Cornmeal Crusted Rattle Snake With Cactus Corn Succotash Recipes

CORNMEAL CRUSTED FISH WITH SUMMER SUCCOTASH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Mix flour, cornmeal, salt and spices together in a wide shallow bowl, big enough for dredging the fish or tofu.
• To make fish ( or tofu) heat oil in a skillet, over medium high heat. Dredge fish or tofu in the Cornmeal mixture and place in the hot skillet, searing until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Turn over, turn heat down to medium. Cook 2-3 more minutes, and place in a warm oven, until cooked to your desired "done-ness".
• Make the succotash - In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onions, and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Turn heat down to medium, add fava beans and poblano pepper and and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, lowering heat if necessary.
• Add garlic, jalapeño, fresh corn and salt and spices and cook 2-3 minutes. Add broth, and simmer until reduced. For extra richness, you could add bacon crumbles or a dollop of butter.
• Squeeze a half of a small lime, and fold in the cilantro .
• Taste and adjust salt and lime. Turn heat off.
• Divide among bowls and place the fish or tofu over top, garnishing with fresh lime and cilantro

EASY CORNMEAL CRUST FOR PIES, GALETTES AND CROSTATAS

Steps:

• Place flour, cornmeal, salt and sugar into a bowl.
• Using a whisk, mix until well combined
• Add butter. Using your hands mix into dry mix, the mixture will be someone mealy looking at this point.
• Add olive oil and stir until combined. There will be areas that arent completely combined, don't worry. When you add the water it will meld.
• Add as much of the ice cold water to have the dough stick together. It may seem a little stringy at this point but it is fine.
• Form into a ball and place in the fridge for 30 mins to an 1 hour until chilled.
• Onto a peice of parchment paper, sprinkle a little bit of cornmeal.
• Place chilled dough ball into the center and then dust a rolling pin with a little cornmeal as well.
• Roll dough out to 1/4" thickness. If the dough starts to stick, sprinkle a little bit more cornmeal on top.
• Bake and use according to your gallete, tart, crust or quiche recipe dictates.
• You can make this ahead and chill up to 3 days.

CORN MEAL CRUSTED COD

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 375º F
• Combine all of the crust ingredients together in a mixing bowl and stir until combined and then press and compact with your hands.
• Season the cod on both sides with salt and fresh black pepper and place on a lightly greased pan.
• Now cover each piece of cod with a thin layer of the crust and gently push into the fish until set in place.
• Place in the oven and bake for about 10-12 minutes until fish is cooked. If the crust is not browned enough, turn oven onto the broil setting and place the fish on the top rack until crust is lightly browned.
• Now pre-heat a large pan on medium heat, add the oil, sui choy and the peppers and sauté until sui choy begins to brown.
• Add the tomato, curry powder and salt and cook for 8 minutes or so, stirring occasionally.
• Plate veggies first with the cod on top, serve and enjoy.

CORNMEAL-CRUSTED SNAPPER WITH SPINACH, PEPPER JACK GRITS, AND BACON BOURBON CREAM SAUCE

Steps:

• For grits: In a large saucepan, bring milk, chicken stock, butter, salt, and pepper to boil over medium-high heat. Gradually whisk in grits, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, whisking frequently, until thickened and tender, about 20 minutes. Slowly whisk in cheese until melted. Keep warm over low heat. Preheat oven 350˚. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. For sauce: On prepared pan, toss together bacon and brown sugar; arrange in a single layer. Bake until crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool completely. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Cook shallot and garlic until translucent, about 2 minutes. Carefully add bourbon, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Add juice of half a lemon and lemon itself to pan. Stir in cream, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until liquid is thickened and reduced by half. Gradually whisk in butter until melted. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a small saucepan, and keep warm over low heat. Stir in cooked bacon just before serving. For spinach: In a large skillet, cook bacon, shallots, and garlic over medium heat until crisp. Add spinach, salt, and pepper, and cook just until wilted, about 1 minute. Keep warm over low heat. For fish: In a shallow dish, whisk together cornmeal and Creole seasoning. Dredge snapper in cornmeal mixture, gently shaking off excess. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add fish; cook until golden brown on bottom, about 3 minutes. Turn, and cook until golden brown on bottom and fish flakes easily with a fork, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve fish immediately with grits, spinach, and sauce.

CAJUN CORNMEAL CRUSTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven 350 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl, whisk 1/2 cup of the flour with the cornmeal, Cajun spice, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Put the remaining 1 cup flour, buttermilk, and the cornmeal mixture respectively in 3 shallow dishes. Season the buttermilk with hot sauce, to taste.
• With the flat side of a cook's knife or the smooth side of a meat-pounder, pound each breast to equal thickness. Pat the chicken breasts dry and season with salt.
• Lightly coat each breast in flour and shake off any excess. Dip each breast into the buttermilk to coat and remove, shaking slightly so the excess buttermilk drains back into the bowl. Dredge the chicken in the cornmeal mixture, shaking off any excess coating. Lay the chicken on a piece of waxed paper.
• Heat a large (12-inch) cast iron skillet over medium heat with about 1/2 inch of oil. Lay 2 chicken breasts smooth-side down in the pan and cook until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and cook 3 to 4 minutes more. Drain chicken on a paper towel. Repeat with remaining chicken.
• Place all chicken breasts on a rack over a baking sheet and bake until firm to the touch, 6 to 8 minutes. Season with salt, and serve immediately with mustard mayonnaise or sliced tomatoes.

HOW TO COOK A SNAKE

Steps:

• Refrigerate the meat as soon as possible. It can also be frozen. The meat's integrity remains intact, and the coloration of the skin is unaffected.
• Skin the snake. Cut off the head, strip off the skin, and remove the guts of the dead snake.
• Rinse the meat, and cut it into pieces with a sharp knife or poultry shears. Make the cuts between and at the same angle as the ribs to avoid cutting the ribs. If the ribs are severed, they may be difficult to remove from the meat after it is cooked. Some people prefer to soak the ready-to-cook snake pieces in saltwater for a day or two to remove any remaining blood or "gaminess" from the meat.
• Dip the segments in a bit of egg white (milk would also do) before dredging them in a pepper and sweet cornmeal mix (or cornbread mix with some extra black pepper). Shake off the excess.
• Heat about 3/4" (2cm) of canola, vegetable, or peanut oil in a heavy frying pan until quite hot. Add the snake pieces one at a time to avoid from dropping the temperature in the pan too quickly. Use tongs to keep your fingers away from the sizzling hot oil, watch for dangerous splatters, and use a screen if necessary to prevent a mess. Turn the snake pieces just as the batter begins to turn golden - by the time it starts to brown the snake will be overcooked. There's not much meat on the bones, and the muscles are thin and lean.
• Drain and cool. Remove the snake pieces before they're quite done - they'll continue to cook after removal from the pan - and set them on paper towels to drain and cool.
• Serve your fried snake bits warm, and provide napkins - this is finger food. Accompany with most anything you'd serve with fried fish.
• Eat the snake meat. There should be a line of muscle along either side of the spine; this is the thickest piece of meat on the snake's body. The ribs are quite firmly attached to the spine, so scrape your teeth over them firmly to remove the rest of the meat from the ribs.

CORNMEAL CRUSTED SCALLOPS WITH HEIRLOOM BEAN AND OREGANO SUCCOTASH

Steps:

• Soak and cook black beans and lima beans as directed on package until tender. Drain and set aside
• Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add bell pepper and onion; cook and stir 1 minute or until slightly softened. Add cooked black beans and lima beans, corn, lime juice, 1 teaspoon of the oregano, 1/2 teaspoon of the sea salt, and 1/4 teaspoon each of the cumin and pepper; cook 1 minute or until heated through. Spoon succotash into medium bowl. Cover to keep warm
• Mix cornmeal and remaining 1/4 teaspoon each oregano, sea salt, cumin and pepper in shallow dish. Pat scallops dry with paper towels. Coat scallops in cornmeal mixture
• Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in same nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add scallops; cook 4 minutes or until crust is golden brown and scallops are opaque, turning once. To serve, spoon succotash onto serving plates. Arrange scallops over succotash

CORNMEAL-CRUSTED TROUT/CATFISH

Steps:

• Beat egg with water in a shallow bowl.
• Roll trout in the flour.
• In a small paper or large ziplock bag, combine cornmeal, chopped nuts, salt, pepper, paprika, and ground cumin.
• One piece at a time, dip fish in egg and then place in bag and toss to coat.
• Heat veggie oil in frying pan over medium heat.
• Fry fish in oil, turning once, till both sides are brown (approx 10 minutes total).
• You can tell when the fish is done, because you can flake it with a fork.
• My hubby likes to sprinkle a little lemon or lime juice on his fish, but I like it just the way it is!

PAN-FRIED CORNMEAL-CRUSTED PICKEREL

Steps:

• Place flour in shallow bowl.
• In separate shallow bowl, whisk milk with eggs.
• Place cornmeal, dill, salt and pepper in another shallow bowl.
• Dip fish, one piece at a time, into flour, shaking off excess, then into milk mixture, then into cornmeal mixture.
• In skillet, heat butter over medium-high heat; cook fillets, turning once, for about5 minutes or until fish is opaque and flakes easily when tested with fork.
• Serve with lemon sauce.
• In small saucepan, bring cream, lemon rind and juice and Worcestershire sauce to simmer over medium heat; cook, stirring occasionally, for about 7 minutes or until reduced to half and thickened enough to coat back of spoon.
• Yield: 1/3 cup (75 mL)