Once again, I was lucky to be the recipient of fully cleaned and filleted catfish. There must have been about two pounds. I decided to oven-fry them because my stovetop was occupied with both a pressure canner and a pot of boiling hot water-bath. When it is too hot to work outside, I bring the outside in by heating up the kitchen – at least that’s my husband’s complaint. He didn’t complain about dinner, though.

Oven-fried Catfish
2 lbs. catfish fillets
3/4 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 tsp. thyme
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1⁄2 tsp. pepper
1 cup milk
1 egg

Mix the dry ingredients together in a shallow pan. Whisk the egg and milk together in another shallow pan. Lightly coat a foil-lined sheet pan with cooking spray. Dip each fillet in the milk and then into the dry mixture. Lay the breaded fillets on the sheet pan with space between each – no crowding. Use another pan if necessary.

Finish with a light coat of cooking spray on the top of each fillet. Place the sheet pan in a 415-degree oven and cook for 15 minutes. Check the fish after 10 minutes and flip the fillets. I used my convection setting and did not turn the fish over; however, I only cooked them for about 12 minutes. They were nicely browned on both sides.

While the fillets cooked, I made a side of chopped tomatoes. I started by sautéing onions and a mild chili pepper in olive oil. I added minced garlic and cooked for about a minute. Then I added chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper and continued to cook for about 3 minutes on low heat.

Turn the heat off, cover with a lid and let it sit. The tomatoes should still be firm. Before serving, I added a little balsamic vinegar and chopped kalamata olives.

Red potatoes sounded good too, so I sliced them, added a drizzle of olive oil and a dash of garlic salt and cooked them covered in the microwave for 5 minutes. Then I stirred the potatoes and returned them to the microwave for another 4 minutes. (If I had thought to toast bread slices in the toaster oven, I’d have had every heating appliance in the kitchen working. No wonder David gripes that I’m heating up the house!)

Anyway, I served the catfish with the red potatoes, chopped tomatoes and a dollop of tartar sauce. I made the tartar sauce by stirring together mayonnaise, chopped onion, minced garlic, chopped dill pickles and sauerkraut. Season with salt and pepper. Adding the sauerkraut may seem like an odd choice, but the texture and zest it gives is amazing. Garnish the plate with freshly chopped dill weed.

The next day we had fish tacos for lunch. Just reheat the leftover catfish and place on a wheat tortilla. Spread with tartar sauce and top with chopped cabbage. Yum!