Fried Smelts , A Meme, and A Request

Over the next months most of us will be eating out fair share of Turkeys, Geese,duckings, and other game to celebrate the holidays depending on our cultures and regions. Some people like the Italians even manage to create seafood feats around the holidays.
A fish that has always captured my attention and liking has been the lowly smelt. I'm not sure of its popularity in other areas of the world, but in the this salt water fish found at the mouths of rivers,can be found Midwest, and even east and west coasts. Tiny and and sardine like that are eaten by salmon and lake trout and are often served fried or eaten whole and live. Used as bait, they are relatively cheap and very good for you. The roe is used as a garnish for many sushi.
Michele of Big Black Dogs turned me onto a great fish fry batter from Tyler Florence for fish and chips that I wanted to try out with my bag of flash frozen smelts. Rice flour, seltzer water, baking powder,egg, salt and pepper make a crunchy light delightful batter that cant be beat. Try it. These fried smelts even tasted good the following day in a sandwhich with some sauce and squeezed lemon

My new blogger friend Jamie at Life's A Feast( where has this sensation been hiding in my world, I'm so out of it!) awarded me The Over the Top Award. Never has that been so true. Now you all know I'm awful with sort of thing but I will answer this One Word Meme because its' my Birthday and I'm just fooling around today.

1. Where is your cell phone? Hand
2. Your hair? Nappy
3. Your mother? Heart
4. Your father? Peace
5. Your favorite food? Asian
6. Your dream last night? None
7. Your favorite drink? Wine
8. Your dream/goal? Success
9. What room are you in? Main
10. Your hobby? Cakes
11. Your fear? Poverty
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Europe
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. Something you aren’t? Unsure
15. Muffins? Meh
16. Wish list item? Weightloss
17. Where did you grow up? D.C
18. Last thing you did? Email
19. What are you wearing? PJ's
20. Your TV? On
21. Your pets? None
22. Friends? Many
23. Your life? Fascinating
24. Your mood? Wishful
25. Missing someone? Marc
26. Vehicle? Audi
27. Something you’re not wearing? Cosmetics
28. Your favorite store? Pete's
29.Your favorite color? Burgundy
30. When was the last time you laughed? Night
31. Last time you cried? Friday
32. Your best friend? Mommy
33. One place you go to over and over again? Store
34. One person who e-mails you regularly? Marc
35. Favorite place to eat? Home

Now I have to choose 6 bloggers to follow suite.

Jeanne Cooksister
Louise Month of Edible Celebrations
Michele Big Black Dogs
RJ Flamingo Flamingo Musings
The Duo Dishes
Marye Baking Delights

I know a lot of the over the Top People because birds of a feather flock together, just Im not so sure many actually do Memes. So it's hard to choose.



I'm awful at promoting myself. I guess that's something I need to work on more this year. I created this wonderful recipe ( Chestnut Stuffed Sesame Pork Chops with PAMA Balsamic Reduction) for the PAMA contest. I need you to make this Birthday Girl happy and vote for me. Vote every day if you like, because I really want to go to Aspen for the Food and Wine Classic. I think this recipe is worthy of that. Vote Here.

Perfect Fried Green Tomatoes

A lot of folks are privileged to have gardens. I love reading my fellow bloggers talk about what they are producing in their gardens. I tried container gardens on my balcony but living in the city its very hard to control the squirrels and such.So I gave up. I have always loved the tartness and flavor of green tomatoes and tomatillos.Something about them just perks my insides up. I came across some some gorgeous green tomatoes at the meat whole seller I go to. They have a basic produce section that's very 'country' and basic. I grabbed a few and didn't think about them until a few days later. Usually I order green tomatoes out at restaurants like the defunct neighborhood Dixie Kitchen.I'm not a big fryer but this simple recipe yielded perfect green tomatoes.

Perfect Green Tomatoes
4 green tomatoes
1 cup buttermilk or
1 cup milk with a few tsp of vinegar
( allow to sit for 5 minutes or more)
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 cup corn meal
salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
vegetable oil

Prep your station with a dish of buttermilk, a dish of
beaten egg, and a dish of corn meal . Mix 1 tsp of cayenne
and salt in the corn meal. Slice green tomatoes into 1/2
inch rounds. Dip each slice first in buttermilk, then egg, then
dredge in cornmeal.
Heat approx 1/2 cup of vegetable oil in a fry pan. Fry tomato
slices until golden and crispy on each side.Drain finished pieces
on paper towels. Sprinkle with additional salt if desired.* Serve with
hot sauce.Optional
Printed Recipe Here

New Year Traditions...Akkra,Greens,and Champagne

Happy New Year!

The other day I asked my friend Gabs what are the traditional good luck foods that they eat in Australia. She said they are not into to that as we Americans are. I got to thinking what can I do besides the normal southern style Black Eye Peas ,that we of Southern descent eat on New Years Day. I started thinking of my parents and in particular a dish my Nigerian father made at times. Akkra would be my new twist and variation of the routine Black Eye Peas . I never really got into all the Nigerian food growing up. It wasn't that it was not good , I just got tired of my father eating the same things all the time( 'soup' , fufu,and rice in all there different ways). I remember he brought these black eye pea fritters called Akkra to a school "Show and Tell", once on Nigeria. He added shrimp to them and they were a hit.I decided to add some other spices and green peppers to it. Dried shrimp,if you have it adds a great touch. My mother long since divorced from him made these from time to time as well.They are popular in Brazil and the parts of the Caribbean as well in slight variations. For New Years she was the traditional Southerner and made her Black Eye Peas and Collard Greens with lots of smoked meats. Don't forget the Champagne for good luck! Certain Someone and I picked up these deliciously gaudy glasses in Germany. See the dollar signs? They really should be Euro signs in todays economy.They are RITZENHOFF.And what appropriate glasses to ask for prosperity in the New Year!

So here's to a wonderful ,healthful,and prosperous New Year!

Apple Fritters

I have few days off to do absolutely nothing with Certain Someone home. Today in our shopping we bought a ham among other things. With ham I thought of apples. I love my fruits and veggies , unlike my big baby. With it being cold and homey, a craving entered my head. Apple fritters. These are really easy to make , simple, satisfying, and fattening. I couldn't stop at one. Even Certain Someone came up to kitchen counter to have one after I offered some to my neighbor. He said they taste like apple pancakes, and they do. You can dice the apples or batter up apple rings. The choice is yours. Here's the recipe I used.