I have always thought of food as the “glue” that holds families together. In our family, and I am sure in many other families, food is often the centerpiece of special gatherings whether big or small. Food brings people together to create wonderful memories and enrich the soul. Some of my fondest memories are of bonding with my mom while preparing dinner every day or when we would plan out a big family Christmas dinner. I remember how my mom would measure out every thing she used in a dish even though she had made it a hundred times. To this day she still measures out every ingredient just to make sure she gets it right. I on the other hand usually measure by sight or by how much I “think” should go into a recipe. My cooking is about experimenting and trying different things to give an ordinary dish a slightly new taste.

I thought of my Sole to Soul recipe while watching a cooking show featuring how to prepare fish in the most traditional way by just baking it with a pat of butter. Boring……….!!! In my opinion, food should nourish both the body and the soul. Plain ol’ fish may nourish the body but does nothing for my soul. However, when I added capers to a lemon butter sauce and a little spice to a nice piece of sole it gave it a kick, jazzed up my spirit and definitely warmed up my soul.

Memories …

If you keep a memory
let this be one
There’s nothing more precious
than the elements of love
Remember on those chilling nights
the gifts we often gave
Laughter, smiles, tender love
and dreams along the way

D. Marie

Sole to Soul

Ingredients:
4 Sole fillets (use flounder if sole is not available)
1 tbsp fresh flat parsley chopped
Juice from 3 lemons
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 cup flour
1 cup frying olive oil or vegetable oil + 1tbsp of oil
1 tbsp capers
½ stick butter
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp old bay seasoning
2 tsp dill

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Pour 1 cup of oil into a large frying pan over medium high heat until very hot.

Rinse fish and pat dry and lay on a sheet of wax paper. Season with salt and pepper. On a plate mix together flour, garlic powder, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, old bay seasoning and smoked paprika. Coat each fillet with seasoned flour and place in hot frying pan in batches. Brown until crispy on one side then turn fillet to brown on the opposite side. Place on a layer of paper towels to drain then place in a long casserole dish.

Pour off oil from frying pan. Return to stove and reduce to medium heat. Melt butter along with 1 tbsp oil then add lemon juice, lemon zest, parsley, cayenne pepper and capers. Stir for one minute then pour mixture over fish.  Sprinkle with paprika and bake for 10 minutes. Base with pan juices after 5 minutes to prevent fish from drying out. Remove from oven and serve.