Beach Meal

         Oh, the beach.  I was on the South Carolina coast for the week with my family for our annual beach visit.  My family has what's called "beach rules".  Beach rules state that no one has to do anything they don't want to do, but every person has to cook dinner one night out of the week.  Of course there are unofficial beach rules, like help out with the dishes and don't be a sore loser at Monopoly, but for the most part, making dinner one night was my only obligation. 
          A few years ago I was at the gym and someone had one of the TV's set to Paula Deen's cooking show.  The only part of the show that stuck with me were the tilapia sandwiches she made.  So, created my own little twist for the focus my beach meal.  I knew I wanted to use whatever fish was swimming that morning; it didn't really matter what kind it was.  The freshest fish at the market that day were grouper.  We got one filet per two people, because they were huge and had to fit on a bun.  I mixed together cornmeal, old bay seasoning, blackening, and salt to put on my fish.  I dipped the filets in egg, then coated them in the dry mixture.  I also filled a cast iron pan with about a centimeter of oil and let that get extremely hot, which, in the un-air conditioned house, didn't make the kitchen feel too great.  I carefully set the filets in, because as soon as they hit the pan, spurts of hot oil went in every direction.  I flipped the fish when they were golden brown and crispy on one side.  When they were done, I set them on tons of paper towels to let the excess grease drip out.  When I was watching Paula Deen, she made a lime and dill mayo.  I didn't follow her recipe exactly, but obviously it was the same idea.  I chopped up lots of fresh dill, squeezed a juicy lime, and stirred that into a good heap of mayonnaise.  I put a decent dollop of that on toasted buns for each person, and laid the fish on top.

          Along with the fish, I created a corn, cucumber, and tomato salad that I found online.  I made sure to only use very fresh produce from the family-run stand on the side of the road.  Here is the recipe:
http://localfoods.about.com/od/salads/r/corncuctomsalad.htm

          I wanted the starch for my meal to be easy; I could only slave away in an un-air conditioned kitchen for so long.  I bought a bag of sweet potato waffle fries from the freezer section in the grocery store, threw them in the oven for twenty minutes, and served them alongside my fish and salad.  They were kind of a strange combination, but it worked nonetheless.

         Overall my beach meal was definitely a success.  With influences from Paula Deen, fresh fish and fresh produce, online recipes, and my own genius, this summer dinner was exciting, different, and tasty.

Happy Dining,
The Teenage Foodie