This year in Ocean City our family decided that everyone would have a different night to cook. I had Wednesday night and Denis and I made a fish dinner. I have never cooked flounder before because I'm not a huge fan but this was really delish. It was tough because I had to change the recipe for 12 people (I multiplied it by 3). The fillets that we had were thin so instead of cutting pockets as the recipe calls for I rolled them with the crab stuffing on the inside and baked it like a casserole, there was also some extra stuffing so I spread that on top too. Even though I didn't cut pockets in the fillets I included the original recipe below. The tomatoes we made were really easy and really tasty I would definitely make them again. We also served some oven fries with old bay and garlic cheese bread on the side.
Paula Deen
Ingredients
2 (10-ounce ) flounder fillets
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Uncle Bubba's Crab Cake Mix, recipe follows
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Cooking Spray
1 (1-inch) slice of Crab Butter, recipe follows
Fresh parsley, for garnish
Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Sprinkle flounder with salt and pepper. Using a fillet knife, carefully open the flounder by cutting along the left and right sides of the seam down the middle of the fish to make pockets. Lay cut sides back.
Stuff the flounder with the Crab Cake Mix, and press the sides down to cover the filling. Sprinkle with paprika.
Coat a glass baking dish with cooking spray. Place the fish in the dish and bake for 20 minutes. Without removing the dish from the oven, turn the oven to broil and broil for 5 additional minutes. When the fish is done, remove it from the oven. Slice a medallion of crab butter and place it on top of the grilled fish. Sprinkle with fresh parsley on top for added color.
Crab Cake Mix
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
3 green onions, green tops, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 small green pepper, finley chopped
1 egg
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 garlic powder
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons spicy mustard
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
10 saltine crackers, crumbled medium to fine
1/2 pound lump crabmeat, picked clean of shells
1/2 pound claw crabmeat, picked clean of shells
salt and freshly ground pepper
In a medium skillet, melt the butter and saute the onions, garlic, parsley and peppers until soft. Let cool.
In a mixing bowl, combine the egg, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, heavy cream, mustard, lemon juice and mayonnaise together. Gently mix in saltine crackers and crabmeat. Add salt and pepper, if needed. Set aside to stuff in flounder.
Yield: 24 ounces
Crab Butter
2 ounces claw crabmeat, picked clean of shells
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon seafood base
1 green onion, thinly sliced
Fold the crab, butter, seafood base, and onions together in a medium bowl and mix until smooth. Remove from the bowl and shape into a log on a piece of parchment paper. Roll up and place in the freezer. Reserve for flounder.
Giada De Laurentiis
Ingredients
12 Roma tomatoes, sliced in 1/2 lenghtwise
1/4 cups olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup plain bread crumbs
3/4 cup finely crumbled Gorgonzola or grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Using a teaspoon or grapefruit spoon, remove the seeds from the tomatoes. Place the tomato halves, cut side down, on paper towels to drain, about 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Using clean hands, gently toss the drained tomato halves in the oil mixture until coated. Marinate the tomatoes for 10 minutes.
In a small mix together the bread crumbs and Gorgonzola cheese.
Place the marinated tomato halves, cut side up, on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Fill each tomato half with te bread crumb filling. Drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until slightly softened and the underside of the tomatoes are brown.
Arrange the cooked tomatoes on a serving platter. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve immediately.
