A Taste of the Keys...Coconut Encrusted Flounder with Pina Colada Sauce

Several years ago, we visited the Florida Keys in December for several weeks.  It was AMAZING!  One of the best things there is their food.  We stayed at a cute little Inn that had a restaurant on the grounds.  We went there several nights during our stay and I have to say, I ordered the same thing every single visit.  The Coconut Encrusted Flounder with Pina Colada sauce caught my eye the first time we went.  No one else ventured out, they got the ususual grilled fish and shrimp that they could get anywhere.  When my dish came they all wanted to try it, which isn't bad but when you let 7 people try your flounder, there isn't a whole lot left...and this dish was something I was super stingy with...but I shared like my momma taught me.  Since our trip to the Key's I have been searching for a recipe that sounded like it would be similiar or a restaurant that served this flounder.  No luck.  After my husband's last fishing trip, he brought home some flounder and I thought, what better opportunity to try to figure out this dish by myself.  So I tried the following recipe.  I highly recommend this to anyone.  People who don't like flounder or coconut would even love it!

Breading:
1 cup coconut

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 egg-lightly beaten

1 pound flounder

3/4 cup melted butter/margarine

Pina Colada Sauce:

5 ounces COCO Real Cream of Coconut Mix

4 ounces crushed pineapple

4 ounces sour cream

Prepare your pina colada sauce first so it can be chilling while you are preparing the rest of the meal.

Simply mix all three ingredients together and place in the freezer while you finish the meal. 

Preheat oven to 325.

Lightly grease cookie sheet.

Mix first 4 ingredients together in medium bowl. 

Lightly beat egg in small bowl.

Dip flounder in egg then coat with coconut mixture on both sides.

Place on cookie sheet.

Continue until done.

Lightly pour melted butter over filets.

Place in oven for 25 minutes. 

Check for flounder to be white and flaky.

*Optional, after cooking for 25 minutes.  I placed my oven on broil and browned the top of the filets to brown them and lightly toast the coconut. 

When you are ready to serve, pour some of your sauce over your filets and dig in!

Sadly, the flounder was gone before I was able to snap a picture of it.  This credit goes to www.anguilla-beaches.com from one of their restaurants.  Who wouldn't want to go there?!?!

Jute Flower Pots

I love the look of burlap and jute twine.  There's just a Southern feel to it that just warm and welcoming.  Since I love it so much, I tend to buy it whenever I think I'm getting a "good deal" and I have more jute than I know what to do with.  With the weather getting warm, I'm loving all the flowers that are blooming and would LOVE an herb garden on our porch. I thought that this would be a cute way to dress up some terra cotta pots.  This project took me about 15 minutes for a 4" pot.

Things you will need:

Terra Cotta Pot
Jute Twine
Hot Glue Gun
Scissors

Start by dabbing hot glue to the side of your pot at the very bottom and then place your jute/twine to the hot glue.

Start a line of hot glue around the pot and start going in circles.

You have to go pretty fast because you don't want your glue to get cool and make your jute bulky.

Go as far as you'd like to go up your pot.  I decided to stop once I got to the rim.  I like terra cotta so I wanted a little to show on this one.  I may make some more with more/less because I still have a LOT of jute to get rid of!  Post pictures of your pots so I can see what you've done!  I love seeing others work!