Sunday 27 January 2013

Good stuff all round! Lionfish cookbook challenge week 2!

Lionfish cookbook challenge week 2!

This week we had 8 lionfish and one big crab ready for this weeks recipe of crab stuffed lionfish! We managed to hunt down all of the ingredients from various shops on the island, which is a little harder than being able to nip to Tescos, but is fun searching around in lots of little shops and stricking gold when you find it!

Jason at the filleting station
Jason filleted all the lionfish and with help from Brian they got all the crabmeat ready (using lots of tools to get all of it out!) while I began making the crab stuffing. This was a mix of the crabmeat with breadcrumbs, celery, hot sauce etc. and like last week was a special mix of things I had not made before. It was also quite exciting as during this I was receiving updates on the iPad from home as my sister was having a baby. Very exciting!

Preparing the crab
Preparing the crab stuffing mix

We had the lionfish all rolled up with the crab goodness and in the oven, the side dishes were done and we were all cleaned up and waiting for people to arrive feeling mighty pleased with ourselves when I took one last peak at the lionfish cookbook......  I had forgotten to read the second paragraph which began.. while the lionfish is in the oven.... I had forgotten to make the sauce!  It was all ready steady cook as the boys all helped as I shouted out ingredients and together we mixed, stirred, grated and thickened our way to a yummy cheesy white sauce made from scratch in no time! Pros in the making here! And ready in time for the fish.

Crab stuffed lionfish fillets


Line up for lionfish!

Then everyone came right on time, Matt brought some yummy starters called hush puppies (no puppies, fried dough balls), some brownie cake and Annabelle brought a lovely tiramisu! It really may be turning into the best eatery in town!

Lionfish Lady and fellow Brit Jocelyn ready to try the dish of the week


After making hungry people pose for photos we all sat outside for some garden dining in the moonlight, lovely! (Sorry for those who have the snow, oh and I am writing this outside in my working hammock, just in case you were wondering! )


Me and my food, ready to tuck in!
And here we all are! I think next week I will get some food tasting comments noted down from everyone so you can get the info as it happens! But I can say that this recipe was surprisingly easy to make, tasted really good and is pretty fancy to look at! Also, that's 6 more lionfish cooked up and off the reef, shared with a good group of friends, (and Annabelle left some tiramisu in our fridge), you can't ask for more than that!
The lionfish dinner party, great turnout from CEI and visiting scientists
And, as I was going to bed, I got the call, I am a very proud auntie of my new nephew, Harry, well done and congratulations to my sister in England! what a great evening all round!

2 comments:

  1. Love what you are doing with the REEF lionfish cookbook challenge! Just wish I would have thought of it myself! Thanks for intentionally, or unintentionally, helping the conservation effort and letting everyone know that lionfish are safe and delicious to eat!!!

    We're definitely sharing your efforts via our World Lionfish Hunters Asssociation Facebook page.

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  2. Thank you for sharing this around, and I am glad you are enjoying the blog. It started over a conversation at a party, then I got hold of the book and it went from there. So far it has been a lot of fun! I am hoping it will help the conservation effort and encourage more people to eat it, so far each recipe has been delicious.

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