Fabulous Stuffed Flounder

If you have guests to impress or a New Year celebration you want to make very special I urge you to try this delightful dish what ever your occasion.  We never go out on New Year’s Eve, usually because the weather is awful but mostly because of what’s out there.  Jeff and I call it amateur night.  He works the midnight shift this amateur night so tonight we celebrated the last night of 2012 with this deliciously special meal.

I purchased a bag of frozen flounder fillets about a week ago wondering how I would prepare them.  I’ve heard of stuffed flounder but never had the opportunity to make it.  Well this night I made it my own way.  The bag contained about 10 pieces of fish that I thawed in the microwave most of the way and let the room temperature thaw it the rest of the way.  Here’s what you’ll need to make this lovely dish:

• 9 or 10 fillets of flounder
• 1 box corn bread instant stuffing
• 1 box chicken flavored instant stuffing
• 3 cups boiling water
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 box frozen spinach, thawed.
• 4 oz. grated Monterrey Jack cheese

Preheat the oven to 350­°, combine both boxes of stuffing in a large mixing bowl then add the water and butter.  Add the spinach and mix thoroughly.  When the fish fillets are thawed, cut any that are whole in half right down the spinal seam.  Feel for bones and pull them out if necessary.   In a 9″ x 9″ casserole pan shape the halved fillets into little rings, flesh side out as the fish tends to curl in towards the skin side, and fill each with a good amount of stuffing so that all 9 or 10 stuffed fillet rings fit snugly.  Top each one with a bit of cheese and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the fish is all white and cooked.

With the extra stuffing, put it in an oven proof pan, top with cheese and bake along side the fish.  This will be done before the fish so keep an eye to remove it about 10 minutes before the flounder is done.

When the fish was done, I let this rest about 10 minutes, garnished each pair of stuffed fillets with a slice of lime, and as a side dish I sauteed carrots in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.  I was happy with two fillets and some carrots but for the more hungry (that would be Jeff)  there was some extra stuffing to fill in the cracks.  I myself was as stuffed as the flounder after dinner, but all of us were delightfully so in the end.  Happy New year everyone!  This dish will go great with a nice brut champagne. 

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