Take Two: Fish Pouches

Hello friends!

This past week I decided to try my hand at the fish pouches again. As you may recall from my last attempt, the results were of a mixed success. I am happy to report that I got much better results this time. Unfortunately, I don't think it quite qualifies as a F.E.A.S.T. anymore, but I'll let you be the judge.

THE INGREDIENTS!!!
4 flounder fillets  (from a $4.50 frozen bag)
1 cup uncooked white rice  (don't ask the price; I'm pulling this from a huge bag)
1 cup golden yellow grape tomatoes  (from a $3.50 package)
1 red bell pepper  ($1.00)
1 medium sweet yellow onion  ($1.00)
2 14.5oz cans veggie broth  ($2.00)
2 small lemons  ($0.50)
chopped garlic, about 8 cloves worth  (staple)
Italian seasoning  (staple)

salt and pepper  (they better be staples!)


Total price: about $12.50, unless you need to restock your staples.

THE METHOD!!!
Preheat your oven to 425. Tear off four large sheets of parchment. Line a cookie sheet or other containment vessel with foil (for ease of cleanup and whatnot).

Slice your tomatoes in half, and remove the seeds. This can most easily be accomplished through gentle squeezing, which is oddly satisfying. Chop your onion and red pepper, and divide each into four even piles. Have your garlic chopped if it doesn't already come that way.

Assemble your pouches. On each sheet of parchment, place 1/4 cup of rice in a rectangular pile, then place a piece of frozen fish over top. Trust me on this, okay? Next, add one of the onion/pepper piles over top of that. Then add your chopped garlic, about two cloves' worth. Squeeze half a lemon over top and sprinkle with Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.

Now seal your pouches. Fold the parchment up like a hot dog going longways with the fish. Then, crease the edges together and fold downward. Now staple them shut. Yes, with actual staples. Twist one of the ends up to close it, angling the fold upwards. Have the other end ready to twist, but do not seal it yet.

Pour about six ounces (about half a can) of your veggie broth into each pouch, then twist the end shut. Place each pouch side-by-side on your sheet pan, and set the whole thing in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, then gently rotate the pouches by moving the outer two in and the middle two out. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes longer. When the timer beeps at you, pull the pouches out of the oven, and allow them to sit another 15 minutes so that the rice can finish absorbing all the liquids. When that's done, tear into them and gobble them up!

I had much better results this go around. The fish was wonderfully cooked, the rice was a perfect al dente, and the veggies were all tender without being mushy. The seasonings were more spot on then last time, but I think I still need to work on them just a bit. But to really guage the success, we need to compare to our acronym:

Fast: Much better than last time, but still over my goal of 1 hour from start to finish. It was more like 1 hour 15 minutes, but a goal is a goal, right? To be fair, I think this is the only shortcoming here.

Easy: Yep. Just chop and assemble. Even the clean up is a breeze, since the cooking vessels get tossed in the garbage.

Affordable: At around $12 to $15, this is exactly where I want the budget to land, so I call this a win, especially compared to last time.

Super Tasty: The flavors were much better this time, although I still think there's some room for improvement. But that having been said, I am still quite pleased with the results.

So there you have it. A great success, but one that still leaves me with some room to tinker around. After all, cooking is, at its heart, as much an art as a science, and finding that balance takes a great deal of work. As I said though, I am pleased with how this turned out, and I'm looking forward to tinkering with it some more in the future. I love the whole pouch cooking concept, and I am excited to see where I can take it next.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Please post any thoughts you have on the subject at your leisure. Go forth and eat well!

Happy Holidays: Deep-Fried Strawberry-Filled Brownies

Hi all,

I'm not a huge fan of Valentine's Day. I never have been, not since I was a kid. Back then, it was all about paper valentines and candy in class. And I liked that, because there was a lot less pressure, and plus, it was about the food. I say, why not make it be just about the food once more? So I came up with something tasty.

That's right: I deep-fried a brownie. It's like the State Fair without all the walking around. You may ask why? You may say I'm mad. I say what better way to pay tribute to a celebration of the heart than by clogging your arteries a little. So there!

The cool thing about this is that it's relatively simple, although I did hit a few bumps along the way. But they were generally agreed to be delicious, so I'll let you the reader be the judge.

THE INGREDIENTS!!!
1 box deluxe brownie mix
All the fixings needed to make said brownies (oil, water, eggs)
8 small strawberries, stems removed and cut in half longways
1 good beer (I used Young's Double-Chocolate Stout. Because why not?)
2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

THE METHOD!!!
Mix a batch of brownie batter. I followed the suggestion on the box for "thicker brownies" which meant less water and an extra egg, but follow your heart here. Submerge the strawberry halves in the brownie batter. I went with a simple four-by-four grid. You can try to mess with the size but I don't recommend it. Bake the brownies as the box commands you. After the brownies have completely cooled, cut into 16 individual pieces.

Combine the flour, salt and baking powder together in a mixing bowl, then slowly incorporate the beer. Whisk together, then let the batter sit for about 10 minutes so all the flour can hydrate. Coat each brownie in batter, then deep fry at 350 for two to three minutes or until done. Drain on paper towels, then dust with powdered sugar. Consume.

Simple, right? Ok, I'll admit, the beer batter was way too thick for practical use. I had to try a variety of methods for coating the brownies, because dunking them just wasn't as effective as I'd like it to be. The tricky little buggers didn't want to hold together too well. I ended up placing each brownie on top of the batter, then spooning some over top to coat. Still, it was tricky. In the end though, I call them a success, because they tasted wonderful (think chocolate funnel cake) and were more or less bad for you, which makes them even better.

Anyway, let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading. Go forth an eat well!

Restaurant Review: Jamaican Gates

Hi everyone!

Okay, so it's been a few months since I've reviewed any restaurants, hasn't it? Well, hopefully the frequency with which I am able to try new places is going to change, and I intend to share my experiences with all of you. For now, I'm going to start with an establishment I visited last weekend, and which served some truly excellent food: Jamaican Gates.

The place: Jamaican Gates is your typical hole-in-the-wall restaurant, which means that there isn't a lot of emphasis on decorating. The walls sport pictures of (presumably) the owner's family, flags from across the Caribbean Islands, and some Bob Marley icons. Since I happened to be there on a Saturday, I was treated to some live music. The music, while enhancing the Jamaican atmosphere, did make conversation difficult, since the restaurant itself is not very large. But, all and all, a pleasantly relaxed and homey place.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention: You can also see several images of Guy Fieri and his Food Network TV show, Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. That's right, Guy came to the restaurant, ate the food, and loved it so much he even signed the wall with the legend "Guy ate here." So, yeah, I guess you can say Jamaican Gates has the official Seal of Approval for quality and tastiness.

What I ate: For appetizers, we had fried plantains (pronounced plan-tins in the islands) and beef patties. The plantains were soft and sweet, while the savory patties reminded me a lot of meat-filled empanadas. I also had a bottle of Kola Champagne, which tasted like a fruity cream soda, and a glass of their freshly-squeezed lemonade. The lemonade was, interestingly enough, sweetened with brown sugar instead of white, which added a complex earthy flavor in a way I never would have conceived.

For my entree, I ordered the Kingston Trio. The Trio came with jerk chicken, oxtails, and curry goat (yep, goat!), along with a side of rice and peas. I found the jerk chicken to be very tender and juicy, with the perfect amount of spicy jerk seasonings. The oxtails were also quite tender, with the meat sliding right off the bones. Think almost of a good brisket, but then add a spicy (but not really hot) savory sauce and some butter beans. The goat, with which I was the most intrigued, was gamey, stringy, and fatty, but oddly enough not in a bad way. In fact, it was probably the best part of the meal. Like all the meat, it was extremely tender and full of flavor. Overall, I was quite satisfied.

My thoughts: With a simple (but not simplistic) atmosphere, a friendly waitstaff, and some truly delicious food, I rate Jamaican Gates at a 4 out of 5, or maybe even a 4.5. I would definitely eat there again, and I think next time I'm going to try the Brown Stew Fish, which also looked to be very tasty. If you ever get the chance to eat there, I would highly recommend taking advantage of the opportunity. Caribbean food may be a bit different than what most folks are used to, but in my opinion unfamiliarity should not be a hindrance. At its core, it's just good home cooking with a tropical flair, and I call it good food.

Anyway, thanks as always for reading. And as always, opinions on how I'm doing are very much appreciated. But that's all for now! Go forth and eat well!