Fish, Fish, Fish!

Sunset view from our island at on Lake Minnitaki

Does food really taste better when you grow it or catch it yourself? Had I been less optimistic with the weather in Calgary this spring, I may have tested this question on my herbs, which suffered in the great May long weekend snowstorm of 2010. However last week I spent some of my vacation at our family cabin near Sioux Lookout, Ontario (northeast of Dryden, if that helps... or just "really north" for my Torontonian friends). We have an island on a lake we share with maybe 2 other cabins and a handful of adventurous Mid-Westerners, who refer to the pickerel as walleye and the jackfish as northern pike.  My point is: it's remote. So remote, that the options for dinner are either making a selection of the dubious canned and dry goods one finds in the cupboard (2 year old pasta and canned ham any one?), blueberry pancakes (fresh blueberries from a neighbouring beach), or fresh pickerel. We opted for the latter, with great success this summer. Since this isn't an adventure travel blog, I'm not going to go into too much detail on the catch, suffice it to say I surprised even myself by accidentally catching a pickerel with bare hands! 

Ingredients:
- pickerel fillets (or another white fish if you prefer)
- 1 egg per 5 fillets approximately
- 1-2 cups panko (or regular breadcrumbs)
- fresh lemon, cut into wedges
- butter, for frying


1. Crack the egg(s) into a bowl and stir well with a spoon. Add a bit of water to make it last longer if you like.
2. Cover a plate generously with the panko.
3. In a large pan, melt butter over medium heat.
4. Dip each fillet in the egg mix, then coat in the panko and add to pan. Cook a few minutes per side, flipping once golden and browned a bit on the edges. Don't overcrowd the pan or it will be difficult to flip.
5. Serve 1-2 fillets per person, with a lemon wedge.

We accompanied the meal with a Greek-style salad and some wild rice. Also, wine options were limited (we did have to transport by small boat to the island), as my father decided the boxed variety was the most efficient (true). He set up a box of red and a box of white on the corner of the table nearest my chair and insisted on calling it the "sommelier station" all weekend. However, if I had a choice beyond boxed wine, I could see either a chardonnay (on account of the butter) or a sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio (on account of the fresh lemon) being a good pairing.

From the Lake of the Woods Hotel and Bar in Kenora, ON.
I assure you that nothing happened on July 16 2010 either. 

Grilled cheese and onion rings from the infamous Knobby's Fly-In Restaurant and Lodge in Sioux Lookout, ON. We were disappointed we missed the blueberry festival by a week. Better planning next year.