Fried catfish and hushpuppies!

Josh got me the Hot and Hot Fish Club Cookbook for a very early Christmas gift so I've been reading it before bed. All that Southern food really makes me want... catfish! Don't ask me how my mind works. So all I've been able to think about for the last couple days has been catfish! And what goes with catfish? Hushpuppies and coleslaw, naturally.

After moving rather slowly around the kitchen for a while, I finally started prepping. I remembered that the hushpuppies were incredibly painful, prep-wise, not to mention that I was never able to make they even somewhat round. So I was worried. I made the hushpuppy batter with Riverview cornmeal (finely ground) which I then let rest until I was ready to cook and it firmed up a bit. So I added in the egg whites at the very end.

Here we have the prepped rather large pieces of catfish with its cornmeal ready to go. And then in the white bowl, the hushpuppy batter all ready to go straight into the fryer.

I was able to get the hushpuppies relative round, as you can see! The batter held together much better. Scott Peacock's book says that finely groun cornmeal requires more buttermilk but then when it rests, it absorbs even more. Personally, I think the consistency turned out well. Which I balled up the hushpuppies and dropped them into the fryer, Josh tended them and took them out when they were golden brown.

All the catfish and hushpuppies out of the fryer. They turned out well, if I do say so myself!

in retrospect, the catfish should have been thinner, but then we wouldn't have finished them all!

Ah, coleslaw. We've tried making a lot of coleslaw over the years. Lots of recipes, lots of methods. This one is from the Hot and Hot cookbook. No wilting involved. Half the cabbage was benrinered and half was hand-sliced but in the end, I mixed the two together. I think I like the hand-cut better. Anyway, the coleslaw wilted while it chilled in the fridge. We like this recipe. It leaks a lot, but it's pretty good.

In other news, I cleaned out the AeroGarden and replanted it. I left the chives, which are finally growing, and added in basil, parsley, and cilantro. Funny, the cilantro is coriander. I guess that is how that works. I also planted three salad greens on the left side. We'll see how that goes!

I also bought a second AeroGarden to grow tomatoes. I haven't started that one yet. Soon.