going south

no as in trashing, but my cooking as of late has taken a southward turn.
Maybe i can blame it on Alton Brown and his good eats on catfish (of course pan fried as the last part).
But then again, i am not following any recipie, just the basic guidelines.
An example is with the catfish:
which required buttermilk, which i did not have...so i used beer making a lighter beer batter.
Nor did i have whole fillets, just nuggets. (which i think are more fun to eat)
I used the basic seasonings thoug -Old bay, cayyenne pepper, salt, paprika.
Neither did i have peanut oil - oh well so much for "Southern".
But eveeryone liked them and i was satisified.

2 days, i am doing pork ribs on the smoker (it was warm) and cole slaw.
The next day it was not enough - i was going to bake Cod, but i went to New Orleans instead
and balckened it with "dirty rice".

I thought i was going safe tonight with a chicken parm, but i had butter milk and so went with a buttermilk, almond panko bread crumb crusted filet.
The rest was traditional Italian.
When will i get this "southerness" out of my cooking?
May i don't want to.

Fried Catfish Nuggets

2 lb of catfish nuggets, cut to  a uniform size and clean any bones (do not mind any skin)

1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
1 tablespoon paprika (or use smoked paprika is you do not have smoked salt)
1 teaspoon smoked salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
cooking oil (i used canola)

batter #1 (from Alton Brown

1 cup stone ground fine cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup butter milk

batter #2 (since i did not have buttermilk)

1 cup stone ground fine cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 bottle beer

Wisk together the flour and corn meal and split in to 2 parts  (1/3 to 2/3)

add baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt into the smaller portion, then mix in the beer
mix all the spices together with the remainder of the salt and then coat the catfish nuggets.
Dip each nugget into the wet mix and let excess drip off.
Coat both sides with the dry mixture and set aside for 5 minutes
gently add the nuggets to hot oil a few at a time (do not crowd them) till golden brown.
remove and let drain over a wire rack over absorbent paper.
Cook the remainder of the catch in batches in the same manner.
Serve immediately or keep in a warm oven up to 30 minutes.