By VANDA LEWIS<\/h3>\n

Posted April 1, 2016<\/em><\/p>\n

Many years ago, I married into a Harkers Island family with a long, rich history of commercial fishing along Core Banks and Back Sound. They fished for whatever was \u201crunning,\u201d and that\u2019s what they ate too.<\/p>\n

For this reason, my late mother-in-law, Ruth Lewis, knew how to catch, clean and cook every kind of seafood around \u2014 and everything she made was exceptional.<\/p>\n

Living just up the road from her was rewarding with many, many seafood dinner invitations. She always was cooking away, but never with a recipe.<\/p>\n

On many occasions, I observed with great interest as she \u201cbaked\u201d flounder in an electric skillet. I thought it was very clever and it was amazingly delicious.<\/p>\n

Although Ruth never wrote down that recipe, this savory dish is a modification of what she would make.<\/p>\n

Here, I use triggerfish in place of flounder. You may use other firm, white-fleshed fish, such as black sea bass, mahi mahi, snapper or grouper, depending on the season.<\/p>\n

In this recipe, I also follow Ruth’s occasional practice of using sweet potatoes. They add an extraordinary layer of flavor that enhances the broth with a slight sweetness. Serve this up with cornbread or with Ruth\u2019s turn cakes<\/a>.<\/p>\n