"Fish Out Of The Water"

There are so many fish in the sea. The variety of ingredients that blend well and the taste and aromas can bring excitement to your meal.

Would you like something out of the fresh or salt water? So many ingredients as there are ways to prepare them. Broil, deep-fry, steam, poach, saute, blacken or grill are some creative ways to prepare catfish. It has only 146 calories, white flesh with a delicate, mild flavor. Try it spicy or prepare it with something unfamiliar, like an unusual vegetable or exotic fruit.

You can cook this in a stew that is a great cool weather entry to your meal or as the main dish.

You can order fresh, salt water or shellfish online or from your local supermarket. Of course, double check for freshness from where you order from.

This is really good with a loaf of a crusty bread and served with coleslaw, collard greens or try it with fried plantains chips.

Plantains are usually firmer and lower in sugar then your yellow (Cavendish) banana. They can be fried or steamed. Use them in place of your potato.

Did you know that the banana tree is a herb and can grow up to 30 feet tall?Go figure.

You will need bacon, chopped onions, tomatoes that have been cored and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces, potatoes cut into cubes, catfish trimming, Tabasco black peper and catfish fillets cut into pieces, and dry white wine.

Brown bacon until crisp, drain, crumble, and set aside. Saute onions until tender, stir in tomatoes, potatoes, fish trimmings, Tabasco and black pepper. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer. When potatoes are almost done, remove trimmings and discard. Add fillets, wine, and bacon. Stir. Simmer until fillets are flaky. Adjust seasoning. You can add a shot of allspice, they'll be trying to figue out the seasoning. Serve in decorative bowls with plantains, bread, or a crisp garden salad.

Check out these pretty bowls for your fish stew

Here is another delicious dish you can serve as a lunch entree. You will need onions, strained fresh orange juice, grated orange peel, red snapper fillets, freshly grated ginger, and black pepper. Red snapper has a white flesh and is also delicate and mild in flavor.

Place onions, orange juice, peel in large baking dish. Add snapper and coat evenly. Marinate at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place fillets flesh side up and sprinkle with nutmeg and pepper. Bake and baste until flakey. Serve on bed of field greens, using marinade as dressing.

Do you want some texture to your next fish patty? Try out these moist, flaky, and crusty red snapper cakes. How about exciting your palette with some warmth.

Your ingredients for the cakes are skinless red snapper, onion, red bell pepper cilantro, jalapeno or other hot pepper, coriander, pepper, egg whites, bread crumbs, mayonaise, olive oil and butter for browning.

The ingredients for your a version of a chimichurri sauce are, olive oil, parsley, onion, garlic, cayenne, vinegar, mint, and cilantro. Blend with chopper or blender. When cakes are done, spoon lightly over cakes.

Chop onions, red bell, snapper, hot pepper, and cilantro. Blend in egg whites, pepper, and mayonaise. Shape fish mixture into patties, coat with bread crumbs. Chill to set crumbs. Heat butter and oil in skillet, brown patties on each side. Drain on paper towels, place in baking pan and bake on 400 degrees or until patty flakes when tested. Spoon sauce over cakes.

Enjoy!