix:

3/4 cup cornstarch

3 cups cake flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp Kosher salt.

Mix 3 parts tempura  mix with 2 parts beer.

Fry in an iron skillet in canola oil

at 350 - 375 degrees.

2 - 2 1/2 minutes each side,

depending on thickness.

 That's a beautiful crust.

Inside, the fish was light and sweet.

Youngest Hawthorne prefers his fish

either baked or pan-seared.

 For this meal, we're going with blackened flounder.

Mr. Hawthorne made a spicy rub:

2 TB Old Bay seasoning

1 TB dehydrated onion

1 TB granulated garlic

1 TB + 1 tsp hot paprika

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp onion powder

 Sear in a little peanut oil at 375 degrees.

About two minutes each side.

 I love the spicy rub.

 Serve with a nice homemade salsa

and my black bean and corn salsa
with lime and cumin dressing.

 I almost forgot the coleslaw.
And remind me next time Mr. Hawthorne makes coleslaw,
to get the recipe for his dressing.
It's one of my favorites.
 

Another excellent meal from Mr. Hawthorne.

Mr. Hawthorne Fries Flounder.

Mr. Hawthorne and I have had quite a bit of frying experience.
We've tried all manner of different batters,
tempuras, coatings, and breadings,
and we've come up with a new one,
which is extremely light, crispy, and flavorful.
In fact, it's my new favorite breading.

The topping is a fresh salad of red onion,
red and green pepper, rice vinegar, and sugar.
The sauce is ... my first attempt at Japanese mayonnaise.
 What is Japanese mayonnaise?
 Regular mayonnaise is made from vegetable oil and egg yolks.
 It is a stable emulsion made from the oil and yolks,
 generally seasoned with salt, mustard,
 and lemon juice and/or distilled vinegar.
 Japanese mayonnaise is typically made with rice vinegar and MSG,
 and its texture is much thinner than commercial mayonnaise.
 I Googled around and found numerous recipes
for Japanese mayonnaise and decided
to pick and choose different ingredients,
 using what I had on hand.
I did not have Yuzu juice, MSG, or dashi powder
 as called for in some of the recipes I read.
 There is also a commercial product called Kewpie Mayonnaise,
introduced to Japan in 1925,
 which is a ubiquitous condiment in Japanese households.

Rosie's Japanese mayonnaise ingredients:
1 egg yolk, room temperature
 1 tsp lime juice
1 tsp rice vinegar
 1 tsp miso
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp hot mustard
 1/4 cup canola oil
 Beat egg yolk.
Beat in lime juice, rice vinegar, miso, sugar, and mustard.
 Beat in oil to form an emulsion.

Lime juice into beaten yolk.

Rice vinegar.

Miso.
 Now, I have no dashi powder and no Yuzo juice,
 but I do have Miso.
I saw Miso at the Teeter some time ago and bought it,
 not really knowing what it was.
Now I know:
Miso is:
 soybean paste (water,soybean, rice, salt),
 sugar, seaweed extract, high fructose corn syrup,
 wheat extract, onion powder, shitake mushroom extract, and alcohol.

The bottle of miso says it's more than soup:  
Minute Miso can be added to many 
of your favorite recipes and side dishes including salads,
 marinades, and even a Pumpkin Potage ...
My particular bottle was:  
Produced in Factory that uses seeds, milk, eggs,
 bonito, mackerel, sardine, shellfish, molluscs, and wheat.
 Even more appealing was this:
 Miso only takes a moment to prepare
 and can travel with you anywhere you go.
  ?
 Emphasis mine.

Hot mustard.

Sugar.

While running the mini-processor,
slowly pour in the oil to make an emulsion.

Mine is more of a sauce than an emulsion.
I tasted at this point and really liked the flavors so I stopped.
 Next time, I'll try doubling - tripling up on the seasonings
 and adding more oil to make a true emulsion.
Also, I'll use a whisk, not my little processor.
A whisk does a better job.

On to the flounder.

The breading for the flounder is Idaho Spuds Mashed Potatoes
 and Panko Breadcrumbs.
The wine is for the cook.
 Do NOT panic about Rosie using instant potatoes.
 Rosie has not crossed over to the dark side
. She's just not using the potatoes as they were intended to be used.
And she got this trick from Chef Anne Burrell.

Equal amount panko and potato spuds.

Dredge flounder filets in panko and spuds.

Fry over medium high heat, turning over when golden brown
 - about 2 minutes each side.

I wanted something quick and bright to go on top, so ...

I chopped up some red onion and red and green pepper.

Add in a tablespoon of sugar
and a tablespoon of rice vinegar and freshly ground salt and pepper.

Serve flounder with a pool of the Japanese sauce
 and the onion and pepper confetti.

The flounder was very light and I loved the panko and potato breading.
Very crispy
 I liked my Japanese sauce.
I won't call it a mayonnaise since I stopped adding oi
l before I got a true emulsion, but it was quite good.

I'll be tweaking the Japanese "mayonnaise,"

so stay tuned.

Mr. Hawthorne Fixes Dinner. Fried Flounder And Pickles.

Every now and then, the Hawthornes must have their fried fix.
 Today it will be in the form of fried flounder and pickles.

Mr. Hawthorne soaked the flounder filets in buttermilk.

Then he dredged the flounder in a combination of 2 parts flour and 1 part cornmeal with some Old Bay seasoning. Fry in hot oil at 350 - 375 degrees until golden brown, 2-3 minutes.

The pickles went into the same flour mixture and then into the hot oil.
 Rosie Tip #254.
Fry the pickles first, before you do the fish.
 If you were making French fries, you'd fry them before you fried the fish.
 Leave the fish for last.

Drain on paper towels.

A properly fried pickle with a light crust is a thing of beauty.

Rosie’s Remoulade

1 cup mayo
 2 TB finely chopped onion
1 TB finely chopped celery
2 small garlic cloves, minced
Heaping tsp capers, minced
2 TB white vinegar
2 TB coarse ground mustard
4 grinds sea salt 10 grinds pepper
 1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp cumin
And my secret ingredient- fresh, green coriander seeds- about 2 dozen.
If all you have is ground coriander, add in a teaspoon of that.
It just won't have the same pop and citrus accent as the fresh coriander.

Best when served on a deck at sunset

overlooking the water.

Excellent flounder filet. Light breading. Tender, juicy fish.

OK. I'm done with fried for now.
 Give me some fresh vegetables.
 Preferably from my garden.