Barramundi Sauteed in Lemon Butter and Caper Sauce
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!
Read MoreAlberta Straub’s Spa Mix
The world’s greatest cocktail artist (because bartender doesn’t begin to speak to her talent) is Alberta Straub. One of the most memorable nights of my life was at a private party at SXSW 2007 where Alberta was making drinks.
Many of her creations involve a replacement for simple syrup she calls Spa Mix. She calls it that because it makes adult beverages taste and seem healthy and refreshing. We have avoided making it because it seems complicated. We made our first batch just now at it wasn’t difficult at all.
Here’s what it takes:
- 4-5 Cucumbers
- 22oz Container of Agave Nectar
- 6-7 ounces of Lime or Lemon Juice
- A small handful of coriander, cardamom and juniper berries
- 2 Bay Leafs
Alberta explains how to put it all together on this episode of Cocktails on the Fly:
Read More
Neal’s Chewy Bloody Mary Mix
I call it a Chewy Bloody Mary because it has tiny little chewy chunks of vegetables in it. To make it you’ll need:
- 1 Quart of Campbell’s Tomato Juice
- 1 Large Lemon
- 4-5 Celery Stalks
- 4 Cloves of Garlic
- 5 Tbps. of Worcestershire Sauce
- 5 Tbps. of Pickle Juice
- 4+ Tbps. of Trappy’s Red Devil Cayenne Pepper Sauce
- Salt
- A Food Processor
Juice the lemon and pour juice into the food processor along with the Worcestershire Sauce, the Pickle Juice and the Pepper Sauce. Puree the garlic cloves and celery stalks.
Pour the pureed mixture into a pitcher with the tomato juice. Salt to taste. Mix and refrigerate over night.
The mix is excellent and refreshing with or without vodka. I typically drink it without.
