Tonight was like the Olden Days.
No, I didn’t get to churn butter or card wool or call anyone “Pa” or “Ma,” but I did get to take Matthew his dinner at work.
Back when we were first married, he had to close at the coffee shop a lot, and I didn’t want to eat alone. So I’d cook dinner, pack it up, and walk a few blocks to his work. None of his coworkers are married, and they all thought we were either really annoying or sort-of cute.
Funny that I’m nostalgic for something that happened two years ago.
But tonight I got to bring my husband dinner at work again. If I didn’t, he’d eat a stale bagel or a couple of apple fritters.
We had a huge portion of catfish from the annual guy’s fishing trip—18 pieces of fish! What do I do with that??
I make…catfish patties.
Or, rather, ahem: Petite Catfish Cakes with (Caper) Lemon-Dill Sauce. Fancy, right?
Ingredients:
1 pound catfish fillets
1 ½ cups Panko crumbs
3 minced green onions
2 large beaten eggs
½ cup finely-diced red bell pepper
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
¼ cup vegetable oil
8 ounces of sour cream
(capers if you like them)
1 Tablespoon of chopped fresh dill
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Directions:
Chop catfish into ¼-inch pieces
Combine catfish with ¾ cup Panko crumbs
Add next five ingredients, stir and blend gently
For mixture into 12 patties (about a 1/4 cup each)
Dredge catfish patties in remaining Panko crumbs
Cook patties in batches over hot oil in non-stick skillet, about 4 minutes each side or until golden. Drain.
To make the caper-dill sauce to top catfish patties, simply combine the sour cream, capers (if you dare), dill, and lemon juice.
I think this would work well with any white fish, and I’m curious to see what would happen with shrimp. I was most pleased with how well it masked the sometimes-lakey-fishy catfish taste…it made something really common and everyday taste light and fresh and fancy.
And make the sauce, it is just right. I used fat-free sour cream and it was the ideal compliment. With the cakes, I sauteed some cut okra, and it was a great dinner.
Walking down the twilight-damp streets of Charleston, I had the doubly-good feeling of sharing a quality meal and knowing it would be in the best company.