By Jeff Walker
Features Editor
San Marcos —
If there’s one thing — wait, three things — that define comfort for me, it’s a warm, sandy beach, a cold beverage and a good book.
I look forward to all three this weekend when my wife and I meet my family at Galveston Island Friday evening.
But even better than comfort at the beach is comfort food at the beach. With all the somber uncertainties surrounding the oil spill in the Gulf, the fate of the Texas coast’s seafood supply remains in Jeopardy. With oysters already coming into Texas restaurants from Florida, prices could take a huge hike sooner than later.
Needless to say, we plan on loading up on shrimp and fresh fish and other Gulf seafood staples while we still can, at least at a reasonable price.
Galveston is the true beach destination of my childhood, a regular summer vacation spot for my family. While I was devastated by the scenes from Hurricane Ike in 2008, I’m both encouraged by its resurgence and anxious to walk down that sea wall again for the first time in decades.
I’m also ready to dirty up the condo’s kitchen with a stock pot full of boiling corn and new potatoes, frying up some beer battered shrimp and hush puppies. I can almost taste the smell of blazing hot grease cutting through the salty, seafood aroma.
And in between meals of fresh saltwater delights, rest assured I’ll have my toes in the sand and my nose in a book, enjoying my couple days of R&R one page at a time.
Beer Battered Shrimp
• 1tbs. cayenne pepper
• 2 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. sweet paprika
• 1 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 3/4 tsp. onion powder
• 3/4 tsp. dried thyme leaves
• 3/4 tsp. dried oregano leaves
• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup fresh beer
• 1 tbs. baking powder
• 4 dozen medium shrimp, peeled but tails left on
• vegetable oil for deep frying
Thoroughly combine the seasoning mix ingredients in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, combine 2 tsp. of the mix with the eggs, 1 1/4 cups of the flour, the beer and baking powder; mix well, breaking up any lumps.
In a small bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup flour with 1 1/2 tsp. of the seasoning mix; set aside.
Sprinkle both sides of the shrimp with the remaining seasoning mix. Then, holding the shrimp by the tail, dredge each in the flour mixture, shaking off excess, then dip in batter allowing excess to drip off. Place on a baking sheet.
Heat oil in a deep fryer (or frying pan) to 350 degrees. Drop shrimp, one at a time, into the oil and deep fry until golden brown, about 30 seconds per side. Do not crowd.
Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.
Crab Crusted Baked Grouper
• 4 grouper fillets (6 ounce each)
• 1 (6 ounce) can crab meat, or fresh crab meat if possible
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese
• Flavored bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons chopped red bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped yellow bell pepper
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, red pepper, yellow pepper, green onions, jalapeno, butter, crab meat and mozzarella cheese.
Arrange seasoning grouper fillets with salt and pepper in a single layer in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Spread the crumb topping evenly over the fish.
Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until fish is easily flaked with a fork. If you have thin fillets, you may broil for 10 minutes instead of baking.
