Capt. Woody’s Hot Crab Blue Cheese and Artichoke Dip

6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 lb artichoke hearts, drained and finely chopped

1 cup mayonnaise

1 egg

2 lb fresh lump crab

3 ounces blue cheese, finely crumbled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a saucepan on low heat cook cream cheese until creamy. Remove from heat and stir in artichoke hearts, mayonnaise, egg, crab meat and blue cheese. Pour into oven proof baking dish and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve with water crackers.

Capt. Woody’s Favorite Oyster Stew

1 stick butter

1 cup chopped onions

1 cup chopped celery

2 pts of half and half or whipping cream

1 quart milk

2 pints of oysters

1 ½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

Melt butter and sauté celery and onions. Add oysters and sauté until edges curl. Add other ingredients and heat until ready to serve.

Capt. Woody’s Old Tampa Skillet Oysters

1 pint oysters

2 cups finely crushed stale Cuban bread

½ cup melted butter

Worcestershire sauce to taste

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. white pepper

Lemon wedges for garnish

Drain oysters then add salt and pepper and dredge in crushed Cuban bread. In a heavy skillet heat butter over moderate heat and brown the oysters turning occasionally. Drain on paper towels. Serve with lemon wedge, tartar sauce or cocktail sauce.

Capt. Woody’s Old South Crab Cakes

1 pound jumbo lump crab meat

½ lemon juiced seeds removed

1 tablespoon cracker meal

4 tablespoon butter

½ cup Hellmann’s mayonnaise

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

½ cup minced celery

1/2 teaspoons dry mustard

2 eggs lightly beaten

Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the celery in butter and combined all other ingredients except crab. Gently fold in crab meat maintaining its lumpy texture. Shape crab mixture into cakes and sauté over medium heat 5 to 10 minutes per side. Add remaining butter and sauté remaining cakes. You can also bake them on a baking sheet and bake in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden, flipping cakes over once during cooking.

Capt. Woody’s Smoked Spanish mackerel Fish Spread (Use any fish)

2-3             pounds            smoked fish    flaked – bones removed

1                large                onion               minced

1                juiced               lemon seeds removed

4                stalks               celery              finely chopped

4                tablespoon       garlic               chopped         

2                tablespoon       Worcestershire sauce

2                tablespoon       parsley            chopped fresh

3                tablespoon       Crystal Hot Sauce

3                large containers of whipped cream cheese

Salt and ground pepper to taste

When smoking the fish sprinkle with garlic salt and lemon pepper. Combine everything except fish and set aside. Remove the skin, flake, and debone then combine other ingredients and fish. Refrigerate for a couple of hours and serve with crackers, lemon wedges and hot sauce

Capt. Woody’s Grilled Spanish Mackerel

¼ cup olive oil

3 lemons, sliced

1 lemon juiced (seeds removed)

6 large Spanish mackerel fillets

Salt and ground pepper

½ teaspoon garlic powder

Light grill and set it to medium heat, cover the surface of the grill with aluminum foil. Start with six mackerel fillets skin on, rib bones and blood line removed from flesh side of mackerel. (To remove blood line cut a wedge down the middle of each fillet and scrap out with spoon) Brush both sides of the fillets with olive oil. Combine lemon juice, salt, pepper and garlic in a small bowl and spoon mixture over flesh side of each fillet and place them skin side down onto the aluminum foil. Sprinkle the fillets with salt and pepper cover each completely with the lemon slices. Grill until meat just begins to flake, do not flip fillets. Serve immediately. Yield: 6 servings

Capt. Woody’s Old Tampa Hush Puppies

Peanut oil

1 ¾ cups stone-ground corn flour

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

2 cups buttermilk

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 large egg

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ cup minced onion

Prepare the hush puppy batter. Mix the egg and buttermilk well in a medium-size bowl. Stir in cornmeal until well blended. Stir in onion. Place salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a small bowl, and set both bowls aside while you fry the fish.

Add the reserved baking powder, baking soda and salt mixture to the hush puppy batter and mix well, adding any left over fish mixture slowly until the batter is thick enough to be spooned. This will take about ¼ to ½ cup of the remaining corn flour.

Make sure that the oil has returned to 375°, and then drop the batter by spoonfuls into the hot oil, using 2 teaspoons: one to scoop up the batter and the other to scrape it off and into the oil. Fry the hush puppies until they are golden brown all over, about 3 minutes, again carefully monitoring the oil, and then place on a wire rack.

You probably won’t have to put the hush puppies in the oven to stay warm because your guests will be picking at them. Besides, they stay warm a fairly long time, and there are plenty to go to around. Repeat the process until all the batter is fried.

Serve the fish and hush puppies immediately.

Clean fish and remove bones (when I remove the rib bones I do it in one piece and fry it separately, when cooked the rib bones come out easily).

Peanut oil

1 ¾ cups stone-ground corn flour

½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

2 cups buttermilk

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 large egg

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ cup minced onion

Prepare the hush puppy batter. Mix the egg and buttermilk well in a medium-size bowl. Stir in cornmeal until well blended. Stir in onion. Place salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a small bowl, and set both bowls aside while you fry the fish.

Add the reserved baking powder, baking soda and salt mixture to the hush puppy batter and mix well, adding any left over fish mixture slowly until the batter is thick enough to be spooned. This will take about ¼ to ½ cup of the remaining corn flour.

Make sure that the oil has returned to 375°, and then drop the batter by spoonfuls into the hot oil, using 2 teaspoons: one to scoop up the batter and the other to scrape it off and into the oil. Fry the hush puppies until they are golden brown all over, about 3 minutes, again carefully monitoring the oil, and then place on a wire rack.

You probably won’t have to put the hush puppies in the oven to stay warm because your guests will be picking at them. Besides, they stay warm a fairly long time, and there are plenty to go to around. Repeat the process until all the batter is fried.

Serve the fish and hush puppies immediately.

Clean fish and remove bones (when I remove the rib bones I do it in one piece and fry it separately, when cooked the rib bones come out easily).

Captain Woody’s Fried Fish

Peanut oil
1 ½ cups stone-ground corn flour (Corn flour is the finest grind of cornmeal. If you can’t find it, you can make your own by grinding cornmeal in a blender or food processor.)

1 teaspoon lemon pepper

1 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 ¾  cups stone-ground whole-grain cornmeal
3 pounds of fish cut into strips about two fingers wide
Garnishes: lemon wedges

Pour 1 ½ to 2 inches in of peanut oil a stockpot, deep fryer, or cast iron skillet. Place it over medium-high heat, and heat to 375°. Preheat oven to 200°. Place wire racks on baking sheets, and set them aside.

While the oil is heating, prepare the coating for the fish. In a wide bowl, mix corn flour, salt, black pepper, flour, garlic powder, and lemon pepper.

When the oil reaches 375°, wash fish and dip it in the seasoned corn flour, coating it well and shaking off any excess. Carefully lower each piece into the hot oil. Fill the pot but do not crowd it; the oil should bubble up around each piece of fish. Keep an eye on the temperature so it stays between 365° and 375°. Fry the fish until it is golden all over, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side, depending on the size of the pieces.

Remove the fish from the oil in the same order that the pieces were immersed, using a wire-mesh strainer, tongs, or any tool that allows you to drain the fish over the pot.

Immediately place the pieces on a wire rack, and place in the oven to keep warm.

Continue frying until all of the fish is done, always waiting for the oil to return to the proper temperature before adding more. Then proceed with frying the hush puppies.

Capt. Woody’s Scallops Supreme

1 lb. scallops

1 lb. crab meat

½ cup finely chopped onion

½ cup finely chopped celery

3 tbsp. butter or margarine

1 small clove of chopped garlic

¼ cup finely crushed stale Cuban bread

1 tbsp. parsley

1 tbsp. flour

¼ tsp. paprika

1/8 tsp. salt

½ cup milk

¼ cup shredded Swiss cheese

In a sauce pan sauté scallops and crab and set aside. In skillet, cook celery, onion and garlic in 2 tbsp. butter until tender. Then combine the scallops, crab, crushed Cuban bread, parsley, and sautéed vegetables. Add 1 tbsp. of butter and blend in flour, paprika and salt. Add milk and stir constantly until thickened. Pour scallop and crab mixture into baking dish and pour sauce evenly over top. Drop cheese on top and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Captain Woody’s Trout Rusa Style w/Yellow Rice:    Serves 6

6 fillets of Trout                                               3 larger eggs lightly beaten

1 cup butter                                         3 cups fine dry bread crumbs

4 large hardboiled eggs chopped                    3 tablespoons peanut oil

1/3 cup finely chopped parsley                       2 lemons quartered

2 chopped pimientos                           2 tablespoons chopped garlic

½ teaspoon salt                                               ½ cup slivered almonds

¼ teaspoon ground white pepper                   3 tablespoons lemon juice

¼ cup milk                                          1 teaspoon sugar

Serving topping: Combine butter, hard-cooked eggs, parsley, and pimientos in a small bowl; stir well. Set aside.

Broiling topping: Combine ½ cup butter, lemon juice, sugar, chopped garlic and almonds in small sauce pan on low heat.

Fry/Sauté Mixture: Sprinkle fillets evenly with salt and white pepper. Combine milk and beaten egg. Dip fillets in mixture then dredge in bread crumbs.

Cook 2 -3 fillets at a time in a large skillet using 1 tablespoon hot peanut oil for 5 to 6 minutes or until the fish flakes with a fork. Remove fillets to an oven safe baking pan coated with butter. Repeat procedure with remaining fillets and new oil when needed.

With fillets on baking dish spoon broiling mixture onto each fillet and broil until each is browned on top.

Remove to serving plate, spoon topping onto each fillet, and serve immediately.