GillBilly French Toasted Salmon Sandwich

These excellent sandwiches are dipped in egg mixture then grilled, similar to Monte Cristo sandwiches.

Ingredients:
* 1 can (7 1/2 ounces) salmon, drained and flaked
* 1/3 cup chopped celery
* 1/8 teaspoon pepper
* 1/4 cup mayonnaise
* 2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
* 8 slices bread
* butter
* 1 egg
* 2/3 cup milk

Preparation:
Combine flaked salmon, celery, pepper, mayonnaise, and relish, blending well with a fork. Spread equal amounts of salmon mixture on 4 slices of bread; cover with remaining 4 slices of bread. Heat butter in a heavy skillet over medium low heat. Beat egg with milk. Dip sandwiches carefully in the egg mixture, then brown on both sides in hot butter in skillet.

I used to like fishing because I thought it had some larger significance. Now I like fishing because it's the one thing I can think of that probably doesn't.
John Gierach

GillBilly Lobster Chowder

Ingredients:
1 pound lobster.
1 scant teaspoonful salt.
1 quart milk.
1 1/2 salt spoonful white pepper.
3 crackers.
1/4 salt spoonful cayenne pepper.
1/4 cup butter.

Boil one quart of milk.Roll three crackers fine; mix with them one fourth of a cup of butter, and the green fat of the lobster.

Season with one scant teaspoonful of salt, half a salt spoonful of white pepper, and one fourth of a salt spoonful of cayenne pepper.

Pour the boiling milk gradually over the paste.

Put it back in the double boiler; add the lobster meat cut into dice; let it boil up once, and serve.

There is certainly something in angling that tends to produce a gentleness of spirit and a pure sincerity of mind.
Washington Irving

GillBilly Bacon and Tuna Hash

Preparation time: 10 min, Cooking time: 35 min, Cals per serving: 328

Ingredients
450 g (1 lb) new potatoes, cut into small chunks
25 g (1 oz) butter
125 g (4 oz) streaky bacon or lardons, cut into 2.5 cm (1 in) strips
1 large onion, roughly chopped
125 g (4 oz) pitted green or black olives, chopped
200g fresh tuna flaked
Fresh coriander sprigs to garnish
Cooked rice

1. Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 5 to 10 minutes or until beginning to soften. Drain and set aside.

2. Melt the butter in a non-stick frying pan, add the bacon and cook on a medium heat until beginning to brown, then add the onion. Cook for 5 minutes or until soft.Add the potatoes and olives.Turn down the heat and cook for 10 minutes.

3. Using a spatula, turn the hash over and continue to cook for a further 10 minutes, turning every now and again. Add the tuna and cook for a further 4 to 5 minutes or until the potatoes are done to the centre and the tuna is hot.

4. Serve on a bed of cooked rice. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with coriander sprigs.

Serves: 4

An angler is a man who spends rainy days sitting around on the muddy banks of rivers doing nothing because his wife won't let him do it at home.
Author Unknown

GillBilly Bloody Mary Salmon

INGREDIENTS
* 1 pound salmon fillets
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 cup spicy Bloody Mary mix

DIRECTIONS
1. Place salmon fillets in a medium baking dish, and season with salt and pepper. Pour spicy bloody mary mix over the fillets. Cover, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the broiler.
3. Broil approximately 7 minutes, until fish is easily flaked with a fork and surface is lightly browned.


May the holes in your net be no larger than the fish in it.
Irish Blessing

GillBilly Ceviche Peruano

This ceviche is the best you will ever have. It is from Peru and GillBilly enjoys making it every time he has friends and family over.


INGREDIENTS

* 2 potatoes
* 2 sweet potatoes
* 1 red onion, cut into thin strips
* 1 cup fresh lime juice
* 1/2 stalk celery, sliced
* 1/4 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves
* 1 pinch ground cumin
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 habanero pepper, seeded and minced
* Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
* 1 pound fresh tilapia, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
* 1 pound medium shrimp - peeled, deveined, and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
* 1 bibb or Boston lettuce, separated into leaves

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the potatoes and sweet potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Simmer until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, then drain, and set aside to cool to room temperature. Place the sliced onion in a bowl of warm water, let stand 10 minutes, then drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, place the lime juice, celery, cilantro, and cumin into the bowl of a blender, and puree until smooth. Pour this mixture into a large glass bowl, and stir in the garlic and habanero pepper. Season with salt and pepper, then stir in the diced tilapia and shrimp.
3. Set aside to marinate for an hour, stirring occasionally. The seafood is done once it turns firm and opaque.
4. To serve, peel the potatoes and cut into slices. Stir the onions into the fish mixture. Line serving bowls with lettuce leaves. Spoon the ceviche with its juice into the bowls and garnish with slices of potato.

What to Drink?
Wine - Sauvignon Blanc
Cocktail - Dirty Martini
Chilled Non-Alcoholic - Cherry Limeade

An angler is a man who spends rainy days sitting around on the muddy banks of rivers doing nothing because his wife won't let him do it at home.
Author Unknown

GillBilly Poor Man's New Year Tuna Finger Food

Shell macaroni are stuffed with a creamy tuna mixture in this easy to prepare, fun to eat appetizer. Serve on a bed of lettuce leaves with toothpicks, and make sure plenty of cocktail sauce is available! Be prepared with additional tuna ready to fill the serving dish as your guests make this great appetizer disappear quickly. GillBilly keeps extras in the fridge. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
* 1 (8 ounce) package small seashell pasta
* 2 (6 ounce) cans or preferably fresh tuna, drained and flaked
* 1 stalk celery, diced
* 2 tablespoons diced green bell pepper
* 1 tablespoon diced onion
* 2/3 cup creamy salad dressing, e.g. Miracle Whip ™

DIRECTIONS
1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add shell macaroni and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and rinse with cool water.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the tuna, celery, green bell pepper, onion and creamy salad dressing.
3. Stuff the shell macaroni with the tuna mixture.

There is certainly something in angling that tends to produce a serenity of the mind.
Washington Irving

GillBilly Christmas Fantasy Fudge

Yes, this is the original Gillbilly Christmas Fantasy Fudge recipe from the back of the Kraft Marshmallow Creme jar. Gillbilly will never know why they changed the recipe on us, but we've preserved the recipe for you right here. Makes about 117 blocks of divinity sugar rush.

3 cups sugar
3/4 cup margarine
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 12-oz. (340 g) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 7-oz. (198 g) jar Kraft Marshmallow creme
1 cup chopped nuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Traditional method:
Combine sugar, margarine and milk in heavy 2-1/2 quart saucepan; bring to full rolling bail, stirring constantly. Continue boiling 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring. Remove from heat, stir in chocolate till melted. Add marshmallow creme, nuts & vanilla beat till blended. Pour into greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Let cool and cut into 1-inch squares.

Microwave method:
Microwave margarine in 4-quart microwave-safe bowl on HIGH (100%) 1 minute or until melted. Add sugar and milk; mix well. Microwave on HIGH 5 minutes or until mixture begins to boil, stirring after 3 minutes. Mix well; scrape bowl. Continue microwaving on HIGH 5-1/2 minutes; stir after 3 minutes. Stir in chips until melted. Add remaining ingredients; mix well. Pour into greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Cool at room temperature; cut into squares. Makes 3 pounds.

Note: Can be made in a smaller pan for thicker squares (yield will be reduced).

There will be days when the fishing is better than one's most optimistic forecast, others when it is far worse. Either is a gain over just staying home.
Roderick Haig-Brown, Fisherman's Spring, 1951

GillBilly Style Turkey Day Tuna Surprise

Grilled Albacore with Peach Salsa

Tired of all the same board of fare on your plate at Thanksgiving? Do you still have a freezer full of fish from the summer and fall fishing season? How about a surprise for your visiting relatives this year. Southerners might be surprised to learn that California, not Georgia, produces more peaches than any other U.S. state. Oh sure, the South is long on peanuts, but whose ever heard of Goober Salsa? This recipe works well with any fruit in season – whatever looks good in market. The salsa is great on any fish, but GillBilly is partial to pairing it with freshly caught grilled albacore or yellowfin tuna.

Ingredients;

4 servings

4 6 - 8 ounce albacore steaks
olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
3 medium peaches; skin removed and flesh chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
2 green onions; white part and about half of the green part, minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions: Rub fish with olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. Place on a medium-hot grill for 3 -4 minutes, flip over and cook 1 – 2 minutes more. To prepare salsa, combine remaining ingredients and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. To serve, place fish on plate and spoon salsa over middle half.

Calling fishing a hobby is like calling brain surgery a job.
Paul Schullery

GillBilly Style Catfish Wrap with Avocado and Tomato Salsa

How you cook the fish is your call, but GillBilly prefers the smoky flavor of grilled fish. However you decide to cook it, just don’t cook it too long! The coleslaw makes it cool, creamy and crunchy.

The biggest tortillas you can find work best. If all you can locate are smaller ones, allow two per person and go easy on the stuffing.

Ingredients

4 servings

1 1/2 pounds catfish fillets

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon lemon pepper

1 lemon, juice only

1 lime, juice only

2 cups prepared coleslaw (I like the creamy kind)

hot sauce, Tabasco, etc.

1 cup shredded cheddar and Jack cheeses

4 large warm flour tortillas

Avocado and Tomato Salsa

2 ripe, but firm avocados, peeled and diced

2 limes, juice only

1 cup cherry or pear tomatoes, halved and drained (toss gently in a colander)

1/4 cup red onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

Combine ingredients in a bowl and toss gently.

Instructions

Rub fish with olive oil and lemon pepper. Grill or cook in a hot well-oiled pan until just done. While cooking, squeeze lemon and lime juice over fish. To prepare wraps, lay out a warm tortilla and put cooked fish along the bottom third of the tortilla, leaving about 2 inches of space between the fish and the bottom edge of the tortilla. Stuffing ingredients must be flat, not mounded. Spoon some coleslaw onto the fish, add a dash or two of hot sauce and top with cheese. Spoon some of the salsa onto the cheese. Fold the bottom edge over the stuffing and fold one of the sides over towards the center to keep the stuffing from falling out. Continue rolling snugly from the bottom and serve with additional salsa on the side.

I love fishing. You put that line in the water and you don't know what's on the other end. Your imagination is under there.

Robert Altman

GillBilly Style Spiny Lobster with Tomato Basil Butter Delight

Ingredients

Nothing messes up a delicious lobster more than an overpowering recipe that covers up the mild flavors of the meat. It’s imperative that you cook and eat your lobsters at their freshest, not frozenest. Once they die, the meat degenerates and bacteria grows quickly.
Whack ‘em on the back of the head or place the live lobsters in boiling water to send them to lobster heaven. Save those spiny lobster legs and shells and make a lobster stock with cold water, celery, carrots and onion. Bring to a boil, simmer for 30 minutes, strain through a colander and simmer for 30 minutes more to concentrate flavors. You can also grind up the shells, heat with butter and strain through a sieve into ice water to make lobster butter. It’s good.

I don’t know how big your rock lobsters are, so I can’t tell you how many lobsters to use for the recipe. About 3/4 cup of cooked lobster meat equals 1 pound.

Tomato Basil Butter
makes approximately 1 1/2 cups

1/4 cup dry vermouth
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 sticks salted butter, cut into chunks
1/3 cup seeded and diced tomato
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

Instructions

1. Boil lobsters for 3 - 5 minutes, depending on the size of the lobster. Remove from water and place on a firm surface.

2. While lobster is boiling, prepare the Tomato Basil Butter Sauce

Heat vermouth, lemon juice and garlic in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce liquid to 2 tablespoons. Reduce heat to low and add butter, a chunk or two at a time, while whisking constantly. Keep heat low enough so that butter does not boil and separate. Keep whisking in butter until all is emulsified. Immediately remove pan from heat and stir in tomato and basil.

3. When lobsters are cool enough to handle, split lengthwise from head to tail and place on hot grill. Whether you remove the coral, liver, etc is your choice. While grilling, baste tail meat with Tomato Basil Butter. When meat is white or opaque, remove from grill and spoon additional Tomato Basil Butter over.

Even eminent chartered accountants are known, in their capacity as fishermen, blissfully to ignore differences between seven and ten inches, half a pound and two pounds, three fish and a dozen fish.
William Sherwood Fox

GillBilly Fish Soup

Ingredients: Serves 6 - 8

1 lb. firm white fish fillets (rockfish, yellowtail, or halibut)
8 ounces shrimp, peeled with tail off
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 yellow onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, peeled, seeded, and chopped
3 or 4 small zucchini, sliced into rounds
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons dried oregano (4 teaspoons if fresh)
4 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1 bay leaf
2 small cans chopped tomatoes
1 cup dry white wine
3 quarts chicken or fish broth

Instructions: Cut the fish into uniform chunks 1-2 inches long. Cut shrimp in half lengthwise. Place fish and shrimp in a shallow non-reactive dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate while making the broth.

In a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onions, zucchini and bell peppers and cook, stirring, until tender, about 10 minutes.

Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, oregano and bay leaf and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 3 minutes longer. Add the wine and stock and simmer, uncovered for another 10 minutes.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the fish and shrimp and simmer, uncovered, until the fish is opaque and the shrimp is pink. Add the basil. Serve at once with toasted French bread topped with cheese and a good red wine.

____________________________

The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope.
John Buchan

GillBilly Style Jumbo Squid Sandwich

Ingredients:

4 servings

1 – 1 1/2 lbs jumbo squid body, membranes removed
3 T olive oil
3 T seasoned rice vinegar
2 lemons, juice only
1 T Dijon mustard
1 t dried basil leaves
3 garlic cloves, minced
pinch each salt and pepper
3 T mayonnaise
1 t capers
dash or two Tabasco
shredded lettuce
sandwich rolls or bread

Instructions: Cut squid body so that it lays flat on a cutting surface. Slice diagonally (at an angle) into very thin strips. Combine olive oil with next 6 ingredients in a bowl. Add sliced squid, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add squid and cook for 30 – 40 seconds or just until color changes. Combine mayo with capers and Tabasco. Spread on rolls. Mound lettuce on rolls and top with squid.

Note: If your squid is tough and rubbery, you cooked it too long.

My biggest worry is that my wife (when I'm dead) will sell my fishing gear for what I said I paid for it.
Koos Brandt

GillBilly Style Grilled Yellowtail with Spicy Peppercorn Oil

This Spicy Peppercorn Oil is best made a day ahead, so plan accordingly. In a pinch, you can make a fast batch and just slap it on your fish, but it’s better after a day or two.

Ingredients:
4 servings
4 yellowtail fillets, 6 – 8 ounces each
3 Tbl whole peppercorns, any color or mixed
1 cup olive oil
2 tsp red pepper flakes
5 garlic cloves, crushed
1/4 cup red or yellow onion, chopped
1 lemon peel
1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt

Instructions Place peppercorns in a medium-hot dry skillet and lightly toast for 3 – 4 minutes while stirring(releases flavor!). Add peppercorns to a small saucepan with oil, pepper flakes, garlic and onion. Bring to a boil while stirring. Remove from heat, stir in lemon and salt and allow to cool. Place in a jar and let stand at room temperature for 12 – 24 hours. Strain through coffee filter (optional). Brush fish with peppercorn oil and place on a white-hot grill for 3 – 4 minutes each side or until just a tad undercooked. Drizzle additional oil over and serve.

Bragging may not bring happiness, but no man having caught a large fish goes home through an alley.