Spicy Grilled Tilapia

Last night, my husband grilled up some fish for dinner, and it was, seriously, the best fish I have ever had. So, I had to write it down so I can replicate it next time I want  some more of that fresh goodness. Sometimes I wonder why some people don't like seafood, and then I wonder if they've ever had fish this good.

4 Tilapia fillets (I'm sure this would work great with other types of fish)

olive oil

salt and pepper

red pepper flakes

1 lemon

Make sure your fish is thawed, if it was frozen, and dry. Drizzle fish with olive oil and sprinkle over the salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Squeeze a little bit of lemon over fish while it is grilling, and again after placing it on a serving plate. Sometimes, some of the simplest things in life are the best!! I think this would also be good with a little bit of melted butter drizzled on after it has been grilled, with a tiny bit of garlic powder too. 

Crab Cakes

I've been wanting to learn how to make some good crab cakes. We've tried one recipe before, and it wasn't that great. When I tried some in Maryland, I noticed they used a lot of Old Bay seasonings on top, and they were nice and crispy on the edges, and soft in the middle. Then my sister-in-law, who grew up back east, gave me her recipe to try. It went something like this: add a little bit of this, and a lot of this... so I didn't have exact measurements to go by, just a general idea. They turned out really good, and here's about how much we used: 

2 cans crab meat 

1 egg

2 Tb. Mayonnaise 

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning

1/2 pkg. saltine crackers, crushed

3-5 Tb. Old Bay seasoning

3-5 Tb. bread crumbs

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup oil 

I mixed up the crab with the egg, mayo, and spices, and then added the crushed crackers and stirred just till combined. Then I took a large spoon and dropped large spoonfuls of the stuff onto some parchment paper, and tapped down the tops with a fork to level out the tops, while slightly squeezing the sides to shape into a circle. I ended up making mine a little thin, but next time I'll make them thicker, like the ones I had back east. A lot thicker. Then warmed up the butter and oil in a skillet at medium heat and mixed the Old Bay and bread crumbs in a bowl. Next I scooped up the crab cakes one at a time, and dipped them head first into the Old Bay and bread-crumb mixture and placed them carefully in the hot butter/oil, and fried them on each side, until golden brown. I placed them in a warm dish, covered them with foil, and stuck them in a hot oven (about 300) to heat them through and keep them warm until I was ready to serve them up. This recipe made about 5-6 small cakes, so we ended up doubling the recipe to have enough for our family to have two each. 

Next time I make these, I'm considering adding:

1 garlic clove, finely minced- or just a little bit of garlic powder

2 Tb. parsley, finely minced

1/4 onion, finely chopped

1 baked potato, peeled and mashed