Fish and Chips

OK....... so we needed dinner, and the WWE Raw filmed in Manchester England was coming on..... Though I did not know that when I suggested: ummm Potstickers or beer battered fish for dinner? to which I got the "Beer Battered FISH!" reply.

So... fish and chips it was.... I had some flash frozen whiting fish in the freezer and defrosted a couple filets (the were longer than the plate before I halved them) While they were defrosting I plugged in the deep fryer and added a bit more oil to the crisco that was already in there ( you know this will be good for you huh?) .

The batter:

One egg
A liberal couple dashes of Cothams seasoning (local burger place, it's basically onion garlic and salt)
1/3 or so bottle of October Fest Beer
enough flour for a thick batter.

The Chips: Cut about 3 Idaho (I think) potatoes into finger sized pieces and throw them into the fryer basket until nice and golden brown.

For the fish: Dipthem in the batter then dredge them in some flour, seasoned with more Cothams seasoning, and them dipped them in the batter again before placing them in the hot oil until golden brown.

The Tartar Sauce was a quick mix of Dill Pickle Relish and Miracle Whip.

Serve with Malt Vinegar

Nummie!

Sausage Mushroom Pizza

The Crust.... I use the recipe on the package of quick rise yeast. The yeast, some warm water, a tbs of sugar and 1/2 tsp of salt, enough flour for a soft dough. Kneed until elastic.

The dough was spread by hand on a cornmeal floured board until about 9 inches in diameter. I didn't have pizza sauce and was not going to make some from scratch (it was 9:00 PM when I started this) so I used some of the Spaghetti sauce in the fridge. To that I added sauteed mushrooms and some browned sausage. Top it all off with liberal amounts of mozzarella cheese. Cook in a hot (about 475 degrees F) oven until browned. On the second one I brushed the crust with some garlic butter.... but there wasn't that much of a difference.

Cats Like Good Food Too

Grilled Fillet

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes.

We were setting the table and a large gray cat acted as if she wanted to help B with his fillet.

The fillet was bought as backup on the night we last prepared the lamb. (the local store was out of lamb and we ended up driving into 'Town" to Fresh Market for Lamb Chops.

Meanwhile... to the food... the fillet was pretty straight forward 3-4 min on each side on a medium high charcoal grill. I usually cook by feel (comparing to the thumb pad of your hand) because I'm still not a pro at getting an exact heat from a charcoal grill.

While the coals were getting hot and the steaks finished on the grill, B was hard at work on the potatoes. He quartered and then halved 4 medium small white potatoes, skin on, for a total of 32 potato wedges. The wedges were tossed in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt and cracked black pepper. After the potato wedges were coated, they were browned in a medium oven until light golden brown. When taken out of the oven, they were tossed with rosemary butter. .... I must say they were probably yummier than the fillet.

To make rosemary butter: melt 2 1/2 tbs. of butter and mix with a palm full of garlic and rosemary bread dipping oil seasoning. (Rub the seasoning between your palms or fingers to release the scent of the rosemary).

Oh .. .and there was a salad :) Here's a closeup.

Philly Cheese Steak Calzone

To prepare this Calzone, first I whipped up some quick rise pizza dough. While the dough was rising, I browned some thin sliced steak with about 1/2 an onion chopped and about 1/2 of a green pepper sliced thin. When the steak was browned, the pizza dough was separated into 2 halves and stretched into about 8 inch rounds. Add enough of the steak, onion, and bell pepper mixture to cover 1/2 the dough, leaving a border to seal the calzone when the other side of the dough is folded over.

For the second calzone (the one in the pic) I was a bit less traditional and decided to add a bit of spaghetti sauce and a handful of mild cheddar cheese. On top of both I sprinkled a hand full of Parmesan cheese and they were browned in a hot oven.

Salmon, Leeks, Carrots and Tarragon in Filo Packets

Valentine's Day Dinner turned Tuesday Night Dinner

What you'll need:

1 roll of filo dough - defrosted
a few tbs of olive oil
1 large Salmon filet
a handful of tarragon minced
1 carrot cut into thin 1 inch sticks (or shredded)
the chopped whites of 2 leeks

Layer about 4 sheets of filo dough basting with olive oil between sheets. Cover the remaining filo dough with a damp towel to keep it from drying out.
Cut the salmon filet into 3 palm sized, or smaller, portions.
Place one portion of salmon in the middle of the layred filo dough.
Cover salmon with about 1/3 of the chopped leeks and carrots and sprinkle chopped tarragon on top.
Wrap the sides of the filo dough over the salmon and then gently roll the samon into the excess filo dough to form a loose roll. Place seam side down on a metal pan and brush olive oil over the top and sides.
Repeat for the other 2 salmon portions.

Bake in a 375 degree oven until the filo dough is golden brown.

While the salmon was cooking I buttered some french bread and served with a mixed salad.

**We learned during our second Valentines Day dinner that if you serve this with beet salad... you really do not want to leave out honey** ;)

Cotham's Battered Chicken Fried Chicken and Happy Little Trees

Boneless Skinless chicken breasts were dredged in a mixture of flour and Cotham's seasoning, dipped in milk and dredged in flour again. The battered chicken was deep fried until golden brown.

While the chicken was frying, the broccoli was steamed. For the cheese sauce, I melted some velveeta in the microwave with some milk and rou from the flower/Cotham's mix that the chicken was dredged in.

Broccoli Slawrel (slaw) Egg Rolls

1/2 pound ground pork

12 oz package of broccoli slaw

4 green onions chopped

1/2 green bell pepper chopped

2 tbs soy sauce

1 tsp. ginger powder

4 inches of oil in a deep fryer

Brown the ground pork in a wok, add vegetables, soy sauce and ginger powder and stir fry until tender. Using a slotted spoon, add about 2 tbs. of the vegetable and pork mixture onto an egg roll wrapper and fold, using water to seal the edges. You should be able to make about 20 rolls. Once all of the egg rolls are wrapped add the egg rolls to hot oil and deep fry until golden brown. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.