Wine And Dine

This page is dedicated to recipes, whether they be food or drink. I am not the best cook in the world, but I am learning. My darling husband is the cook of the house and he is fantastic. We love introducing our daughter to new foods so there will be a lot of kid friendly food also. Lord knows I need a cocktail from time to time, but I have such a hard time finding cocktails that aren't high in calories. It is my mission in life to find a delicious, low calorie, inexpensive drink to make. I will be posting that on here also. Please share recipes on here, I look forward to trying them- oh and you might just win something for posting!

Fresca-rita on the rocks

• Fill a glass up with ice
• pour 1 part tequila (your choice)
• pour 2 parts Fresca
• stir and Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of Tina Dudic (I could not ask for a better friend or Mother In Law)



Thai Catfish Cakes- Courtesy of Hungry Monkey by Matthew Amster Burton (with a few revisions)


1lb catfish fillets
1/2 lb salad shrimp (ask your local butcher block)
1/4 cup minced shallot
1/4 cup minced cilantro
1/4 cup minced green onion
1-2 garlic cloves
1 egg
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon Thai  curry paste
1 tablespoon olive oil
Thai sweet chili sauce for dipping
large lettuce leaves (bundle of romaine will work good)
oil for frying

1. Cut the catfish and shrimp into small chunks and place in a food processor. Pulse until seafood turns into a coarse paste. (about 5 one-second pulses)
2. Combine the rest of the ingredients into food processor and pulse a few more times until everything is mixed together. It will be a loose mixture.
3. Heat several tablespoons of oil in a large nonstick skillet of medium-high. Form the the fish mixture into 2in patties, adding each fish cake to the pan as you form it. Fry the fish cakes until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side and serve immediately. They don't hold or reheat well.
4. Wrap fishcakes in lettuce leaves and dip in chili sauce, serve with brown rice and a warm bottle of sake to get the full Oriental effect.

Olivia playing in the cupboards while my most amazingly personal chef (AKA hubba wubba) cooked this most amazingly delicious dinner!