Cooking these easy recipes in Wilmington brings joy to my family | Ken Blevins

If you been a reader of the StarNews for a while, you might recall that I enjoy cooking.

In fact, some of you might remember I used to have a recipe column and an accompanying YouTube video called “In the Kitchen with Ken.” The videos are still on YouTube if you want to check them out.

My favorites are the ones where my kids made cameo appearances when they were young and cute. Now they are 16 and 19. And, of course, they think they know everything and will challenge any adulting advice my wife and I offer them. However, they both seem to want to learn how to cook some of their favorite dishes I have made over the years. I love and appreciate that. So, I’ll take that as a parent win.

I’ve started out sharing a few simple recipes for them, that I think they can handle on their own. Living near the coast the kids have always loved seafood, shrimp, oysters, crabs they seem to enjoy it all.

Now preparing it is where they differ. Kadie will eat it, but she doesn’t care for fried seafood. Hudson on the other hand will eat it any way he can get it at any time. Below, I've listed a few of our favorite recipes that are staples that we enjoy making together.

The recipes are quick and easy so you can cook with fresh seafood at home with your friends or family. The first recipe one of our family favorites for when it’s just too hot to start the grill or when we just want something simple. You can use it for any fish you’d like, but we prefer flounder when we can get it.

Baked Flounder

2 large flounder fillets

2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Half a stick of butter

Extra virgin olive oil

Cut your fillets in half and season with olive oil, Old Bay and crushed red pepper. Wrap fillets up with butter inside a completely sealed aluminum foil pouch. Place in the oven at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. You can make the pouches large enough for all of your fillets, or smaller ones that can be served individually to your family or guests.

Shrimp and Grits

1/2 pound large jumbo shrimp

1/2 Vidalia onion

1/2 red bell pepper

4 pieces thick-cut bacon

1/2 cup of grits

1 tablespoon of butter Sea salt

Crushed red pepper

Old Bay seasoning

Boil 2 cups of water and add grits, cook until desired readiness. Peel and devein the jumbo shrimp and set aside. In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon but leave any remain grease in the skillet. Chop the onion, pepper and bacon and return to the skillet along with the butter. Cook on a medium heat until the onions are clear, and then add the shrimp. Sprinkle shrimp with a little sea salt, crushed red pepper, and Old Bay. Once the shrimp are completely cooked through, spoon over the top of the grits and serve hot. Serves 2 to 3.

Fish Tacos

1-pound tilapia (three fillets)

Extra virgin olive oil

Fresh ground pepper

½ red cabbage

1 cup sour cream

2 limes

10 flour tortillas

Coat the tilapia with extra virgin olive oil and fresh ground pepper. Cook in a skillet on medium-high heat for five minutes on each side. While the fish is cooking, cut up your red cabbage and add it to a bowl with the sour cream and lime juice and mix together well. Heat the flour tortillas until they are warm and soft. Once the fish is cooked, pull it off of the skillet. Place the flour tortillas on a plate. Add the fish, red cabbage and salsa. Fold and serve hot.

Tomatillos salsa

12 tomatillos

3 red hot peppers

1 Anaheim chili

3 cloves of garlic

3 slices of pineapple

Extra virgin olive oil

Cut up your tomatillos, peppers and garlic. Place in a cast iron pan with the pineapple slices and coat with a little extra virgin olive oil. Cook until they are slightly blackened on both sides. Remove and add to blender or food processor and blend.