Fried Catfish!

We wanted something a little different for supper last night...Hubby's Mom sent home some catfish steaks so I thawed them out and fried them. Boy were they good! I didn't have any coating mix, so I made my own. I put a couple of cups of yellow cornmeal in the food processer, put a good bit of Cajun seasoning in it and processed it until it turned into corn flour.

When we got ready to eat, I heated up the deep fryer, dredged the fish steaks in the seasoned corn flour and dropped them in the hot grease.

When the grease is right, the fish drop to the bottom and then start to come up to the top. I don't stir them around until they start to brown...the coating stays on the fish better. When the pieces float they are done. Remove and drain well, put on a flat pan covered with newspaper and paper towels and place in a warm (180 degree) oven. Don't crowd the pan - it needs to be done about 5 pieces at a time.

When the last of the fish was cooked, I coated cut up potatoes with the seasoned corn flour and fried them in the fish grease. SOOOOO Good!

We had slaw, onion and pickles with the fish and potatoes and pralines for dessert. Make you slap your pappy!

Looking rainy (or snowy) outside today...white Christmas maybe???

Little Man stayed with me a while yesterday so Mom could get her candy made. He took every candy cane off the tree except for the 3 he couldn't reach. He has a rider truck toy with a storage compartment as the seat. He put all the candy canes in it and rode all over the house. I thought he would probably forget about the candy canes and I would put them back on the tree when he left. When daughter came to get him they started to leave and he ran over to the truck, got all the candy canes out and put them in the bag he brought his toys in. So, my tree is naked. I should have known something as important as candy canes would not have been forgotten.

MMMMM....Pralines!

Finally got in the kitchen and made a batch of pralines - much to Hubby's delight (and mine).

The recipe is very simple:

2 cups packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup heavy cream (whipping cream)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup pecan halves, toasted and cooled
a very small pinch of salt, just a few grains

Put the brown sugar, butter and cream and salt in a heavy saucepan.

Cook over medium to medium low heat, stirring until the mixture boils. Place a candy thermometer on the pan and cook mixture until it reaches soft ball stage...about 236 degrees.

The mixture will have a fine, even boil. Remove from the heat and let sit for 5 to 8 minutes. Add the pecans and vanilla.

Beat the mixture by hand (I use a large bamboo spoon) until lit begins to thicken and lose it's gloss. It only takes a few minutes.

Working quickly, drop by spoonfuls on buttered waxed paper or parchment paper. I used parchment paper sprayed with butter flavor no-stick spray.

The trick to this is not to beat the mixture too long. They should be creamy and delicate. If it is beaten too long, they will still taste good, but they will become a little hard. That's why I make several batches before I send the candy to the neighbors...I can get a feel of when they have been beaten enough.

This was my Dad's recipe and he could make the creamiest pralines. He worked at the courthouse and every year made huge batches of fudge and pralines to take to his co-workers. That was when the "million dollar fudge" came out - with marshmallow cream and milk chocolate. He always stuck with it every year.

Got to go get my soup started...it's very cold and Hubby requested vegetable beef stew and cornbread for supper.

Have a warm, sweet day!

Sparkleball!

This SO does not do justice to this sparkleball. I had to turn off the flash so you could see the effect...we have five of them across the front of the house. Hubby hung them up with bungee cords, so when the wind is blowing they sway. This one is about the size of a small beach ball. It's made with plastic cups, zip ties and a string of lights.

Little Man and Big Guy were with us last night and while Big Guy was sleeping Little Man wanted to go outside to see the balls. He didn't have a coat here, so I got a sweatshirt, folded the arms up and put it on him. It came down to his shoes and was a little goofy looking, but he didn't care. He said "Granny Honey it's bootiful". He really liked the tree inside too. He hasn't found the candy canes yet.

We had baked pork steak and cooked cabbage for supper last night. It was soooo good. We're going to have chili tonight in honor of the cold weather. It's about time to practice on some pralines...that may be an afternoon project. They don't last long...I should just glue them to my hips because that's where they end up anyway.

Daughter and son-in-law celebrated their anniversary yesterday and went to see the new Harry Potter at IMAX. I can't wait to see it, though I will probably have to wait until it comes out on TV. Daughter got me hooked on the books and I really enjoyed reading them. Hubby can't stand watching the movies on TV but I watch them every time they come on.

Stay warm and have a great day!