This is perhaps the absolute freakiest fish I have ever seen!

This past weekend (actually last week) I had visited two aquariums – The Georgia Aquarium on Wednesday (the day before their 10 millionth guest) and then the Tennessee Aquarium on Friday. Both aquariums are quite exceptional. Both are BIG. Both have some incredibly unique species of fish. While the Georgia Aquarium can lay claim to being the largest aquarium in the world, Tennessee claims to be the largest fresh water aquarium. The freaky fish shown here is called an American Paddlefish, Polyodon spathula, also called the Mississippi paddlefish or spoonbill, lives in slow-flowing waters of the Mississippi River drainage system.

There are several of these bizarre fish in the Tennessee Aquarium and they are some of the largest fresh water fish around. They can grow to be over 4 feet long. They are filter feeders and they open their massive mouths to allow large amounts of water in and their gills filter out zooplankton, their main food source. Their elongated snouts, which are about half of their overall length, are used as sensors to detect food and navigation to spawning sites. The snout also acts as a stabilizer, like a wing on a plane, to create lift while feeding. They are also closely related to the Sturgeon and are prized for their meat and roe (caviar).

While in Tennessee, I took a sunset cruise on the Tennessee Aquarium’s River Gorge Explorer, a high-speed catamaran. This 70 passenger, 60 foot, hydroplane assisted, 42 ton “jet ski” is the fastest watercraft registered on any inland waterway in the world. This thing is fast! With a top speed on the river of more than 53 miles per hour, it is the only way to get from the aquarium to the gorge, known as the “Grand Canyon of Tennessee”, and back in a reasonable time. Powered by 4 C-18 ACERT engines with 875 hp each for a total output of 3500 horsepower. The propulsion is supplied by four Hamilton Jet HJ 403 water jets. This craft has enough power to push up to 17 loaded barges up river. Going from 0 to 53 mph in under 20 seconds is impressive enough, but the real jaw dropper is how easily it goes from 53 to 0 in under 200 feet with a minimal wake. At 42 tons it has a draft of only 10 inches at top speed.

Okay, so I’m a serious boat geek!

On Sunday I had taken a walk at one of my favorite places, the Alpharetta Greenway. While passing one of the small ponds, I noticed a small Water Moccasin (snake) attempting to swallow its sushi lunch. It had a small fish dangling out of its mouth. It was easily 3-4 times wider than the snake. He either felt a little shy about trying to shove this enormous meal into his mouth and spat it out, or realized it bit off more than it could handle. So, after so many fishy encounters this week, it seemed only appropriate for Sunday dinner to feature seafood.

I got started with a wonderful ceviche of Mahi Mahi. Ceviche is a classic South American dish using raw fish that is marinated, or ‘cooked’, with the citric acid typically from limes or lemons. In this dish I use lime and orange juices with a touch of rice vinegar. The fish was extremely tender and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. For the main course I made grilled Mahi Mahi with whipped sweet potato.

Mahi Mahi Ceviche

ingredients:

1 piece Mahi Mahi (approx. 4 oz), sliced very thin

1 Belgian endive

1/2 red onion, sliced thinly

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

1 2-inch piece of seedless cucumber, diced

1 tomato, seeded and diced

2 Tbls fresh lime juice

2 Tbls fresh orange juice

2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp sea salt

3 Tbls extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbls rice vinegar

1 tsp lime zest

1 tsp orange zest

1/2 seranno pepper, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

2 Tbls cilantro leaves

directions:

Remove leaves from endive, wash and dry thoroughly. Arrange a few leaves on each plate. Slice remaining leaves thinly. Arrange mahi mahi on plate, drapping over endive leaves. In a small bowl, whisk together; lime juice, orange juice, sugar, sea salt, vinegar, olive oil, serrano, garlic, and ginger. Combine remaining vegetables and arrange over fish. Drizzle dressing over each plate. Refrigerate for 20 minutes before serving. Garnish with orange and lime zest and fresh ground pepper.

Grilled Mahi Mahi

ingredients:

2 pieces Mahi Mahi, skin removed, approx. 4 oz each

extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle

sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to season

directions:

Drizzle olive oil lightly over both sides of fish and season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Heat grill pan over medium high heat. Grill Mahi Mahi for 2-4 minutes per side (depending on desired doneness). Garnish with lime and/or orange zest and lime juice.

Whipped Sweet Potatoes

ingredients:

2 medium sized sweet potatoes

olive oil

kosher salt

1 cup heavy cream

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 Tbls dark brown sugar

1 bay leaf

directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees f

Wash sweet potatoes under cold water with brush. Pierce with fork numerous times around potato. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Wrap  each potato in aluminum foil, snuggly and place in oven. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until quite soft. Set aside to cool.

In medium saucepan, heat cream, nutmeg, cinnamon, brown sugar and bay leaf to just boiling. Reduce to low heat for 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf.

Peel potatoes and place in medium bowl, or food processor. Add cream mixture and using either immersion blender or food processor, blend until smooth. Serve immediately.