Shrimp Fritters with Chipotle Tzatziki

I can't even think about fried food right now. All I want is a big salad or a piece of poached fish. Simple, healthy, clean. Shrimp fritters are a no-go in my life. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy them. I'm sure at some point I'll recover from our trip to NOLA, but for the next few weeks, I'm keeping things light. That's what five days of shrimp and grits, fried oyster po' boys, beignets, and Sazeracs will do to a person. No regrets, though. None at all.

Our time in New Orleans was memorable and we left with a good feel for the city. When we travel, I like to do one activity each day and we managed to do that. On our first day, we took the trolley up to the sculpture garden, which is situated in City Park next to the New Orleans Museum of Art.  Entry to the garden is free, and one can easily spend an hour perusing the 63 sculptures.

Looking to get a bit more general history of the city, we signed up for a guided tour of St. Louis Cemetery 1. The hour and a half spent walking with our guide was packed with information (some of which I'm sure we missed since he spoke at a dizzying pace). Having now seen the above-ground vaults, I need to watch the infamous scene from Easy Rider again. Apparently (and not terribly surprising), part of the movie was filmed without permission from the city and, ever since 1969, no other films have been allowed to shoot inside the cemetery.

Our third day was a bit rainy, which made for the perfect museum day. The Ogden was down the street from where we were staying. A relatively compact museum, the exhibits gave us a great foundation on Southern art.

But the part I'll remember the most was what we did on our last day. A friend who lives locally offered to pick us up to drive around the Ninth Ward. While a few buildings have been constructed over the years since Hurricane Katrina (mainly those financed by Brad Pitt), not much has been developed in this area. There are huge gaps between the houses. Instead of a city, it resembles a more rural neighborhood. A number of these houses are in a state of complete disrepair and should have been demolished years ago. Yet they haven't been touched and just sit there. It's a sobering sight; one that anyone visiting New Orleans should see.

I'm not sure when Eric and I will have a chance to return for another visit, but we already have a list of eats, drinks and landmarks we missed on this trip. And speaking of dining, I'll be sure to share my recommendations later this week.

Back to these fritters! So, see that book down there? These fritters are a result of that beautiful book by Ashley Rodriguez (of Not Without Salt fame). I've read through Date Night In once already (a sign of a stellar cookbook is that you read it from cover to cover) and have already gone back through passages. I just love them so much. Now, shrimp fritters aren't in the book, but a tzatziki dressing is and I went off of that. Because a fried frittery thing, especially one with a bit of a kick, needs a yogurt dipping sauce to cool things down (I should note that I modified it a bit by adding some chipotle pepper to give it a little smokiness).

For other a multitude of wonderful recipes and deeply personal stories by Ashley, be sure to buy her book.Don't wait. Go. Now. 

Shrimp Fritters with Chipotle Tzatziki

Sources: Fritters adapted from Emeril Lagasse's recipe via Food Network; Tzatziki adapted from Date Night In by Ashley Rodriguez

Yields: approx. 2 dozen fritters

Ingredients

For the shrimp fritters 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1/4 cup chopped green onion 1/4 cup chopped fennel 1 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces 1 tablespoon chopped garlic 1 tsp dried oregano 3 eggs, beaten 1 1/2 cup milk 2 teaspoons baking powder Salt Cayenne 3 1/4 cups flour Corn oil, for frying

For the chipotle tzatziki 1 cup plain Greek yogurt 2 teaspoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon Champagne vinegar 1/2 cucumber, seeded and chopped into small cubes 1 garlic clove, minced 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint 2 teaspoons fresh dill, minced 1 tsp ground chipotle pepper

1. Prepare the chipotle tzatziki by mixing together all the ingredients in a bowl. Season with salt and let sit in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve the fritters.

2. Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the green onion and fennel. Cook for about 3 minutes, until softened. Add the shrimp season with oregano and salt, and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Remove from heat.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of cayenne. Add the flour mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, to the egg mixture. Once it is fully incorporated, fold shrimp mixture into batter.

4. Pour corn oil in a large, deep saucepan so it comes up 3 inches. Heat the corn oil to 360 degrees F. Drop the batter, a heaping tablespoon at a time, into the hot oil. When the fritters pop to the surface, roll them around with a slotted spoon in the oil to brown them evenly. Remove and drain on paper towels. Serve with chipotle tzatziki.

Baked Branzini with Brown Butter Green Beans + Sweet Potatoes

Impulse buys are never ordinary in our house. When we go to Whole Foods to pick up an ingredient or two, inevitably the basket is full by the time we make it to the cashier.  For some, those purchases would be snack foods: cookies, chips, ice cream. And we'll get those from time to time. But that's not what often makes its way into our pile. Instead, it's cheese, olives, bread and fish. Yup, we impulse buy fish. It's just so hard to pass that counter and not buy one of those beauties.

This happened on a trip to the store last week.  I just went over to take a peek at their selection and saw the gentleman placing fresh branzino on top of bins of ice. I couldn't resist. Branzino is the perfect fish to prepare as a meal for two. They're not all that big, so a couple would be sufficient for dinner. Getting them ready for the oven isn't a huge production either... this can easily be done in under 45 minutes.

Baked Branzini with Brown Butter Green Beans and Sweet Potatoes

Yield Serves 2

Ingredients

2 whole branzini (1-1 1/2 pounds each), scaled, gutted and cleaned Olive oil Kosher salt 1 lemon, sliced 4 garlic cloves, peeled Tarragon Smoked Paprika

2 sweet potatoes, sliced 1/2" thick Olive oil Kosher salt

1 lb green beans, trimmed 3 tablespoons butter 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice Kosher salt Black pepper Almonds (optional)

Instructions

1. Set the racks in the middle and bottom shelf of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line two baking pans with aluminum foil.

2.  Place the branzini on one of the prepared baking pans. Drizzle 1/4 cup olive oil over both sides of the fish and rub to coat.  Season both sides, as well as the cavity, with Kosher salt and black pepper.  Stuff each of the cavities of the fish with lemon slices, tarragon and two garlic cloves. Sprinkle a hearty amount of smoked paprika over the fish.

3. Transfer the sweet potato slices to a bowl and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a couple teaspoons of salt. Put the sweet potatoes on the bottom rack and the fish on the middle rack. Cook for 20 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, set a large pan over medium heat. Add butter and let melt. At this point it will begin to bubble and foam. Keep an eye on the butter and watch for it to turn brown. Once it turns brown and begins to smell nutty, it is done. Add green beans and cook for another 2 minutes. Season with salt, black pepper, and lemon juice. Sprinkle almonds on top.

Honey Glazed Grilled Salmon + Carrot Slaw with Miso-Ginger Dressing

Honey Glazed Grilled Salmon and Carrot Slaw with Miso-Ginger Dressing

Growing up, my father, like most dads, was the grill master.  He will still find any excuse to cook outside... nothing will deter him. A little rain? Put on a jacket and get an umbrella! Eric's the same way and has been known to uncover the grill in the middle of winter. I certainly have an appreciation for the art of grilling and realize how exhilarating it is to cook over an open flame. But I let these guys enjoy their moment. They know what they're doing and they seem to take great pride in their talents, so why take that away from them? I'll stand back and let them do their thing.  Of course, my mother and I are the ones who season the food before it hits the grate... but I'll let that little detail slide.

I learned something recently that blew my mind, and yet it makes perfect sense. If one uses a marinade to baste meat or fish, then that liquid must first be cooked before it can be applied. I will often marinate whatever we're cooking, but seeing that I'm rarely in charge of grilling, I didn't pay attention to the process after the fish left the kitchen. It wasn't until I started to develop this recipe that I found out that marinade that's been used on raw fish or meat shouldn't be used to baste the protein, unless it's been heated prior to this point.

Now that we're half way through the work week, I suggest you get your weekend grill plans in order. We'll be using it quite a bit over ourselves, including next week when we spend a little time on the Cape.

Honey Glazed Grilled Salmon + Carrot Slaw with Miso-Ginger Dressing

Servings 8-10 servings as a side

Ingredients

For the salmon

1 ½ lb salmon fillet (skin on)
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/3 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce

For the carrot slaw
4 cups grated peeled carrots
1 scallion, light and dark green parts only, chopped
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon white miso paste
2 teaspoons honey
½ teaspoons red pepper flakes

Directions

For the carrot slaw

1. Make the dressing for the slaw by whisking together the rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, white miso paste, ginger, honey, and red pepper flakes.

2. Place the grated carrot, scallion and raisins in a serving bowl. Pour dressing on top and mix to combine. Cover and let sit in the fridge for an hour before serving.

For the grilled salmon

1. Prepare the marinade by whisking together the honey, olive oil, ground ginger, orange juice, lime juice and soy sauce in a bowl.

2. Place the salmon fillets in a glass baking dish and pour marinade over the fish. Cover and let sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

3. Lightly oil the grill. Preheat the grill to medium heat.

4. Transfer the salmon to a platter. Reserve the marinade.

5. Place the marinade in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, cook for one minute. This will kill off any bacteria and make it safe to baste the salmon while it’s cooking.

6. Place the salmon, skin side down, on the grill.

7. Cook for approximately 15-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the salmon, basting every 5 minutes. The way to tell if it's done is by testing the flesh with a fork. When it's done, it will begin to flake. Additionally, if you cut into the salmon, the meat should be opaque.

8. Transfer the fish to a platter and serve with carrot slaw.