TV Dinners: Melissa d’Arabian’s Crispy Golden Sauteed Fish

I’m Lady B and I’m scared of fish.

Wholesome, frugal, and fish-friendly. All the things I'm not.

It’s true. I’m scared to catch it, scared to eat it, and beyond scared to COOK it. I partially blame my mother for this. It’s not what you think. She loves fish and cooks it like a pro.

BUT, when Mom directed a 4-year-old Lady B to SCRAPE A DEAD FISH OFF THE FIREPLACE HEARTH, she may have caused some long-lasting trauma. I now know that when she asked me to take a spatula to my dad’s poor fish that had somehow flopped out of his tank to his brick-y demise, she did so out of her own fear to do it herself. And she admitted years later that she was shocked I agreed to the morbid task. Nonetheless, I still can’t help but picture that poor little fish jerky stuck to the brick whenever I think of tackling gilled gourmet.

But it’s a new year. And while I didn’t make any real resolutions, I did make myself the following promises for 2012:

• Step outside of my comfort zone.
• Chart new territories.
• Cook and eat healthier.
• Moisturize regularly. (TMI, I know. But I am the WORST at putting on lotion everyday.)
• Shrug off the small stuff.
• Be more frugal with the cash-ola.

I’m pretty sure this recipe from Melissa d’Arabian’s show Ten Dollar Dinners tackles all of those promises I made. Well, except for the moisturizing.

I like multi-tasking.

The super awesome part of this recipe? I had everything I needed, except the fish, in my kitchen already, making the total cost of this dinner a whopping $6. (I could have made Melissa’s entire dinner, which paired the fish withBulgur-Stuffed Summer Vegetables and Watermelon with Ginger-Mint Simple Syrup. But since I already had jasmine rice and herb-butter asparagus from Fresh & Easy, I decided to to just go with it.)

Have I told you guys about the love affair I'm having with Fresh & Easy? I'm kinda obsessed.

Melissa, I think we’re gonna be friends. Your recipe is CAH-RAZY easy! And cheap (earning some serious kudos from The Hubs)!

Ready for how easy this is, interwebs?

• Pat fish dry. Try not to squeal in disgust. Then be pleasantly surprised when you realize that talapia is neither slimy, stinky, or still wriggling around. No? Just me. Mmkay.
• Salt and pepper both sides.
• Dredge in flour. Tap off excess.
• Pat dry again. (Double-patting gives you a perfectly golden crunch-tastic crust. Thanks for the tip, MD!)
• Fry three minutes on one side in veggie oil over medium heat.

Fry fishes, fry!

• Flip (Melissa gave a great piece of advice: Use a firm hand with your spatula to make sure you get all the crusty goodness in one move. So right.)
• Once flipped, put pats of butter on top of fish. (Yes!)
• Cook another couple minutes and remove fish.
• Add lemon juice to pan (Melissa specifically said to be careful of splatters. She was NOT kidding. Let’s not talk about the gnarly hot oil burn I have on my right hand now, k?) and scrape up all the little brown bits while deglazing the pan.

Lemons are pretty. And will burn the holy shiz outta you when added to frying oil. Imagine that.

• Throw in the chopped parsley, and drizzle the lemony buttery happiness on top of fish.

Close up buttery fried goodness.

That’s it! So easy! So inexpensive! So not fish-stinky at all!

And you guys? I totally ate it. Willingly. Happily.

 

I know it doesn’t make any damn sense at all, but I now feel like I have finally avenged dad’s fish’s untimely death and shoddy burial. (We maybe just threw dad’s prized pet in the trash. He was none too happy.)
Rest in peace, little fish! I now have the courage to cook and eat your friends.

Wait. Is that really avenging? I dunno. But let’s go with it.


Lady B’s Final Say So:

• Ease Factor: 5 out of 5 noms (once I got over touching fish)
• Taste Test: 5 out of 5 noms
• Truth in Advertising: 5 out of 5 noms
• The Hubs’  Vote: 4 out of 5 noms ( he originally gave it a 3.5. Then I told him how cheap it was.)
• Yeah, but is it pretty?: 4 out of 5 noms
• Overall: She got me to LIKE FISH! Bravo, Melissa. Bravo.

{originally published on 1/9/12 here}