Blackened Tilapia Sandwich a la Paula Deen

My daughters have a thing for cooking shows.  Annie and I prefer the nerdy fabulousness of Alton Brown, whereas Catie leans toward the incessant perk and chatter of Rachael Ray.  We often meet in the middle with Paula Deen.

Besides being lovely to look at, she oozes southern charm in a casual way.  So often southern women are seen as prim and proper, but Paula knows how to throw down with the best of us.  I love her for this.

But also, I love her for her unabashed adoration of butter.  And mayonnaise, and bacon, and sour cream.  Me too, Paula – me too.

So recently we saw a show she did on budget meals.  Note: Paula Deen has no clue what a budget meal is.  In reality, it would involve something like rice and beans.  In Paula’s world, it’s a Blackened Tilapia Sandwich with Cilantro-Lime Mayonnaise and Mango Salsa.

Not even joking.

So she’s out of touch with reality, but whatever – the girl can cook.

Last weekend we made her recipe, and let me just say YUM!  This will definitely be in my rotation.

Where we parted ways with Paula:  I made homemade mango salsa (cannot believe she recommended store-bought. Blech!) and I also made ciabatta bread instead of using kaiser rolls.  Oh and I added garlic to the mayo because, well, I just like to eat garlic as much as possible.  It makes me happy.

My salsa:

Mangoes

onion

cucumber

red bell pepper

jalapeno

I’m not big on ‘measuring’ or ‘recipes’ so I can’t give you exact proportions.  I used one large mango, half of a large onion, half a cuke, half a red pepper, and half of a jalapeno.  Then I sprinkled in some lime juice and cilantro and called it a day.

The end result

Delish.  Now stick that in the fridge to gel while we assemble the rest of the meal.

The dressing is easy – just mayo, lime juice, and cliantro.  And garlic if you’re me.

And on to the fish.  Coat with melted butter (naturally), then blackened seasoning, then fry – about 3-4 minutes per side.

I used a non-stick skillet and didn’t add any additional butter to the bottom – the fish had plenty.

Doesn’t it look fabulous?

Yum!

I decided we needed a dessert for such a nice lunch, so I whipped up a lemon cake as well.

The girls felt it wasn’t flashy enough, so they added crystal sugar on top, and red raspberries and basil as a garnish.

Finally, time to dig in

Heavenly.

Not a budget recipe (sorry, Paula), but definitely a delicious one.  4 thumbs up from our home!