Jeff's Blackened Catfish

WARNING: Super-spicy!! I found this sensational dish on the allrecipes site, submitted by Jeff Barlow. If your family likes less heat, you can cut back significantly on the cayenne. If serving a 'mixed' group, you can also coat some fillets thoroughly in the blackening mixture but sprinkle it more lightly on others. It's fairly salty, too, so you might prefer to cut the amount in half and add more at the table if necessary. Anything with flavors this strong inevitably needs a little 'tweaking' to personal taste, but I hope you'll agree it's worth playing around with until you think it's just right!

• Ready In: 55 mins
• Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons butter, plus
•  butter, for greasing dish
• 2  teaspoons salt
• 2  teaspoons garlic powder
• 2  teaspoons black pepper
• 2  teaspoons lemon-pepper seasoning
• 2  teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1  lb catfish fillet
• 1  cup  Italian salad dressing

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Grease a baking dish large enough to hold fish fillets in a single layer with no overlapping; set aside.
3. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small pan over low heat.
4. Meanwhile, measure spices into a shallow dish, stirring well to combine.
5. Remove melted butter from heat and brush generously over catfish.
6. Dredge each fillet in spice mixture, coating both sides (or sprinkle spices on if less'heat' is desired).
7. Heat heavy skillet on medium-high; when skillet is hot, add fillets, cooking for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until slightly blackened.
8. Transfer catfish to prepared baking dish.
9. Pour Italian dressing evenly over fillets (I don't use a full cup-- more like 2/3rds).
10. Bake for approximately 30 to 35 minutes, until fish flakes easily when scraped with the tines of a fork.