Welcome to our fifth ever meeting of Eden Cooks!

I’ll be hosting this meeting for the second time tonight, and hopefully you all will enjoy what I made as much as you did the last time (potato gnocchi with parma rosa sauce, for those of you who didn’t attend that meeting).


You have no doubt noticed by now that Alys is not hosting this meeting and may be wondering why. Well, me too. It unfortunately appears that she has left EdenFantasys, which makes me quite sad. Anyway, I’ve volunteered to manage Eden Cooks until a permanent manager decides to step forward. If you are interested in doing this, please contact Sam at sam [at] edenfantasys [dot] com. I’ll be happy to help anyone who is interested, but hosting both Eden Photographers and Eden Cooks is simply more than I want on my plate at this time.


I do have a great meeting planned for everyone this month. During tonight’s meeting, I’ll be sharing a recipe That I invented myself: fish pie. Yeah, yeah, I know that’s crying out for a joke, but I’m going to take the high road and not make that joke. Much of my cooking influences are Caribbean and South American in origin, and this pie borrows for southern Caribbean cultures. As with most Caribbean food, it it’s a mix of savory, sweet, and spicy flavors that work together to make a very hearty, yet delicious, meal. For the many doubters out there, the taste is akin to crabcakes, so if you like those, there’s a decent chance you’ll like this.


Look, I know “fish pie” sounds like a really strange dish for many of you. Many North Americans, aside from pot-pies, aren’t accustomed to savory pies. Just keep your mind open – everyone who has ever tried this pie loves it.


Besides the recipe, I’ll also be giving away TWO $25 EF gift certificates during the meeting: one will go to the winner of our monthly Guess the Gadget contest, and the other to the winner of a trivia contest, so be prepared to pay attention to fun facts along the way.


Are we ready to get started? less

Welcome to our fifth ever meeting of Eden Cooks!

I’ll be hosting this meeting for the second time tonight, and hopefully you all will enjoy what I made as much as you did the last time (potato gnocchi with parma rosa sauce, for those of you who didn’t attend that meeting).


You have no doubt noticed by now that Alys is not hosting this meeting and may be wondering why. Well, me too. It unfortunately appears that she has left EdenFantasys, which makes me quite sad. Anyway, I’ve volunteered to manage Eden Cooks until a permanent manager decides to step forward. If you are interested in doing this, please contact Sam at sam [at] edenfantasys [dot] com. I’ll be happy to help anyone who is interested, but hosting both Eden Photographers and Eden Cooks is simply more than I want on my plate at this time.


I do have a great meeting planned for everyone this month. During tonight’s meeting, I’ll be sharing a recipe That I invented myself: fish pie. Yeah, yeah, I know that’s crying out for a joke, but I’m going to take the high road and not make that joke. Much of my cooking influences are Caribbean and South American in origin, and this pie borrows for southern Caribbean cultures. As with most Caribbean food, it it’s a mix of savory, sweet, and spicy flavors that work together to make a very hearty, yet delicious, meal. For the many doubters out there, the taste is akin to crabcakes, so if you like those, there’s a decent chance you’ll like this.


Look, I know “fish pie” sounds like a really strange dish for many of you. Many North Americans, aside from pot-pies, aren’t accustomed to savory pies. Just keep your mind open – everyone who has ever tried this pie loves it.


Besides the recipe, I’ll also be giving away TWO $25 EF gift certificates during the meeting: one will go to the winner of our monthly Guess the Gadget contest, and the other to the winner of a trivia contest, so be prepared to pay attention to fun facts along the way.


Are we ready to get started? less

First I’ll give you the list of ingredients and then I’ll walk you through the recipe with lots of pictures


Filling
4 tablespoons (60 ml) olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons (30 ml) finely chopped ginger
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoons (15 ml) spiced rum
1 large white yam, chopped
6 lb. boneless white fish fillets
2 teaspoons (10 ml) sea salt
2 teaspoons (10 ml) Old Bay or Zatarain’s seasoning
1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground black pepper
1 teaspoon (5 ml) paprika
Hot sauce to taste
2 (480 ml) cups water
2 tablespoons (15 ml) corn starch
½ cup (120 ml) cilantro leaves


Pie crust
1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt
3 cups (720 ml) flour
6 tablespoons (90 ml) ice water
1 cup (240 ml) vegetable shortening (Crisco)


Note: This recipe is meant for a deep dish pie pan. If you just have a regular pie pan, halve the recipe for the filling and take 5-7 minutes off the eventual cook time.


(I’ll get into possible alterations that I can recommend as we get into the recipe a bit more. Also, as always, please feel free to take this recipe and make it your own if there’s an ingredient you don’t like or would like to include… GO AHEAD! Recipes (except in baking) are more guidelines than hard and fast rules.)


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First I’ll give you the list of ingredients and then I’ll walk you through the recipe with lots of pictures


Filling
4 tablespoons (60 ml) olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons (30 ml) finely chopped ginger
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoons (15 ml) spiced rum
1 large white yam, chopped
6 lb. boneless white fish fillets
2 teaspoons (10 ml) sea salt
2 teaspoons (10 ml) Old Bay or Zatarain’s seasoning
1 teaspoon (5 ml) ground black pepper
1 teaspoon (5 ml) paprika
Hot sauce to taste
2 (480 ml) cups water
2 tablespoons (15 ml) corn starch
½ cup (120 ml) cilantro leaves


Pie crust
1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt
3 cups (720 ml) flour
6 tablespoons (90 ml) ice water
1 cup (240 ml) vegetable shortening (Crisco)


Note: This recipe is meant for a deep dish pie pan. If you just have a regular pie pan, halve the recipe for the filling and take 5-7 minutes off the eventual cook time.


(I’ll get into possible alterations that I can recommend as we get into the recipe a bit more. Also, as always, please feel free to take this recipe and make it your own if there’s an ingredient you don’t like or would like to include… GO AHEAD! Recipes (except in baking) are more guidelines than hard and fast rules.)


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I remember that one. That was one of the first ones I attended, I believe. Old Bay is some great stuff. I use it on French fries and dungeness crab, mostly, but it works in this recipe rather well. It's also what helps make the pie taste "crabcakey". less

OK, the first thing to do is to sauté the onions and ginger. Heat up half of the olive oil on medium heat in a large skillet, and add the onions and ginger, stirring constantly so the onions don’t brown. Once the onions begin to become clear, add the crushed garlic and continue stirring. The garlic will most likely stick to the bottom of the pan – that’s perfectly fine. After about 2 minutes, add the spiced rum and continue stirring, making sure to scrape the garlic off the bottom of the pan. I like the spiced rum because it adds some rum and vanilla notes to the final dish, but regular rum, vodka, or even water will do a good job of deglazing the pan.

When the alcohol has burned off, remove the pan from the heat, remove the contents of the pan to a bowl, and but the pan back on the burner.



We good so far? less

OK, the first thing to do is to sauté the onions and ginger. Heat up half of the olive oil on medium heat in a large skillet, and add the onions and ginger, stirring constantly so the onions don’t brown. Once the onions begin to become clear, add the crushed garlic and continue stirring. The garlic will most likely stick to the bottom of the pan – that’s perfectly fine. After about 2 minutes, add the spiced rum and continue stirring, making sure to scrape the garlic off the bottom of the pan. I like the spiced rum because it adds some rum and vanilla notes to the final dish, but regular rum, vodka, or even water will do a good job of deglazing the pan.

When the alcohol has burned off, remove the pan from the heat, remove the contents of the pan to a bowl, and but the pan back on the burner.



We good so far? less