Dinner with a "pescatarian"

Our friend Catherine is home from a brief stint in Slovakia, and we were thrilled to spend last evening with her! For the new year, she became a "pescatarian"-- in other words, she eats like we do! (Mostly veg, plus fish.) In honor of her resolution and being back in the South, dinner was pecan-crusted salmon, squash casserole, and peach cobbler.
The dessert has its own story. Calhoun Bend is really close to home, so anytime I feel a little homesick, I break out the Calhoun Bend food. (It's available at Kroger on the baking aisle, top shelf.) The peaches (as well as the pecans and squash for the meal) were put up from our CSA. The ice cream wasn't special, but the package boasts "Real Vanilla Bean Specks." We found that rather amusing.

Recipes and notes:
Pecan-crusted fish (Moosewood Restaurant New Classics)
serves 4 prep: 20 mins bake: 30 - 45 mins
4 firm fish fillets (5-6 oz each)
3/4 c buttermilk
3/4 c finely ground pecans
3/4 c bread crumbs
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 T minced fresh parsley
1/2 ts dried thyme
1/2 ts paprika
1/2 ts salt
pinch of cayenne
Preheat oven to 375. Lightly oil baking pan.
Rinse the fish and place it in a shallow dish. Pour the buttermilk over the fillets. In a separate shallow dish, combine the pecans-cayenne.
One at a time, remove the fillets from the buttermilk, allowing excess to drain off, and then dredge in the pecan mixture to coat all sides. Place each coated fillet in the baking pan.
Bake for 30-45 mins, depending upon thickness of fillets, until the topping is lightly browned and the fish is tender and flakes easily with a fork.
Instead of parsley-cayenne, I used Emeril's Original Essence; of course, I did not measure. I think I accidentally left out the garlic, too. I served the salmon with sweet-spicy tomato sauce that I put up this summer.

Squash Casserole (Savannah Country Cookbook) serves 6
1 large onion, chopped
4 T butter
3 c cooked squash, drained, with all water squeezed out
1 c crushed Ritz crackers, plus additional for topping
1/2 c sour cream
1 c grated Cheddar cheese
1 ts House Seasoning (1 c salt, 1/4 c black pepper, 1/4 c garlic powder)
Preheat oven to 350. Saute onion in butter for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and mix all ingredients together. Pour into buttered casserole dish and top with cracker crumbs. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
Again, I used Emeril's Essence instead of recommended seasoning. I also did not mix any cracker crumbs into the casserole. Incidentally, Bella loved this dish! (She also liked the fish, and the cobbler.)

Peach cobbler
1 quart frozen sliced peaches, thawed
cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar
butter
1 pkg Calhoun Bend peach cobbler mix
milk
Spread peaches in baking dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar. Dot with butter. Combine cobbler mix and milk according to package directions. Pour batter over peaches. Stir to combine. Bake according to package directions. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.