Barramundi Sauteed in Lemon Butter and Caper Sauce

Posted by Neal Campbell on May 4, 2010 in cooking, food, Recipe | Comments Off

Barramundi is a fish we first had when we went to Queensland, Australia for the Best Job in the World contest last year. It’s considered by some foodies to be the “next big fish” in terms of popularity. Barramundi is a white, hearty fish that seems unique in taste and texture. If I’ve ever come close to thinking a fish could taste like chicken, it’s with this one.

Barramundi is farm-raised in the United States and is starting to show up regularly in the frozen section. I got mine at a Kroger, and I’ve also gotten it at Wal-Mart.

Since the filets are thin, and it kind of has the taste and texture of chicken, it’s a good substitute for chicken or veal with a picatta sauce. I adapted my recipe from a couple others to make a single serving.

I gently sauteed the garlic in butter for 2 minutes and then squeezed in the juice of half a lemon. I added a little salt and a little pepper and remove the skillet from burner.

Each side of the filet needs to be coated lightly with olive oil. You could brush it on, but I used one of those olive oil pumps.

In the butter sauce, I pan fried one side of the filet on high for 3 minutes and then I flipped it and cooked it for about a minute-and-a-half more until it was cooked through.  I plated the fish and added heavy-cream to the pan. I mixed that all up and then poured what I wanted on top of the filet. I then added capers (after taking this photo) and salted and peppered like I like it.

It was good, y’all!

Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon Shopping List

Posted by Neal Campbell on Apr 30, 2010 in food | Comments Off

I love making Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon, but it takes time to read through the three recipes involved in the dish to pull out exactly what I need from the grocery store. For the recipe itself, you’ll need the book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

If you google something and don’t find and adequate result, it becomes your mission to put it online. I couldn’t find a simple shopping list for Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon, so here it is:

• Bottle of Burgundy or other full-bodied young red wine
• 6-ounce chunk of bacon
• Olive Oil
• 3 lbs. lean stewing beef
• 1 Carrot
• 1 Onion
• 18-24 Pearl Onions
• 2 Cloves of garlic
• 1 lb. quartered fresh mushrooms
• parsley
• Thyme
• Bay leaf
• Salt
• Pepper
• Flour
• 3 Cups of brown beef stock
• Tomato paste
• Paper towels
• Cheesecloth

Bon Appétit

KFC Thinks Different with the Double Down Bacon Sandwich

Posted by Neal Campbell on Apr 2, 2010 in Bacon, food | Comments Off

It’s coming April 12, 2010. The fast-food restaurant formerly known as Kentucky Fried Chicken is introducing the Double Down. It’s a bacon and cheese sandwich that eschews our old ideas about bread just made from flour. Instead of two pieces of bread, this bacon is sandwiched between two fried, breaded, boneless chicken breasts.

According to The Consumerist, KFC’s new invention has 540 calories, 32g of fat and 1380mg of sodium. There is a more Atkin’s Diet-friendly version as well. The healthier grilled chicken Double down is 460 calories, has 23g of fat, but has more salt–1430mg of sodium.

I saved the best part for last. The KFC Double Down not only replaces bread with chicken breasts, it also replaces any common condiment known to man with something they call Colonel Sauce.