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).

Seafood Chowder

by almost_rosey // 28Dec2015 // No Comments

The ice is late this year. Normally I would already be ice fishing. My guy, who is an ice fishing guide, has not really been working due to el nino. This warm weather is also not so great for our small town here in Almost Canada. Our town makes it’s livelihood on tourists and fishing. With the absence of ice, there is an absence of fishermen. The ice is coming, slowly but surely. It’s just about here. Soon our sleepy little town will be alive with fishermen once again. In the meantime, my guide took me ice fishing on a lake that is shallow enough to freeze. It was slow at first but then it was hot & heavy for about 30 minutes and we ended up catching our limit which is great cause we haven’t had walleye in a little while. I have to get creative with walleye. You can only eat fried fish so often. I decided to make a seafood chowder using our freshly caught walleye and it was superb.

Seafood Chowder (serves 4)

1 yellow onion, diced
1 cup diced carrots
2 potatoes, diced
1/8 tsp each cayenne, paprika, garlic & onion powder
1/4tsp salt plus more to taste
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
black pepper to taste
8 oz clam juice
8 oz milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 lb Walleye, cut into bite sized pieces (perhaps 3-4 average walleye, I had one vacuumed sealed pack)
Shrimp, peeled & deveined (I used about 15 medium shrimp)
small amount of olive oil

Heat a small amount of olive oil in a large stock pot. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 5-10 minutes. Add potatoes & carrots and continue to cook until potatoes begin to become softened, about 10 minutes.
Add clam juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, & simmer for about 20 minutes until vegetables are tender. Add the milk, cream of mushroom, and seasonings. Add water to thin if necessary (1/4-1/2 cup at most). Bring to a boil while stirring. Reduce heat to a simmer. Add the walleye and cook for 6-8 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook for 2 minutes more. Serve with french bread & enjoy.

Seared Ahi Tuna

by almost_rosey // 16Aug2015 // No Comments

I moved to Almost Canada two years ago this fall. Making the decision was easy but involved a lot of sacrifice. My guy sacrificed everything to move with me. One of the things he gave up was his career as an accountant.

The job opportunities are bleak to say the least where we live. They basically include the company I work for and a lot of dead end jobs. Since he has moved with me he has been on unemployment, worked at a bait/outdoors store, he became an ice fishing guide, & he has been doing lawn care/landscaping.

He often used to talk about how this town was eating him alive. That he didn’t have any chances to succeed.

He ended up pursuing one of the only opportunities here which was becoming a boat captain. Something that is not that easy to do. The application is rather extensive and it takes quite a bit of time & cash. When it came down to it, he made it happen.

He got his Captain’s License!

I couldn’t be more proud of him. My fishing guide is now a professional fishing guide.

This is something he has talked about for awhile and it is finally a reality. He has even gotten some experience on the lake and has taken people out a few times on his own despite the season being half over.

Even though this has been a long time in the making, and he is thrilled to be able to do this, being on a boat is no walk in the park. It’s hot, it’s windy, people get sick, the fishing is slow & your customers are upset, the list goes on.

Despite the list of negatives this isn’t the worst job in the world & it is a consistent seasonal position. It’s one of the few seasonal opportunities around that actually pays OK & there might be some chances for growth. Life doesn’t always give you the best opportunities but it’s how you deal & what you make of them.

The same is true for grocery shopping in this small town. It’s impossible to get anything here so you have to adapt. I cannot get many items here. I most certainly cannot get quality sushi, but I can have it overnighted by a company to my door! Sushi grade fish delivered right to me. An opportunity that I simply could not pass up.

Seared Ahi Tuna Salad (serves 2)

11 oz sashimi grade ahi tuna
salt & pepper
oil
salad of your choice (I used a salad kit with sunflower seeds and a citrus onion dressing)

If the tuna is frozen allow it to come to room temperature in the fridge. Do not let it sit on the counter. Cut the tuna into two pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a skillet and sear the tuna on all sides for 1-2 minutes per side until. Slice and serve over salad of your choice.

Blackened Shrimp over Cheesy Cauliflower Puree

by almost_rosey // 1Aug2014 // 3 Comments

I was watching some food show and someone made spicy shrimp & cheesy grits. I thought it looked so good. I then realized I have never had grits. How this could have happened I do not know. I spent every summer from 4th grade through 12th grade in North Carolina so one would think I would have had them at some point but I cannot seem to recall eating them ever. Since my grocery store is rather bleak here in Almost Canada, I decided to make a cheesy cauliflower puree. I love cauliflower purees. They are so silky & light yet indulgent depending on what you add to them. It goes perfectly with the blackened shrimp. One day I will make grits but until then this will do for now.

Blackened Shrimp over Cheesy Cauliflower Puree (serves 2) (Inspired from some random show)

20 medium uncooked, peeled, & deveined shrimp
olive oil
seasoning: store bought blackened or Cajun seasoning or mix the following…
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 head cauliflower cut into large pieces
2 tbsp. butter
2-4 tbsp. plain yogurt
Pinch onion powder & garlic salt
salt & Pepper to taste
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the cauliflower pieces & boil for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain the water.
Once drained, heat a small amount of oil in a skillet. Add the shrimp & 1-2 tsp seasoning. Add salt to taste. Cook for 2-3 minutes per side until opaque & pink.
While cooking the shrimp, mash the cauliflower. Add the butter, yogurt, onion powder, garlic salt, & pepper. Stir until combined. Use an immersi0n blender & puree until your desired consistency. Add the cheese & stir until melted throughout.
Serve the shrimp over the puree.

Multiple Meals: Red Chard

by almost_rosey // 29Apr2014 // No Comments

I’ve mentioned numerous times that my grocery store leaves something to be desired. I cannot get most things I want to cook with even if they are seasonal. A few days ago I drove 2hrs to get some supplies for house renovations as well as groceries. This occasional commute has become a norm for me as of late. It doesn’t really bother me, it is just a way of life now. I ended up buying some chard to cook with as I cannot get any fancy greens in my grocery store. I didn’t know what I would use it for at the time, but I knew I needed it.

On Sunday I spent about 4hrs in the kitchen which is a nice way for me to relax. With all of the ice fishing I have been doing I have not been in the kitchen as often as I would like. It’s hard to juggle hobbies. Anyhow, I knew I needed to use the chard, make French Onion soup as I had way too many onions (thus requiring me to make bread), make lunch & dinner, & bake something (I was leaning towards cookies). It sounds more ambitious than it really was. In the morning I prepped bread for baguettes and planned out my day…

Bake bread
Make lunch
Make soup (to be eaten with dinner & give leftovers for the next day’s lunch)
Bake cookies
Make dinner

I decided to divvy up the chard into 2 portions – one to be used with lunch & one to be used with dinner (each can serve 2).

I ended up making Asian Garlic Shrimp & Chard over rice for lunch. Fast, delicious, & healthy.

I then proceeded to make French Onion soup. While that was cooking I made cookies which quickly began to disappear.

After all of this was completed, I started on dinner. I made lemon-parmesan chard & served it with roasted chicken thighs and some French Onion soup.

Asian Garlic Shrimp & Chard (Serves 2)

olive oil or cooking spray
1/2 bunch red chard, roughly chopped & stems removed
1 onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce
2-3 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
12-14 uncooked shrimp, deveined & peeled
1 1/2 cup cooked white rice

Mix soy sauce, vinegar, & sesame oil together. Set aside.
Coat a non-stick skillet with olive oil or cooking spray & heat over medium heat.
Sauté onion for 5-10minutes until softened.
Add garlic & sauté for 2 minutes.
Add swiss chard & 1/4 cup water. Sauté until chard is wilted & water has evaporated.
Add shrimp & sauce. Cook for 2minutes per side or until shrimp is cooked through. Serve over cooked white rice with additional soy sauce & hot chili sauce if desired.

Lemon-Parmesan Chard

olive oil
1/2 bunch red chard, roughly chopped (chop a few of the stems as well)
1/2 small onion, chopped
2-3 tsp lemon juice, or more to taste
parmesan cheese

Coat a non-stick skillet with olive oil & heat over medium heat.
Sauté onion for 10-20 minutes until softened & caramelized to your liking.
Add the stems of the chard & cook for 3-5minutes until softened.
Add the chard & sauté until wilted. Spritz (or saturate) with lemon juice to your liking.
Top with parmesan cheese & serve with whatever you desire. I served it with roasted chicken.

Multiple Meals: Walleye

by almost_rosey // 21Mar2014 // No Comments

If you know me at all you know I go ice fishing and have an abundance of Walleye in my freezer. I try to cook it in a different fashion every week. This week I decided I would bread it & bake it. The problem, however, is that I am cooking for 2 and my vacuum sealed walleye is really for 4 people. Obviously, leftover breaded & baked walleye will not re-heat very well. That left me with the question on how to prepare all the walleye in a tasty manner & so that it would not go to waste which leads to the next installment of multiple meals.

Making multiple meals with fish seemed daunting. I didn’t want to cook half the fish & leave the other half in the fridge to dry out or lose oils for the next night’s dinner. My first thought was to prepare a Seafood Chowder that could be eaten for lunch but I didn’t have any clam juice or cream of potato soup which is my preferred way of making it. I then thought of other recipes I had been meaning to try & I hadn’t made walleye cakes yet. I thought I could try and make walleye cakes that could be eaten for breakfast with eggs. I figured I would bake the rest of the fillets with my breaded fillets & then I could put them in the fridge for the next day to flake, mix up with all the other walleye cake ingredients, & finally cook them.

Baked Walleye

½ vacuum sealed bag walleye (roughly 4 small fillets or 2 medium fillets). See Walleye Breakfast Cakes below for using the rest of the fillets.
1 egg, beaten
Splash of milk
Breadcrumbs
Mashed potato flakes
Grated parmesan cheese
Seafood seasoning
Seasoned salt
Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Place the egg in a small to medium bowl with the splash of milk.

Place equal parts breadcrumbs, mashed potato flakes, and grated parmesan cheese on a plate or in a bowl. Mix in seafood seasoning, seasoned salt, & pepper to taste.

Dip the fillets in the egg mixture and allow the excess to drip off.

Place the fillets in the breadcrumb mixture & then place on a lightly greased baking sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until the fish flakes apart easily.

Serve with sides of your choice. I served them with roasted carrots & mashed potatoes & gravy.

Walleye Breakfast Cakes

½ vacuum sealed bag walleye (roughly 4 small fillets or 2 medium fillets) previously cooked*
1 egg
2-3tbsp Mayonnaise
1-2tsp Lemon juice
1/4-1/3 cup Breadcrumbs
Seafood seasoning
Seasoned salt
Pepper
Oil
Eggs served to your preference

*To the half of the fillets for the walleye cakes, place them on the baking sheet with the breaded walleye (recipe above). Lightly season with seafood seasoning & drizzle with cooking wine or olive oil. Cook along with the breaded fillets. Once cooked, place these un-breaded fillets in a medium mixing bowl in the fridge covered with plastic wrap.

Shred the fillets cooked previously in the mixing bowl (the advantage of shredding them the next day is that you get nicely sized walleye chunks).

Add all the ingredients except for the oil & the eggs that you will cook to your preference.

Mix the ingredients & form into patties (makes roughly (4) 3in patties – 2 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.

Cook eggs to your preference (over easy, poached, etc) and serve over walleye cakes. Drizzle with sweet chili sauce if desired.

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.

Feeling Almost Rosey

Put Those Glasses On

seafood