Fried Fish Sandwich


Growing up, fried flounder (with a side of mashed potatoes) was always on the menu in our house during the nine days, as well as erev Tisha B’av. The fish was always perfectly golden with a crunchy breaded coating; simple and delicious. When I married my husband, I found that fried fish was a favorite of his as well, except his mother made it with tilapia in a tempura-style batter, and served it with lemon wedges. No matter how it’s coated or served, in sticks or fillets, fried fish is a favorite everywhere. You’ll find many cafe’s serving it “fish ‘n chips” style, but my absolute favorite way to eat it is in a sesame sub with wasabi mayo.

Fried Fish Sandwich Essentials:

Fish: You can use any mild white fish such as sole, cod, flounder or tilapia.
Crispy Coating: bread crumbs, panko crumbs, corn flake crumbs, cornmeal, crushed potato chips, tempura batter, beer batter.
Bun: baguette, soft bun, kaiser roll, sesame roll, rye bread, whole wheat bread, ciabatta.
Sauce: mayo, tartar sauce, wasabi sauce, pesto, remoulade.
Veggies: lettuce, tomato, pickles or onions.
Accompaniments: french fries, sweet potato fries, potato chips, mashed potatoes, lemon wedges.

When frying fish, it helps to set up a dredging station and use separate tongs or forks for each coating. Most people like to dip the fish into flour, egg, and then crumbs of choice. Personally, i find that my fish comes out perfectly crispy when dipped into eggs and panko or bread crumbs. You can season the fish, crumbs, flour or eggs with spices of choice, such as, seafood spice, paprika, garlic, or salt & pepper.

For a quick and easy alternative, you can pan-fry frozen breaded fish fillets such as Dagim’s.

Fried Fish Sandwich

Sesame baguette
Wasabi mayo (recipe follows)
Fried flounder or tilapia (see my easy recipe here)
Rommaine lettuce
Plum tomatoes
Pickles

Method:

Pan fry fish. To prepare wasabi mayo, add 1-2 tbsps Gold’s wasabi sauce and 1 tsp lemon juice to 1/4 cup mayonnaise. Spread mayo generously on baguette. Top with fish and veggies. Serve with chips or fries.

TIP: When frying fish, prepare a cookie sheet with a few paper towels to absorb excess oil. If you layer the hot fish on top of each other, the steam will make the breading soft and soggy. Laying the fish out in a single layer will keep them crispy.

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{Guest Post} Vegetable Calzones

For me being asked to be a guest blogger on Chanie’s blog is not only exciting but an honor. She sure knows her stuff. She is definitely my go to person when I have one of those ‘how do I…. ‘ questions. If she thinks Im good enough to be her guest (for the second time), I must be doing something right :) I’m not much of a take out, ready made, store bought type of aperson. If it can be done at home (and is not TOO complicated). I usually give it a try. When I was given the idea of making homemade calzones for dinner I was super excited to try it. And it has since made its way to my list of favorite dinners to make/eat! I hope you enjoy this recipe as well.

NOTE: You can also use this dough recipe to make regular dinner rolls when making soup , or even fancy it up to make garlic rolls.

Vegetable Calzones

Dough:
1 tbsp dry yeast (1 packet)
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp salt
3 1/2-4 c flour

In a small bowl, combine yeast with warm water and sugar (the sugar activates the yeast). In a separate bowl, mix flour, oil and salt. When yeast mixture begins to bubble, add it to the second bowl and mix. Knead and let rise for approximately 1 hour.

Filling:
onions
mushrooms
eggplant
squash
broccoli
yellow, green and red pepper
salt and pepper, to taste
olive oil, for sauteing
shredded cheese of choice (I use mozzerella)
1 egg yolk, for brushing
marinara sauce, for serving

Saute vegetables to your liking and season with salt and pepper.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out a piece of dough into a circle (do not make it too thin). Place some of the vegetables on the lower half of the circle and top with cheese. Take top part of circle and fold it over to close, creating a moonlike shape. Brush with beaten egg yolk. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

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“Magic” Salmon

Even though we’re not big dairy eaters around here, I’m so excited to cook for the Nine Days. It gives me a chance to think outside the box, and a rest from typical chicken dinners. I’m grabbing at the chance to make delicious and healthy fish recipes which are a great source of protein and Omega-3 fatty acids.

There are many different ways to prepare fish, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. You can grill, pan-fry, bake, poach or steam fish in many different preparations, but it is best cooked quickly over high heat. If your fish is cooked right, it won’t taste “fishy”.

When purchasing fresh fish, it should smell like the ocean, not like fish. It should have a vibrant color. Pale fish or fish with discolored patches is not fresh. A great tip is to tell your fishmonger that you are making sushi with the fish. This will ensure that the fish is fresh enough to be eaten raw.

One of my favorite ways of preparing baked salmon and tilapia is using Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Seafood Magic Seasoning Blend. The blend is exactly as it is named; pure magic. When baking fish, the key is to bake it at a high temperature for a short period of time. Your fish will be soft, tasty, and best of all, so incredibly quick and easy to prepare. Recipes follow below.

I have lots of ideas brewing for the upcoming week, so I thought I’d share some ideas for those of you who like to plan ahead:

Dairy Recipe Ideas:

– homemade pizza
– lasagna
– quiches
– risottos
– quesadilles
– stuffed shells
– eggplant parmesan
– fettucine alfredo
– penne alla vodka
– french onion soup
– cream of any vegetable soup
– stuffed mushrooms
– eggplant rollatini
– macaroni and cheese
– pancakes, waffles or french toast
– baked potatoes with broccoli and cheddar or other fillings

Meat-Lovers Recipe Ideas:

– vegetarian chili with cheesy corn bread
– portobello mushroom burger
– tuna steak
– grilled halibut
– fish tacos
– falafel

Light ‘n Healthy Recipe Ideas:

– salad nicoise
– shakshuka
– portobello pizza
– sushi rolls or sushi salad
– chickpea patties
– cheesy stuffed mini peppers
– stir fry with tofu and rice
– steamed fish and veggies au papillote
– baked sweet potatoes with cottage cheese or other fillings

Other Pareve Recipe Ideas:

– tuna or salmon croquettes
– tuna casserole
– salmon pasta salad
– Crispy breaded fish sandwich or “fish and chips”

Please feel free to share your Nine Days Menu ideas in the comments below, I’d love to hear from you!

Quick & Easy Salmon or Tilapia

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

For salmon, rinse fish and pat dry. Sprinkle very generously with Seafood Magic spice and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for approximately 15 minutes, until flesh is opaque and flakes with a fork.

For tilapia, rinse fish and pat dry. Squeeze a lemon over the fish, sprinkle very generously with Seafood Magic and brush with canola mayonnaise. Bake for approximately 12 minutes, until flesh is opaque and flakes with a fork.

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Gefilte Fish Patties in Tomato Sauce

If you follow my blog, you’ve probably realized by now that my family is big into gefilte fish. I’ve already posted quite a few variations. This one however, is even closer to home – it’s a family recipe. My mom has been been making her gefilte this way ever since I can remember, and my Bubby before her. My kids love these patties so much that I even make them for dinner every now and then. They like it without the sauce, so I just leave some out. These are best served fresh and warm because they fluff up in the tomato sauce. They can also be served at room temperature with or without the sauce.

NOTE: These patties freeze very well. If you are like me and don’t like to fry a lot, just make a double batch and freeze half of the patties. When you are ready to use, just defrost, cook up the tomato sauce and add the patties. They’ll taste as fresh as the day you made them.

Gefilte Fish Patties in Tomato Sauce

2 loaves frozen gefilte fish, defrosted (I like Raskins Sweet)
2 eggs
1/3 c matza meal
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables
2 15 oz. cans tomato sauce
2-3 tbsp sugar
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
canola oil, for frying

Method:

Mix gefilte fish, eggs and matza meal in a bowl. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Form patties from the gefilte mixture and fry until golden brown on both sides. Remove to paper towel. In a separate pot, cook mixed vegetables in salted water and drain. Bring tomato sauce, sugar, salt and pepper to a boil and add mixed vegetables. Add gefilte fish patties and simmer for a few minutes, or, spoon sauce over patties.

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Watermelon Ice Cubes


The weather here in New York last week was truly unbearable, with temperatures over 100 degrees. I am the kind of person that just cannot stand the heat. Anything over 75 degrees is too hot for me. But of course, I cannot control the weather, so I need to come up with ways to deal with it. If there’s a heat wave going on, I usually don’t leave the house. Otherwise, on hot days, I tend to go from my house, to the car, to any indoor place with air conditioning. If I have to be in the sun, I make sure to have cold water with me, and if there is a sprinkler around, I’m more than likely to drench myself!

It was one such day that I was dreaming up some ideas for an ice cold drink to cool off with. I decided to make some lemonade, but instead of traditional ice cubes that tend to water down beverages, I opted to make some cranberry-juice ones to turn it into pink lemonade. I was about to head out for some lemons when the amazing food guru Alton Brown tweeted about watermelon iced cubes. Brilliant! I knew I had to make them!

Ice cubes are a great way to cool down on a hot summer’s day. Here are some other fun ice cube ideas:

– For iced tea or coffee, make a tray of tea or coffee ice cubes to keep your beverage cold without watering it down.
– Citrus ice cubes are great for tea or cocktails. Juice lemons, limes or oranges and put a quarter slice of citrus in each cube.
– Decorate your ice cubes with sprigs of mint, maraschino cherries, or edible flowers.
– Coke and ginger ale ice cubes are a great addition to any cocktail.
– Punch ice cubes work well in a punch bowl for your next party.

Watermelon Ice Cubes

watermelon
food processor, blender or juicer
bowl or pitcher
mesh sieve, strainer or cheesecloth
ice cube trays

Method:

Cut up watermelon into pieces (they don’t have to be perfect, you’ll be blending them anyway). With a spoon, scrape away any leftover bits of watermelon off the rind. Blend the watermelon in a grinder until pureed. Over a bowl or pitcher, pour the mixture through a strainer and press pulp to remove all the juice. Pour watermelon juice into ice cube trays and freeze. If you have leftover juice, just remove the ice cubes from the tray, store in a ziploc bag and refreeze. You can make more cubes, or, add the juice to lemonade, or use it to make popsicles.

Yield: 1 quarter watermelon equals approximately 2 trays of ice cubes.

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