Walleye Cakes

by almost_rosey // 11Feb2018 // No Comments

This ice fishing season my guy hasn’t had a full weekend off of work. A few weeks ago he actually had 5 days off in a row and two of those days happened to be a Saturday & Sunday. We decided to take the sleds up to the reefs to go fishing. We are planning a trip up to Flag Island which is a 55mile snowmobile trip so it was also a good way to get ready for that trip as well.

This year the lake did not freeze the best. It’s very jagged. The trail snakes around all over the place due to the jacked up ice. Fortunately it means that not many people are going to these reefs to go fishing. The resorts can’t get up there so it is limited to basically snowmobiles which means it hasn’t been (and most likely won’t be) fished out.

We ended up having one of the best fishing days of our lives. They weren’t giant fish but they were all perfect sized for eating. Actually, a few were too big for our eating preferences. We ended up catching out limit (16 for two people) in 2 hours and threw a ton back as well. It was a great day of fishing and a great reminder of why we love where we live.

I ended up making fish tacos that first night from our catch but forgot to take photos so will have to make it again in the future. I also made walleye cakes the next day for dinner. It’s one of my many fave ways to eat walleye.

Walleye Cakes (serves 2)

2 large walleye fillets (or use 4 small fillets) I used the fillets from an 18 inch walleye.
salt, pepper, and seasoning of your choice (I used Mrs. Dash table blend which is a great generic seasoning with great flavor)
1 egg
1 tsp mustard
chopped onion (2-4tbsp)
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs (plain or Italian seasoned)
vegetable oil

Salt & pepper & season the walleyes to taste (I just sprinkle each over both sides of the fish). Bake in a 400F oven for 12 minutes or until walleye is cooked through. Let cool slightly.

Flake the walleye in a medium sized bowl & add the egg, mustard, onion, and breadcrumbs. Add a bit more salt & pepper & seasoning (if using Italian seasoned you can just add salt & pepper). Mix until combined. Form into patties.

Place enough oil in a medium skillet to coat the bottom about 1/4 to 1/2 inch high. Heat over medium heat. Place walleye cakes in skillet and cook for a few minutes each side until golden brown. Flip and repeat. Serve with side of your choice.

Breaded & Baked Walleye

by almost_rosey // 16Sep2017 // No Comments

My guy likes to joke that all we eat is walleye and venison. This is far from the truth but for a good portion of the year we eat them roughly once a week but for sure every other week. I don’t mind. I love them both. They are nice to rotate with your standard chicken, pork, beef, etc. It’s also a nice feeling to be able to say that you caught your own dinner or harvested it during hunting season. To make it even better it’s a great feeling to add in fresh veggies from the garden. Roasted green beans & tomatoes are one of my favorite side dishes and they go perfectly with baked walleye. We might not be living off the grid but I’d say we are fairly self-sufficient and that makes cooking dinner extra enjoyable and satisfying.

Breaded & Baked Walleye (serves 2)

2-4 fillets walleye
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp whole grain mustard
1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1-2 tsp Blackened Seasoning
salt to taste
cooking spray, olive oil, or melted butter

Mix mayonnaise & mustard on a plate. Mix breadcrumbs & seasonings on a plate. Coat the walleye on both sides with the mayo/mustard mixture. Dip in the seasoned breadcrumbs to coat & shake to get rid of excess crumbs.

Place on a lightly greased baking sheet & spray with cooking spray or drizzle with olive oil or melted butter. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Broil for 2-3 minutes. Serve with sides of choice (I chose creamy rice and roasted green beans & tomatoes fresh from the garden).

Crispy Walleye Sandwich

by almost_rosey // 11Sep2017 // No Comments

Yesterday was the official start to Baking Sunday. I do tend to bake year round on Sundays but since football season started yesterday my true Baking Sunday began as well. I don’t just bake on these “Baking Sundays.” I use them for various activities. I try to blog, make new recipes in general, meal plan, do canning, etc.

I did actually bake something yesterday. I made an apple quick bread. I was going to make pepper jelly as well but didn’t get around to it. I also made lunch for my guy who happened to have the day off which was a nice surprise.

He rarely has weekend days off as he is a fishing guide. Sounds awesome in theory but as a consequence we don’t get many weekends together in the summer. We do get to eat walleye on a fairly regular basis though. Normally I make cajun walleye which is baked in the oven so it’s very light. He eats a lot of fried fish while working so we tend to stay away from beer battered walleye as delicious as it is.

I decided to make a crispy walleye sandwich. I thought it would be the perfect Football Sunday lunch. I have to say I was very pleased with how it turned out. The walleye was perfectly crispy & the garden fresh lettuce & tomatoes gave it just the right touch. Of course the tartar sauce is absolutely necessary as well. I make mine to be a smidge spicy but of course the sweetness of the relish shines through and pairs amazingly well with the pan fried fish.

Crispy Walleye Sandwich (serves 2)

2 walleye fillets
Blackened Seasoning
all-purpose flour
1 egg, beaten
panko breadcrumbs
vegetable oil (for frying)
brat buns (or hoagie buns)
lettuce & tomato
tartar sauce
- You can use store bought but homemade is so much better. Mix 2 tbsp mayo, a few splashes lemon juice, 1 tbsp relish, onion powder, garlic powder & dill to taste, 1/2 tsp hot sauce (I used asian chili sauce). Adjust seasonings as needed.

Season the fillets liberally with blackened seasoning (if using salt free seasoning add salt as well). Dredge the fillets in flour, followed by the egg, and finally the panko breadcrumbs.

Place enough oil in a large frypan to be about 1/2 inch deep. Heat oil over medium heat. Place fillets in hot oil and cook over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Turn heat down to medium-low & cook for an additional 3 minutes. Flip fillets over and cook for about 5 minutes (you may need to turn the heat back up for a minute or so to get a nice crisp & golden color).

Bake or broil buns until warmed through & slightly crispy. Slather with tartar sauce. Top with lettuce, tomato & crispy walleye.

Walleye Cakes for Lunch

by almost_rosey // 17Jan2017 // No Comments

Since moving to Almost Canada my guy and I have not travelled down to the cities for Christmas. With the winter weather neither of us are too keen on driving the 325 miles back to our families. I’ve offered to host Christmas up here but no one has taken me up on it – go figure.

The past two years we have gone fishing on Christmas weekend. This year we decided to make it more of an event, an adventure if you will, and go up north. Well, further north. We took out the snowmobiles and drove across the lake up to the islands. We figured it was early enough with the fishing still being good on the south shore that no one would be up there. We were right. We had the entire place to ourselves.

The ride up was spectacular. It was a beautiful day outside & the trail was so smooth. It was very peaceful fishing with no one around & the fishing was great. We came home with 2 fish shy of our limit of good eaters.

At the end of the day when my guy was getting stuff ready to head back home I thought I had a monster of a walleye. It turned out to be an eel pout but it sure was fun pulling that guy up through the ice.

One of the things I love about fishing is being able to put dinner on the table with ridiculously fresh fish. I think we actually did a fish fry that evening with some of the fish but obviously we had more fish than we could eat in a single sitting. A few days later I made walleye cakes for lunch & served them with coleslaw.

Walleye Cakes (serves 2)

4 fillets (2 fish that were 12-15inches) previously cooked* with cajun/blackened seasoning
1 egg
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp spicy brown mustard
2 green onions, chopped
splash or two lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
1/2-1 tsp additional cajun seasoning or old bay seasoning
1/4-1/3 cup fine bread crumbs (guesstimate…I don’t actually know how much I added. Enough so that the mixture holds well)
oil (for cooking walleye cakes)

*To cook the walleye, place the walleye on a baking sheet lined with foil & spray with cooking spray or lightly coat it in olive oil. Lightly season the fillets on both sides with blackened seasoning or cajun seasoning. Spray fillets with cooking spray or drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 400F depending on the size of the fillets until cooked through. Once cooked, place them in a medium mixing bowl in the fridge covered with plastic wrap to be used the next day or shred into chunks to be used immediately.

Cooking the Walleye Cakes: Shred the fillets if needed. Add all the ingredients except for the oil.

Mix the ingredients & form into patties (makes roughly 4-6 patties, 2-3 patties for each person).

Place a small amount of oil in a skillet over medium heat & cook the walleye cakes for about 3 minutes per side until golden brown & heated through. Place on a paper towel to drain off excess oil.

Serve with coleslaw or side of your choice. (I also like to drizzle my walleye cakes with asian chili sauce).

Walleye Cakes & A Poached Egg

by almost_rosey // 23Mar2016 // No Comments

This was an exceptionally short ice fishing season. It hasn’t been this short in 28 years for everyone in Almost Canada. For Lake Minnetonka it was the shortest ice out season since 1887. Wow. That is a crazy record. Because of this I didn’t get to go fishing as often as I would have liked. Normally I have to find creative ways to work through all the walleye we catch but not this year. I decided to make walleye cakes with this batch which is one of my favorite ways to eat walleye. I was even adventurous enough to make poached eggs for the first time & was very pleased with the results.

Walleye Cakes (serves 2)

½ vacuum sealed bag walleye (roughly 4 small fillets or 2 medium fillets) previously cooked*
1 egg
2 tbsp Mayonnaise
1-2tsp Lemon juice
1/4-1/3 cup potato flakes
Oil
2-4 poached eggs (I just served 1 egg per person but feel free to do more)

*To cook the walleye, place the walleye on a baking sheet lined with foil & spray with cooking spray or lightly coat it in olive oil. Lightly season the fillets on both sides with blackened seasoning or cajun seasoning. Spray fillets with cooking spray or drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the fillets until cooked through. Once cooked, place them in a medium mixing bowl in the fridge covered with plastic wrap to be used the next day or shred into chunks to be used immediately.

Cooking the Walleye Cakes: Shred the fillets if needed. Add all the ingredients except for the oil & the eggs that you will poach.

Mix the ingredients & form into patties (makes roughly (6) 2in patties – 3 patties for each person).

Place a small amount of oil in a skillet over medium to medium-high heat & cook the walleye cakes for 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown & heated through. Place on a paper towel to drain off excess oil.

Serve with poached eggs.

Parmesan Encrusted Walleye with Lettuce Risotto

by almost_rosey // 6Feb2014 // No Comments

I mentioned previously that I had lots of Walleye in my freezer that needed to be cooked and that I had to get creative with it. I decided that I was going to think of it as any type of fish that I wanted, so that it could be prepared in any way that I wanted. I needed to let go of all my previous thoughts about how to cook walleye. I decided to try and make more of a gourmet dish. I though I would encrust it with parmesan and then make a nice side to accompany it.

Thus, I ended up with Parmesan Encrusted Walleye & Lettuce Risotto. Neither of these things is new, but I have never made either of them. More importantly, I came up with my own recipes for them. Although I am sure they are similar to other recipes out there (as many recipes are similar to one another), at least I can say they are mine.

For the Walleye…

Walleye, approximately 4 fillets fresh or thawed if frozen (enough for 2 people)
Flour
Salt & pepper
1 egg
Milk
Breadcrumbs, seasoned
Parmesan cheese, finely grated (the kind that comes in a “shaky” container)
Olive oil

For the Lettuce Risotto…

Olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2/3 cup Arborio rice
¼ head iceberg lettuce or 4oz lettuce, chopped
1 cup chicken stock
2.5-3 cups water
1 tbsp butter
2-4 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese

Chop the onion and place in a skillet with a few teaspoons of olive oil. Sauté over medium heat until tender and slightly colored.

Meanwhile get two plates and a bowl for the walleye prep. In one plate, place flour and salt & pepper. Gently mix with a fork. In a bowl, beat 1 egg with a little bit of milk. In the last plate, place equal amounts breadcrumbs & parmesan cheese & mix.

After the onion is tender, add the Arborio rice and stir for 2 minutes until toasted, but not browned.

Add ½ cup chicken stock and stir until most of the liquid has been absorbed.

Add the lettuce and sauté until slightly wilted.

Add the rest of the stock and ½ cup water. Stir until most of the liquid has been absorbed and add ½-1 cup water increments until the rice is al dente*. It should be creamy. Stir in the butter and freshly grated parmesan cheese.

*When you have about ½ cup water left to add to the risotto, prep the walleye. Take the walleye and place in the flour mixture, coating both sides, and shake the excess off. Next, place it in the egg & milk mixture. Finally, place it in the breadcrumbs & parmesan cheese mixture.

Place the coated walleye in a skillet with olive oil and cook over medium to medium high heat for about 2 minutes per side until cooked through and golden brown.

Serve the walleye over the risotto and enjoy.

Getting Creative with Walleye

by almost_rosey // 29Jan2014 // 1 Comment

A few weeks ago my fishing guide took me out ice fishing. Let me explain how wonderful this is…

We get up and get ready and leave on snowmobiles from the house. We cross the street to reach a ditch and drive for a very short distance to a park with access for us to get on the river/lake. We continue to drive until we find a suitable place to fish and move if necessary. We fish and then drive home. It’s amazing if you ice fish.

We went out fishing and stopped at a point but there were no fish to be found. We moved to another spot a smidge over 5 miles away where my fishing guide was sure there would be fish. The water was a bit too shallow so we moved just a few feet away to where it was deeper. That’s when the action started. It was slow at first but around lunch time the bites were constant and they were all nicely sized fish. We ended up coming home with one shy of our limit but added a perch in there as well to make up for it. I caught the biggest walleye of my life so far…a solid 18 inches.

Now what to do with all these fish…

Of course for lunch the next day we fried them up in beer batter. A method of eating fish that is always delicious. In the past I have made fish in a bag or en papillote where I got the recipe from Emiglia. I always add onions to the bag when I make this & use olive oil instead as I have that readily available.

Cabillaud en Papillote

I decided to look to her again for guidance as I have never really cooked fish. Almost 30 and never cooked fish. Well now I need to start. I need to get creative as I have lots of walleye and will continue to have lots of walleye to work with. I decided to make blackened walleye. There are no pictures as it was too delicious and I forgot to take them. My fishing guide who has been eating fish his whole life said it was the best walleye he ever had. I messed up and used 1tsp oregano instead of 1/4 but it didn’t matter. The fish was so flavorful! I also served it with rice & sautéed onions and roasted broccoli. The sauce was divine on the rice & onions.

Blackened Fish

As I had just finished a 12 Soups of Christmas challenge I thought I should attempt a seafood chowder. I used my freshly caught walleye & shrimp that I had in the freezer. I did not have fish stock or clam juice so the next time I make it I would replace the water with one of those items.

Seafood Chowder

1/4lb bacon
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 small to medium carrots, peeled & chopped
2 potatoes, diced
1/4tsp cayenne
1/4tsp salt
1tsp thyme
black pepper to taste
16-24oz water
10-12 oz milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup (feel free to use cream of potato or another cream based soup)
Walleye, cut into bite sized pieces (perhaps 4 average walleye, I had one vacuumed sealed pack)
Shrimp, peeled & deveined (I used about 12-15 medium shrimp)

Cook bacon in large pot until crispy. Remove and set aside. Add onion & carrots to bacon grease and cook until translucent, about 5-10 minutes. Add potatoes and continue to cook until potatoes begin to become softened, about 10 minutes.

Add water and simmer for 20-30 minutes until vegetables are tender. Add more water as needed.

Add the milk while stirring and add the cream of mushroom soup & seasonings. Stir until combined and allow to come back to a simmer. Add the fish and cook for 8minutes. Add the shrimp and cook for 2 minutes more. Crumble the bacon and add to the soup. Serve with French bread or garlic toast.

Now that I have cooked walleye in a few different ways I am very excited to continue to come up with recipes. I’ve discovered that walleye doesn’t have to be just a beer battered fish and if you get a little creative it can be used in many new & interesting preparations. Stay tuned.

Finding the Silver Lining or at least a Silver Catfish

by almost_rosey // 1Aug2013 // No Comments

About two weeks ago I had an allergic reaction to my migraine medicine. This was a sample med and I had never taken it before. Unfortunately, it had an ingredient in it that as an adult I have suddenly become allergic to when taken with a few other things. These items are: caffeine, the perfect timing between caffeine and said ingedient, and a mysterious third ingedient to be determined.

I took this medicine as I was supposed to go to work and I had a migraine. After about 20 minutes, my lips felt hot and tingly. This is the first sign of my allergic reactions. I went into the bathroom and they were starting to swell. I grabbed some anti-histamines, took them, and prayed. I prayed that they would do the trick so that my throat wouldn’t swell too much resulting in the use of my stab-me-pen (EpiPen). It worked well enough, but I spent the whole day on the couch with a puffy face and puffy lips constantly dosing myself with anti-histamines.

Finally at about 4:30 I decided that I should get some fresh air hoping it would make me feel better. Thus my fishing guide and I decided to go catfishing nearby as we are in a contest to catch the largest catfish. (It should be noted that I was supposed to work until at least 5PM so that the earliest I could have gotten home was 6PM. Therefore, going fishing this early would definitely not have been an option).

We got to the river at about 5PM and set ourselves up. At about 5:30, my fishing guide had a bite. He asked if I wanted it and I said it was his fish. He set the hook and asked again cause it was surely a cat (catfish). I said OK and started to reel in. It was my first catfish! We grabbed the measuring tape and it was 23×13 inches. Not too shabby!

It was a bit hard to hold this creature down and I was not about to stick my hand in its mouth like some people do. Only a few moments later did my line go off and I grabbed my rod and started to reel in again. This one was smaller (23×10.5in) but put up more of a fight which is always fun.

Both of these catfish were on the brown color scheme. I had never caught a catfish before this day and now I reeled in two and can definitely say one was all mine. Every other time before this when I would go catfishing I would catch carp, so I was ecstatic that I could finally put some entries in this contest.

About 30 minutes later, my line went off again. My rod almost went into the water before I could grab it. I did catch it and my line started taking off. I learned early to let it go a bit before you start fighting back but it almost took all my line off my spool completely! I started fighting it towards shore and it was a slow and tiring process. This fish would not give up. Finally I got it to shore and we, the fish and I, were both exhausted. This one was 27x15in! The biggest cat of the day and I was so proud to call myself “Queen of the Cats” for this day.

This fish was more silver and blue in color and I thought it was beautiful. It should be noted that the contest is a catch and release contest, so all of these fish were released back into the river and swam away happily (well happy to get away). All three of these fish put me in 23rd place at the time for channel catfish. I was thrilled considering I had never caught one before this day.

This day started off horribly. Having an allergic reaction is horrible, especially one that affects your mouth and throat area. If I had not had this happen to me, however, I would not have caught these three fish as I would have been working and missed my window of opportunity (we didn’t catch any fish later in the evening).

Sometimes it is hard to see how anything good can come from something bad. Sometimes it is hard to find the silver lining. In this case though I did. I found the silver lining and it came in the form of a big silver catfish.

Reminiscing about River Fishing

by almost_rosey // 22Jun2013 // 2 Comments

River fishing has been slow so far here because the river has been moving fast. The ice did not even melt until May and it has been raining almost non stop. I tried going in April and ended up catching more icebergs and freezing myself to death than anything else. Going in May did not improve the results. The river is moving. Impossible to catch catfish right now.

Did I mention that is what I am after? I joined this contest with a certain someone to catch the biggest catfish. It is called King of the Cats and it is a catch and release contest. Seeing as how I have never caught a catfish I though it would be fun to try. Which brings me to my point. Last year I went fishing for the first time in 20 years. I went to catch catfish and caught a giant carp. My first fish in 20 years.

We went on the river nearby. It was still. The way it should be when trying to river fish. You can cast out to where you want your line to go. You let your rod rest on a stick that god designed for catfishing and wait for it to bounce. Then you grab it and start the fight.

I, however, caught a carp. I had no idea what to do which made it even better. I saw my rod wobble and I grabbed it and started reeling in. What was on the other end started swimming away. Me, being completely new to this, kept reeling in and tired myself out instead of letting it swim a bit and then reeling in. It’s kind of like a dance. Let it swim, reel in, let it swim, reel in, and so forth. Whatever you do, don’t let it swim towards the rocks or trees in the river because that is when you lose. I was running up and down the bank like a crazy woman so that this wouldn’t happen. I was begging for help saying that I was tired and couldn’t do it. Of course, a certain someone would not help me, but rather told me what to do. By the end of it I was tired, but still managed to perk up for my first fishing photo before I let the carp go back into the murky river.

I will always remember that day of river fishing with my new rod and no experience. My love for fishing has only grown and I have discovered that I am quite the natural fisherwoman. I think it has to do with growing up in Minnesota and having a good guide.

Feeling Almost Rosey

Put Those Glasses On

fishing