Tried and True Recipes

One day last week I stopped by Wegmans for some fish and came home with 3 large fillets of wild caught Haddock.  We love fish and chips, but I don’t make it often because it temporarily turns my kitchen into Long John Silver’s.  But I had a hankering, what can I say?

So I dug out Paula Deen’s recipe for Beer Battered Fish and Chips and went to town.  Unfortunately I have no pictures to document the event because I was elbow-deep in lard most of the evening, but it came out looking and tasting JUST like Long John Silver’s except healthier because I fried the fish in the aforementioned lard from local pastured pigs.  (Ha!  I used aforementioned in a sentence.)

If you are utterly perplexed by my suggestion than lard could be healthy, or if you just want a refresher, please read Embrace the Fat.  Warning: it is LONG.  But it’s full of great info.

I did the potatoes in the oven, but they weren’t nearly as good as the fish.  Next time I think I need to suck it up and deep fry ‘em.

Here’s my version, in case you’re interested in trying it.

Beer Batter:

• 1 (12-ounce) bottle beer
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp sea salt
• pinch black pepper
• pinch garlic powder
• 1 cup lard from pastured pork
• 1 1/2 pounds cod fillets, skinned with bones removed, and fish cut diagonally into 1-inch-wide strips (5 to 6-inches long)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 225 degrees F.

For the batter, pour the bottle of beer into a medium-sized bowl.  Then sift 1-1/2 cups of the flour along with salt, pepper, and garlic powder into the bowl, whisking gently to combine.

Then set your lard to heating on the stove top.  I used a cast iron skillet, but you can also use a Dutch oven.  Heat the oil to 375 degrees F.  (I don’t have a candy thermometer so I just wing it.)

Wash and pat the fish dry, and season on both sides with salt and pepper.  (Don’t skimp on that step!  I wish I’d salted mine more; it was rather bland.)

Place the remaining 1/2 cup of flour in a pie plate.  Dredge a piece of fish in the 1/2 cup of flour, and then coat it in the beer batter.  Slide it into the oil carefully.  Repeat until the pan is full but not stuffed. You will have to do this in batches.

Fry the fish, turning over frequently, until deep golden and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer them to a parchment-lined baking sheet, sprinkle with salt, and then pop ‘em in that 225-degree oven to keep warm.  Fry the remaining fish in batches.

Serve fish with French fries and a salad.  Or a veggie.  Or some thing that isn’t fried.  (Although hush puppies are next on my list of things to learn to make.  Mmmm…)

This post is linked up with the Tasty Tuesday blog carnival over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

photo credit: foodnetwork.com

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In our efforts to keep our food budget down in a reasonable range, I’ve been trying to make a meatless meal at least once a week.  For the old fashioned meat-and-potatoes family that we are, it is proving a bit of a challenge, but we do love eggs.  So I found this recipe at Daily Diner and tweaked it a bit to suit our tastes.  The adults loved it; the kids, notsomuch.  But I will probably make it again because I’m a mean mom like that.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 onion, sliced
1/2 medium zucchini, chopped
1/4 pound cremini mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
3 ounces oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup grated Gruyere (or more.  YUM)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
pie crust
3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Saute onions and zucchini in butter in a large skillet until soft and translucent.

Add the mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and starting to brown.

Then add the garlic and cook another minute or so.

Season with salt and pepper and then add the tomatoes, basil, and thyme and cook for another minute.  Remove from the heat and let cool.

Beat the eggs and half-and-half  in a separate bowl.  Add the salt, pepper, grated Gruyere, and crushed red pepper.

Spoon the vegetable mixture into the pie crust.

Pour in the egg mixture, and crumble the goat cheese on top.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until set. Remove from the oven and let cool for 30 minutes before serving.

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