"...there is no clear line between religion and fly fishing". - From A River Runs Through It.
"There's a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore looking like an idiot." - - Steven Wright
Ingredients:
Trout (small fish, under 9-10 inches)
Onion
Broccoli
Corn meal
Graham cracker powder
Soy Sauce (the authentic fermented stuff, like Kikkoman)
1 teaspoon black pepper (finely ground)
1/2 teaspoon finely ground ginger
A pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt
Canola oil
Put a liberal amount of soy sauce on the trout (or soak the trout for 8 hrs. in soy sauce in the 'fridge). Saturate the body cavity. Do *not* pat the fish dry. Sprinkle ground black pepper on the trout.
Use a rolling pin to powder the corn meal (it's too coarse). Add a 50/50 mix of corn meal powder and Graham cracker powder in a large bowl. Put the soy sauce-wetted fish in the bowl and coat them with the mixture, the thicker the coating the better. Take a strip of onion and place it in the body cavity of each trout. If deep frying, secure the body cavity with a toothpick.
Fill a large frying pan with enough oil so that the trout are almost covered when placed in the pan (or just use a deep frier). Add 1 teaspoon black pepper, a pinch of ginger, a tablespoon of soy sauce, a pinch of cayenne, and some chopped onion to the oil. Bring the oil to high temperature.
Add trout to the pan and fry until each side is a LIGHT brown. About 3-4 minutes per side is usually enough (3-4 minutes total for deep friers). DO NOT OVER COOK! Over-cooking ruins fish. In a separate container, boil large pieces of chopped onion and broccoli in water for no more than three minutes. If steaming, for no more than 5 minutes.
Place the trout on paper towels to absorb excess oil. Garnish the trout with the onion and broccoli. Serve with a tart white wine or a cold lager beer.
Phil's Pepper-Elk Slices
Ingredients:
2 or 3 tomatos (thickly cut)
1 pound elk (or other venison), sliced into strips. Round steak or some of the "tougher" cuts are okay if you tenderize them first.
1/4 cup soy sauce (the authentic fermented stuff like Kikkoman)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped (or 1 tablespoon garlic powder)
1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon paprika (mainly for color but also for taste)
1/4 cup canola oil or olive oil
1 cup onion (sliced, not chopped)
1 cup red bell peppers (cut into thick strips)
2 or 3 stalks celery (cut into strips or cubes)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup water
Serves two.
Cut elk meat into thin strips. (optional: soak the strips in milk overnight to reduce the gamey taste. I usually don't bother). Pound on the strips to tenderize them. Combine soy sauce, garlic, and elk strips, and stir them together and set aside while preparing vegetables.
Heat oil in a large frying pan or wok. Add the elk strips, garlic and soy sauce, and stir over high heat until well-browned.
Reduce heat (to medium). Slice vegatables into thick strips and add them to the pan (EXCEPT the tomatoes). Stir until vegatables are tender and crisp (no more than 10 minutes).
Mix cornstarch with 1 cup water and add to pan. Stir until thickened.
Lastly, add the tomato chunks, paprika, cayenne, and Tabasco sauce and stir for two minutes longer.
If 1 tablespoon of Tabasco sauce and cayenne is too much for your taste, then cut the amounts in half. I have found that bison meat can be used in place of elk or deer (ranchers raise bison for profit in the nearby Flathead valley).
Here's a quality source that will meet your bison meat needs: Durham Ranch in Gillette, Wyoming: 1-800-233-8742. Call toll-free to find a distributor near you!
Hey! Are you still Jones'n for more bison? Here's another source to satisfy your wild cravings! Wild Idea Buffalo.
Phil's Mushroom Pasta Venison
1 pound deer steak
1-1/2 cups pasta (uncooked measure). I use the super-large Rotini or Rigatoni pastas.
Wine vinegar or white wine, two servings, 1/4 cup each.
Mushrooms (sliced thick, at least enough to fill a large pan to one layer, although 2 layers is better)
Olive oil, 1/2 cup
Black pepper, about 1 heaping tablespoon
Corn starch, 1 tablespoon
Garlic, 1 or 2 cloves
Rosemary, 1 tablespoon
Thyme, 1 tablespoon
Pound the deer steaks to tenderize (soak the strips in milk overnight to reduce the gamey taste). Brown on both sides on medium to high heat with vinegar (or wine), black pepper and olive oil.
Turn down heat to lowest setting (simmer). Add thickly sliced mushrooms, one or two garlic cloves (crushed), thyme, rosemary (and, if necessary, another 1/4 cup wine (or vinegar) as it simmers down. Don't allow sauce to boil dry). Simmer covered for 15 minutes.
Boil the Rigatoni (or Rotini) pasta separately.
Add corn starch (mixed with a little water) to pan of steak and juice 5 min. before you remove from stove. Mix mushrooms and pan juice with the pasta. Lay this over the steak and you're ready to serve with garlic bread and a Zinfindel wine.
Phil's Salmon Rushdee
4 salmon steaks (I cut mine 1 1/2 inches thick)
1/2-pound button mushrooms ("little white mushrooms"), whole
Lemon Pepper seasoning powder
Red wine (2 cups) (buy the cheapest red wine available) for marinade
Lemon juice (three tablespoons) for marinade
Liquid Smoke (one teaspoon) for marinade
1/2 onion, finely chopped
Curry powder
Olive oil (1/4 cup)
Soak steaks overnight, refrigerated, in the marinade of wine, lemon juice and Liquid Smoke. Remove the steaks. Save some of the marinade. Sprinkle 1-2 teaspoons of curry over one side of steaks (1-2 teaspoons total, not per steak. Adjust amount of curry up or down for personal taste). In large fry pan, add olive oil, salmon steaks, onions, 1 teaspoon of curry (in addition to the curry that is already on the steaks), and about 1/3 cup of the used wine marinade. Fry at 3/4 heat, covered, for about 4 minutes per side. After turning, sprinkle lemon pepper seasoning powder on each side. Lastly, add mushrooms to pan. Remove steaks and onions and serve with boiled red potatoes and broccoli with butter, and a good dry red wine (hopefully, not the cheap crap you used for the marinade). Garnish steaks with the mushrooms.
Serves 2.
Phil's Tiger Shrimp With Mexican Rice
A very simple meal that not only tastes great but looks great too.
Ingredients
FOR THE SHRIMP
21 raw tiger shrimp, deveined (but leave the shells on for enhanced flavor)
1/8 - 1/4 stick real butter
1/4 cup olive oil or canola oil
4 tablespoons (or more) lemon juice
Ground black pepper (to taste)
Cayenne pepper powder (a small to moderate pinch per shrimp; optional, but highly recommended)
FOR THE RICE
1 cup uncooked brown rice
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons olive oil or canola oil
2 cups water
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
A pinch of Cayenne pepper powder
Fry shrimp in butter, oil, garlic powder, lemon juice and cayenne in skillet on high heat. This should take a total of 1 1/2 - 2 minutes per side, provided that the oil-butter level is shallow. Be sure to turn the shrimp. Add black pepper on top of shrimp after turning. Shrimp are done when they have curled up and have turned pink.
Remove shrimp from pan and set aside. Drain pan and discard drippings.
Add the cooking oil, the onion, and the rice to the skillet and brown on high heat for about 4-5 minutes, stirring often. You will know that it is done when the onions are candied and the rice will be a golden brown.
Add the remaining ingredients to the skillet and bring to a boil. Immediately turn down heat to low heat (almost to simmer) and cook for 20 minutes longer, stirring often. After 20 minutes the ingredients should no longer be runny, and the rice grains should still be firm.
Spoon rice onto dish and lay the shrimp on top of the rice. It goes great with a cold dry lager beer. If it's summer, serve with a large bowl of cubed watermelon pieces (or of other melons) as a cooling desert.
This recipe should feed about 3 people (7 shrimp apiece). I have found that a sprinkling of cayenne pepper over the frying shrimp really brings out their flavor. Personally, I like my shrimp a bit on the hot side, satuated with lemon juice. Just don't overdo the cayenne!
Phil's Psychic-Shock Bean and Chicken Soup
Ingredients:
1 large chicken breast (pre-cooked and shredded)
One 15-ounce can pre-cooked soy beans (or one can Great Northern beans, but I prefer soy beans) (include the liquid from the can)
One 15-ounce can pre-cooked black beans (include the liquid)
1 cup uncooked (dry) lentil beans
2 fifteen-ounce cans Mexican-style (or Italian-style) stewed tomatoes
3/4 large onion to one large onion, chopped
1-2 palm-fulls of chili powder
2 heaping palm-fulls of garlic powder
2 palm-fulls of ground black pepper
Cayenne pepper powder (to taste). I put in one
palm-full. This soup is supposed to have a lot of heat, so don't be stingy with the magic powder!
Instructions:
Boil lentils, shredded precooked chicken breast, and the chopped onions in a pot with three cups of water for 15 minutes. In my humble opinion, the more chicken that you add, all the better.
Replenish the water as it boils off.
While the above ingredients are boiling, mash-up the stewed tomatoes in a separate bowl. I use a potato masher.
After 15 minutes of boiling, add the rest of the ingredients to the pot with the
lentils, chicken, and onions. Be sure to add the liquid from the black bean and soybean/Great Northern bean cans.
Add water, if needed, to satisfy your taste. At most, only about a cup is needed.
Boil for another 2-3 minutes, constantly stirring.
This soup, made exactly as described, is also effective at relieving sinus congestion. I always make up a batch whenever I get a head cold.
WARNING: This soup is intense! It is my favorite soup recipe. After one bowl, I guarantee that you will hallucinate that you are having a conversation with dead mentally-deranged prophets.
Phil's "2nd Great Depression" Bean Salad The side-dish of choice for celebrating the end of the Bush presidency
1-can garbonzo beans (drain liquid)
1-can black-eyed peas (drain liquid)
1-can "little red beans" (drain liquid)
1-can pinto beans (drain liquid)
1-can pre-cooked corn or an equivalent amount of thawed frozen peas
1-2 tablespoons olive oil (or, to save money, use corn oil)
4-tablespoons lemon juice
A sprinkle of dill flakes (to suit your taste)
Mix.
Serve cold as your vegetable side dish (it will make your Depression era meal budget go much futher!).
Frying Hamburgers Without Cooking Oil
You don't need to use cooking oil to fry hamburgers, chops, or steaks! The trick is to use a low heat, fry slowly, and use water instead of cooking oil. I adapted this frying technique from an old college friend. And yes, it will brown the meat!
Lay the meat in a dry fry pan. Season the meat as usual. Add enough water to just barely reach the top surface of the meat. Turn heat on the "high" setting. When the water starts to boil, turn the heat down to 3/4.
Let the water boil down almost to nothing. When the water has nearly boiled away, let the meat brown for a minute or so more, then flip the meat, season the other side, and add the same amount of water as you added to the first side.
Again, let the water boil down to nothing, and let the meat brown for another minute or so.
The meat should be perfectly cooked and browned on both sides. Water-fried hamburgers taste exactly the same as oil-fried hamburgers and they tend to be moister.
This technique also works for chops and steaks. Just remember to fry it "wet, low and slow".