Monday, August 01, 2005

The South meets the Southwest

Last night, I made South by Southwest Catfish with Guacamole Aolii (Southern Living) and Fruity Black Bean Salsa (also Southern Living). The catfish fillets were breaded with crushed tortilla chips and fried. I got the dense corn tortilla chips so the crust was super crunchy. Next time I make this though, I'm going to add more spices to the breading. There was a bit of coriander but that was it. Catfish is a dense and rich fish but needs to be matched with zestiness or else it just tastes heavy. Need to kick it up a knotch with my spice weasel. BAM!

The fact that the catfish needed more spice was more than compensated for by the Guacamole Aolii. I blended together avacado, cream cheese, mayo, garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper. The recipe called for putting a dollop of the aolii on the catfish and then topping the whole thing with canned diced tomatoes with chiles. Instead, I mixed the tomatoes into the aolii. Oh. My. God. I have my new favorite dip that I will take to every party from now until I die. This stuff was fabulous!! Zeb and I were snacking on chips and this dip before the catfish was even ready. Highly recommended.

The Fruity Black Bean Salsa was heavy on the chopping but worth the effort. It had black beans, avacado, papaya, jalapenos and red bell pepper. So colorful! It was dressed with a dressing made with the juice and zest from one lemon, honey and salt. It made a great side. Score one for Carlyn's side picking!!! Planning ahead, I can handle. Coming up with a side on the spur of the moment...not so good.