Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Cajun Spiced Catfish w/ Sauteed Chard & Parmesan Grits


Hey Divas! Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. Kuzak and I found ourselves feeling pretty sluggish most of the weekend and OD'ing on Los Tacos, which did not help the sluggishness. The Monster, on the other hand, had an active two days, first with puppy class and then at the Laurel Canyon Dog Park, where he ran with a pack of other miniature, white fluffy dogs. On the culinary front, I made some great meals over the weekend that I'm excited to share this week! First up, I bought some beautiful catfish fillets and decided to give them the Cajun treatment. I served them with local, organic sauteed chard and parmesan reggiano strewn yellow corn grits. The combo was positively divalicious! Not only is this a healthy meal, it's also fast to whip together. So Divas, give it a shot!

Also, we paired this dish with a great bottle of Rivers-Marie Pinot Noir, so make sure to read to the bottom for my tasting notes!

"I love the Diva's grits!" said The Adorable Monster.

Domestic Diva's Cajun Spiced Catfish w/ Sauteed Chard & Parmesan Grits

2 catfish fillets
2 tbsp Cajun seasoning
1 tsp fresh thyme
2 tbsp grapeseed oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 cups chard, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
pinch chili flakes
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups grits, cooked
1/4 parmesan reggiano
salt and pepper

Directions:

To make the grits, stir in the parmesan reggiano and season to taste with salt and pepper. Then, to make the chard, heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium high heat. Add the garlic and chili flakes and saute for 1 minute. Then, add the chard, stirring until cooked. Drizzle with 1 tbsp lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.

To make the fish, coat both sides of the catfish fillets with Cajun seasoning and sprinkle with the fresh thyme. In a large saute pan, heat the grapeseed oil over medium high heat until almost smoking. At the fish, sauteing for a few minutes on each side until cooked. Remove from heat.

To plate, place some grits in the bottom of the disk. Top with a heap of chard and place one fillet on top. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tbsp lemon juice. Enjoy!

"Yum, more grits for me! Now, if only I can get them
off the bottom of this pot!"

Wine Tasting Notes: Rivers-Marie 2005 Occidental Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir

Diva Rating: 4 stars (out of 5 stars)

Today I was reflecting on how blessed we are to have both amazing local food and local wine. If you've been following my blog, then you've noticed that we drink mostly local, California wines. It's not that we don't love the wines produced in other areas of the world, it's just that we love the connections we form through what we eat and what drink to where we live. I've often blogged about Rivers-Marie, one of our favorite boutique Sonoma Coast producers. They make both excellent pinor noir and cabernet, and this particular bottling was no exception. A lovely Burgundian style wine, full of cherry and blueberry fruit up front. Light bodied with just enough structure to support the fruit, and a smooth, delicate finish. It drank well all night, down to the last drops I pilfered from Kuzak's when he fell asleep on the sofa. I highly recommend checking out Rivers-Marie!

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