Fried Catfish with Hushpuppies

Alexandra helped me make this once, while we were visiting Dad. Dad loved his catfish!!

1  teaspoon salt
1  teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt.)
2 teaspoons onion powder
Paprika pepper to taste

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups yellow cornmeal

3 eggs
1 cup milk
6 (6 to 8-ounce) catfish fillets
2 cups vegetable oil

Combine the seasonings.  Pour flour and ½ of seasoning in shallow dish (A pie plate works well.)  In a second dish, combine the cornmeal with the remaining seasoning. In a third dish or bowl, beat the eggs with the milk. Dredge the catfish 1 at a time first in the flour, then the egg wash, then the cornmeal, shaking to remove any excess.

Heat about 1 cup of the oil in a large, deep cast iron skillet. (About 350º.)

Fry the fish in batches and cook until golden brown on 1 side, 4 to 5 minutes. Turn and cook until golden on the second side and completely cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels. Add additional oil as needed and cook the remaining fish.

Combine remaining dredging ingredients and fry by tablespoons in hot oil to make hushpuppies.

Note:  When I make this, I add ingredients ‘by sight’. You may have to adjust seasonings.

Hair in the Kichen

While sorting through old papers, suddenly, these pictures popped up. These are from a few years ago when Alexandra was younger.

I was sitting at the kitchen table when she insisted she do my hair. Of course, I was an easy push-over. Cuteness trumps reason any day, in my book.  See? This is why you go to your aunt's kitchen. She lets you get away with murder.

Alexandra then took a picture of her creation. Sure, the picture is a little blurry. That only adds to its cuteness.

Running across those old photos was a happy diversion from my tedious chore.

A kitchen is not only for making food. It's for making memories.

Special Auntie Messages

For when you’re feeling sad, lonely, discouraged, confused or anytime you need a little Auntie love.

Sure you can borrow my car. Do you need some money?

Wear that sweater your mom gave you just until we turn the corner. Then, you can take it off.

You have far too much talent to let it go to waste.

Sure, I believe in you!

Buy low. Sell high.

A farmer won’t buy the cow if he can get the milk for free.

That outfit is so cute!

Of course you’ll find someone to love you – IF – you become the person you seek to attract and – IF – you project that image.

I made some brownies, just for you.

Don’t you dare tell your parents I let you do that.

Here’s some money.

Show me how you decorated your room.

Yeah. Your dad was like that in high school, too.

And a special message to my niece, Alexandra:

I love you because you’re my niece.
I like you because you’re my friend.
I miss you because you’re my joy.

Jury Rig My Life

Well, my friends, I’ve been amiss.  I have neglected this blog as a result of personal obligations. The plan was to post regularly every Wednesday. Now, it seems, there is more to blog about than I could have imagined. People keep asking me culinary questions and the pressure is mounting to answer. So, for a few days, weeks, months, (who knows?) I’ll be posting like a mad woman.

So, be on the look out for oodles of interesting topics. There will be recipes, ‘natch. Also, you’ll be seeing posts on a restaurant or two or three.  I’ll be giving you the heads up on wines I discover in my escapades. My wonderful niece, to whom this site is dedicated, will figure in future pieces.  Culinary exploits have brought wonderfully interesting people into my life. There’s lots of exciting news from the State Fair of Texas. I’ve been asked to write a piece for another blog on how to cook in the fireplace. That should be an interesting adventure.

Speaking of interesting adventures, my oven is downright busted. The heating coil is broken. The replacement part cannot be found, since the oven company is no longer in business. Yes, I checked eBay. No luck. Sigh. So, the entire range needs to be replaced over one silly part. My old apartment had a gas range from the 1940’s. It still worked like a gem. They really don’t make them like they did, do they?  What a waste. Such a shame to add to another landfill just because of one silly part.

The oven plot thickens. It seems the previous owner who remodeled the kitchen did so by jury-rigging the cabinets to fit around that particular range. (Did I mention the cabinets are a risk to life and limb as well?) The floor tiles have been jury-rigged to fit around the cabinets. There’s a short in the electrical system that supplies the overhead lighting. It all boils down to this: I’ve got to remodel the entire kitchen just to cook a pizza.

This brings me to a question of my own I must ask myself. How can one run a food blog without a kitchen?

Aunt Sally Good Food

My precious niece, Alexandra, is a guru, she just doesn’t know it. Like the fabled wise men, she can sum up timeless truths in a handful of words. She’s keenly observant: watching carefully the world around her, summarizing its parts.

When she was learning to speak, her name for me was Aunt Sally Good Food. The fact I was force feeding her homemade cinnamon rolls and pastry swans may have had something to do with earning the title. I didn’t actually force her, but who can resist cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven? A wicked temptress am I.

The name stuck. There’s something stunningly truthful about the title.

Aunts and uncles give nieces and nephews a unique perspective on the world. Not having the burden of discipline, we can be more adventurous in our influence over our nieces and nephews. So what if we stuff them silly with sugary treats? We won’t have to endure the giddy sugar rush sure to follow. Just hype them up on candy and send them home to mom and dad. That’ll get brother/sister for stealing our boyfriend/sweater/music in eighth grade.

Music and food are my two passions. Both are universal languages. Both can bring people together. At table or at a jam session we all jive together.

I see the world through a culinary lens. Food is history on a plate. It tells a story. It tells the story of spice routes, religious laws, environment, heredity.

Through this lens, I show my view of the world to Alexandra.

When she came to visit last Easter, we shopped at a Latin market. For the first time, she tried hibiscus, plantains and tamarind. She learned something of Mexican culture. She learned she loved smashing plantains. I learned she likes Sprite.

When I dig out some of mother’s old recipes, Alexandra learns a little bit about her grandmother who loved her dearly; passed too soon.

So there it is; Alexandra’s definition of me. “Aunt.” One who must uphold the time honored avuncular duties: to be a good example and a bad influence. “Sally.” Close to “silly,” but not close enough. “Good Food.” If food brings people together, it’s all good. An adventurous, homey, fun and funny lady who likes to cook and bring people together. Yep. That’s me.