Fish and Chips

First Friday of Lent. 

I know Lucy loves Friday night dinners during Lent. Tonight we decided on Air Fryer Fish and Chips. Big Y had the packages of Naked Cod for $13. There were 2 pieces of cod that I cut into cubes. Just enough for Chris, Lucy and me.

We did the fish in the air fryer and the chips in the oven.

The fish was so flaky and it had really fresh taste.

Fish and Chips Dinner. We served the fish and chips with tartar sauce, ketchup, or malt vinegar. The fries were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

Air Fryer Fish Sticks

Ingredients-

2 large eggs

3 tbsp milk

2 cups Panko breadcrumbs

1/4 tsp Paprika

1 cup all-purpose flour

10 oz. Cod, cut into sticks

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp sea salt

pinch ground black pepper

Tartar Sauce for serving

Method-

Combine the eggs and milk in a bowl.

Pour the breadcrumbs and paprika into a pie plate, or some dish that has sides. 

Pour flour into a second pie plate.

Coat the fish sticks in olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Dip the fish sticks into the flour, then the egg mixture, and finally the breadcrumbs.

Insert the Fry Tray into the basket of the air fryer.

Set the cooking temperature to 350˚F and cooking time to 3 minutes to preheat the air fryer.

Place the fish sticks in the basket. Insert the basket into the air fryer.

Set the cooking time to 12 minutes.

Flip the fish sticks halfway through the cooking time.

Serve with tartar sauce.

Fettuccine Alfredo

Ash Wednesday 2022. No meat. Not a problem. There is always Fettuccine Alfredo. I made the pasta on Sunday. I really love the pasta attachment for the KitchenAid. I made enough pasta for 2 meals. Freezing both portions. 

Tonight I made the only Fettuccine  Alfredo recipe I know.

Ingredients-
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces
Dried egg fettuccine
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 cup)

Method-
Melt butter in a large saute pan.
Cook fettuccine in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water until al dente.
Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water, then drain fettuccine in a colander.
Immediately toss the fettuccine with butter and salt in the sauté pan, then slowly add 3/4 cup cheese, tossing constantly and adding enough cooking water to keep pasta moist.
Season with salt and pepper to taste, then sprinkle with remaining cheese.

First Friday of Lent. A TikTok Sensation!

So we begin the Friday night dinners during Lent. Not someone's favorite time of the year but I am determined to kick it up a notch this Lent with dinner ideas.

We started off with that TikTok Sensation - Baked Feta Pasta With Tomatoes.

Insert crowd cheers.

Have you seen this video? As soon as I saw it I knew it would be a hit in our house.

It is so damn easy. One baking dish and one pot. Gotta love an easy clean-up on a Friday night.

This recipe is very adaptable to anyone's taste.  I read that you can use goat cheese instead of Feta. And the pasta can be whatever you like. It was recommended something like a bowtie pasta but I opted for homemade fettuccini. 

We loved this. Both of us went back for seconds. The sauce was so delicious. It is a good idea to save some of the pasta water in case the pasta looks like it could use more sauce once it is added to the baking dish.

Click here for the original recipe.

This was my version of the recipe tailored for our tastes.

Ingredients-
12 oz. pasta of your choice
1/2 cup olive oil 
1 box cherry tomatoes (around 10 oz) 
1 block feta about 8 oz
a few pinches of red pepper flakes
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
salt and pepper

Method-
Preheat oven to 400˚F. Then toss cherry tomatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper in a baking dish.

Stick a block of feta in the middle and add another glug of olive oil along with a few more cranks of fresh pepper.

Bake for 35 minutes or until the feta is brown and the tomatoes have burst. Then stir to mix.

Boil water for the pasta, remember to add salt!

Cook the pasta, saving some of the water in case there is not enough liquid in the sauce.

Chop the basil. 

Remove the baking dish from the oven and add red pepper flakes and stir.

Stir in the cooked pasta.

Garnish with basil.

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Lent Begins. Air Fryer Fish Sticks

Ash Wednesday. No Meat. Enter the Air Fryer.

Fish Sticks. Easy enough to buy a box of Gordon's but Cod was actually on sale. Fish on sale during Lent!

This was easy to put together and 12 minutes to cook. The coating was light and crispy. Next time I may add some cayenne pepper to the flour.

The Tartar Sauce was made by Chris. We all have our specialties and his tartar sauce is much better than mine.

Air Fryer Fish Sticks

Ingredients-

2 large eggs

3 tbsp milk

2 cups Panko breadcrumbs

1 cup all-purpose flour

10 oz. Cod, cut into sticks

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 tsp sea salt

pinch ground black pepper

Tartar Sauce for serving

Method-

Combine the eggs and milk in a bowl.

Pour the breadcrumbs into a pie plate, or some dish that has sides. 

Pour flour in a second pie plate.

Coat the fish sticks in olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Dip the fish sticks into the flour, then the egg mixture, and finally the breadcrumbs.

Insert the Fry Tray into the basket of the air fryer.

Set the cooking temperature to 350˚F and cooking time to 3 minutes to preheat the air fryer.

Place the fish sticks in the basket. Insert the basket into the air fryer.

Set the cooking time to 12 minutes.

Flip the fish sticks halfway through the cooking time.

Serve with the tartar sauce.

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Fettuccine Alfredo

Good Friday. What a season of Lent this has been. Tonight we had one of our comfort foods.

The pasta recipe as always is from Tide and Thyme. I only made 1/2 of the recipe. Just enough for the 2 of us.


Fettuccine Alfredo -

Ingredients-

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces

Dried egg fettuccine

1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 cup) 

Method-

Melt butter in a large saute pan.

Cook fettuccine in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water until al dente.

Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water, then drain fettuccine in a colander.

Immediately toss the fettuccine with butter and salt in the sauté pan, then slowly add 3/4 cup cheese, tossing constantly and adding enough of the cooking water to keep pasta moist.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, then sprinkle with remaining cheese.

The Last Friday of Lent

A repeat appearance of Caesar Salad with Shrimp. The salad dressing was Lidia Bastianich's.

Romaine Lettuce tossed with Caesar Salad Dressing and topped with homemade croutons and boiled shrimp.

The Shrimp was placed in a pan with 2 cups of cold water and lemon juice from 1/2 a lemon, along with the lemon half and 1/2 tsp of whole black pepper and 1/2 tsp of sugar. The pan was heated over medium heat to a boil and let simmer for about 5 minutes until the shrimp was cooked.

Caesar Salad Dressing
Ingredients-
2 Hard Cooked Egg Yolks
2 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
Juice of one Lemon
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
½ Tsp Kosher Salt
6 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Black Pepper to Taste

Method-
In a mini–food processor, combine the egg yolks, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, and ½ teaspoon salt. Process until smooth. With the machine running, add the olive oil in a steady stream to make a smooth dressing. 
The recipe suggests dressing the entire bowl of greens. We prefer to dress our own plates. We can never finish the whole bowl of greens. Not mixing the dressing on the entire salad means we can use the greens for another meal... Stay tuned!

Good Friday

We end the Season of Lent with a dish I could easily eat once a week year round. My Mom's Baked Macaroni. Pasta, cheese, egg, and milk. The best part is the edges. And I just realized I have a brownie pan with the insert that gives each piece 4 edges. Hmmm, maybe next time.



The recipe -
Boil 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
Grease Pyrex loaf pan.
Alternate layers of macaroni and American cheese starting with the macaroni.
Break 2 eggs and pour over macaroni. Fill baking dish with milk to almost cover macaroni.
Top with bread crumbs, and parsley. Bake 350 degrees until set, usually about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Honestly, that is the way the recipe was given to me.
It is pretty forgiving. Just boil macaroni and add cheese. I have used whatever cheese I have in the house. Mom used American. It is a good basic recipe you can build to fit your taste.

The Fifth Friday of Lent

Crazy day, or should I say week, at work. 15 minute lunch break. Dinner need to be from the pantry. Enter Every Night Italian Cookbook by Giuliano Hazan. Yes, his mom was Marcella. I have made her Tomato, Onion and Butter Sauce so many times. Tonight we tried her son's version. Delicious. That is what Chris said about tonight's dinner. I started the sauce at 5:15 and we sat down at 6:30. The flavors were perfect. The bread in the photo was also homemade. I love having bread in the freezer!

From Every Night Italian, Spaghetti with Tomatoes and Onions

Ingredients-
3 cups canned whole peeled tomatoes with their juice
1 medium sweet yellow onion
5 tablespoons butter
1 1/4 teaspoons salt

Method-
Put the tomatoes, onion, butter, and salt in a 4- to 5-quart saucepan over medium heat. When the tomatoes begin to bubble, lower the heat to a slow but steady simmer. Cook, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes, and the sauce has reduced, about 45 minutes. The sauce is done when the butter has separated from the tomatoes and there is no remaining liquid.

When you toss pasta with the sauce, add about 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

The Third Friday of Lent

I think we may have a winner for favorite Lenten dinner. Ricotta-Spinach Polenta with Tomato Salad.
Today's weather was stormy to say the least. This dinner was so comforting. Polenta is one of my favorite things but even Chris commented that the meal was delicious.

The polenta was made in the slow cooker. Thank goodness for those slow cooker liners! Clean up was easy.

I added a couple of ingredients to the Tomato Salad. Some sliced celery with the green tops, radishes, and chopped parsley. Nice!

The recipe comes from Adventures in Slow Cooking.

Ingredients-
1 1/2 cups polenta (not instant or quick-cooking)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
5 ounces baby spinach (about 5 loosely packed cups)
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the eggs
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
Freshly ground black  pepper
4 large eggs (optional)
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 cup whole or part-skim milk ricotta

Method-
Combine the polenta with 6 1/2 cups water in a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker.
Add the butter and salt.
Cover and cook on LOW until the polenta is thick and tender, about 6 hours.


With the slow cooker on LOW, stir the polenta well and then stir the spinach into the polenta in 2 batches, covering the cooker and letting the first batch wilt before adding the second, about 5 minutes per batch.


Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, toss together the tomatoes, oil, and vinegar.
Season the tomato salad with salt and pepper.


Optional: Pour a thin layer of oil into a large skillet over medium-high heat and crack 4 eggs into the pan. Season the eggs with salt and pepper and cook until the whites are golden brown, lacy on the
edges, and just set in the middle, and the yolks are still a little jiggly, about 3 minutes.


Fold the Parmesan and ricotta into the polenta.
Taste and season the polenta with salt if necessary.
Stir in warm water by the tablespoon if the polenta is looking too thick for your taste—keep in mind it will continue to thicken as it cools.
Top bowls of the polenta with the tomato salad and, if you like, the fried eggs.

The Second Friday of Lent

Braised Cod and Potatoes or Baccala Con Le Patate Nel Sugo. That's right I have turned to La Cucina, The Regional Cooking of Italy for tonight's recipe. And the Cod was on sale at Shop Rite. This recipe comes from the Compania region of Italy. Yes, that is the region that my family came from. I was very excited to make this. It sounded like something my Mom would have made.

Of course, there is the issue of the frying the fish. I will have to bake cookies or bread or both the defeat the smell of the fish.

Below is my version of the recipe from La Cucina. I reduce the amount of oil, 3 cups in the original recipe!! I enjoyed this a lot. Chris thought it was not bad. I had seconds, I think I saw Chris go back for more but I could not swear to that.

Braised Cod and Potatoes

Ingredients-
1 lb cod
1/2 cup flour
3 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 28 oz can of plum tomatoes, crushed by hand
1 bay leaf
salt
chopped parsley

Method-

Cut the cod in pieces roughly 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches long and dust them with flour. Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a pan until hot and fry the cod until golden: remove the cod from the pan and set aside on paper towels. Add the onion to the pan and as soon as they are translucent add the potatoes.

 

After about 20 to 30 minutes of cooking, (check the potatoes for doneness), adjust for salt, then add the tomatoes, and bay leaves Cook for about 10 minutes.

 

Add the cod and cook for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.

The First Friday of Lent

It is time for Meatless Fridays. I was thinking of making fish but it is a little pricey, especially at this time of the year. I was lucky to have egg and spinach fettuccini in the freezer. I opted for my favorite pasta dish, Fettuccini Alfredo. Pasta, butter, and cheese. Keep it simple. My go-to recipe is from Epicurious. I apologize for the crappy photos tonight... not sure what happened there.

Ingredients-

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces
Dried egg fettuccine
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 cup)

Method-Melt butter in a large saute pan.
Cook fettuccine in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water until al dente.
Reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water, then drain fettuccine in a colander.
Immediately toss the fettuccine with butter and salt in the sauté pan, then slowly add 3/4 cup cheese, tossing constantly and adding enough of cooking water to keep pasta moist.
Season with salt and pepper to taste, then sprinkle with remaining cheese

Lasagna alla Vodka

Happy Valentines Day! And welcome to the season of Lent. Not meat today or for the next few Fridays. Tonight's dinner was really quite good. Only one complaint about the spinach. Other than that we both went back for seconds. The recipe called for heavy cream in the sauce. I decided to omit the cream, I even had it in the fridge. I thought with the ricotta and the mozzarella the added cream was not needed. The sauce was fine without it. I found the recipe on Delish. I recently subscribed to that blog. Here is the link for the original recipe - Click Here.

Flounder Piccata

What to make for dinner on a Friday during Lent can be a tough call. How much pasta can we eat in one week. Beans or veggies are good but they are not usually requested.  Fish is something we do not eat enough of and I have no explanation why we don't. Tonight we had Flounder Piccata from SkinnyTaste.com and it was a huge hit. I loved it. Chris loved and a couple of cats were very excited about dinner. The fish with the breading was so light and the sauce was perfect. And under 300 calories per serving. Nice! For sides we had Roasted Potatoes and Roasted Asparagus.

Flounder Piccata recipe from Skinnytaste.com (serves 4)-




Ingredients-
4 flounder fillets (17 oz total)
freshly ground black pepper
2 large egg whites
2/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
olive oil spray (about 1 tbsp worth)
1 tbsp light butter
juice of 1 lemon, lemon halves reserved
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup fat free chicken broth
1 tbsp capers, drained
sliced lemon, for serving
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley, for serving

Method-
Season fish with salt and pepper.  Heat oven to 200°.
In a shallow bowl, beat the egg whites. Place the bread crumbs in another dish. Dip each fish fillet in the egg whites, then bread crumbs.
Heat a large saute pan over medium to medium-low heat. Spray a generous amount of olive oil spray on one side of the fish, and lay it in the pan, oil side down. Spray the other side of the fish generously to coat and cook for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until fish is opaque and cooked through. Set aside on a platter in a warm oven until you make the sauce.

Over medium heat in the same pan, melt butter, add the lemon juice, wine, chicken broth and the reserved lemon halves, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Boil over high heat until the liquid is reduced to half, about 3 - 4 minutes. Discard the lemon halves, add the capers and spoon the sauce over the fish; place a slice of lemon on each fillet and top with fresh parsley.

Mom's Baked Macaroni

I was in New York a couple of weeks ago to see the Smithereens. Chris and I were sitting at a bar having cocktails before the show. I get a text from a co-worker requesting my Mom's Baked Macaroni recipe. She looked on this blog and could not find the recipe. I looked and could not find the recipe! I ended up texting her the recipe.

So here is my Mom's recipe for Baked Macaroni -

Grease Pyrex glass loaf dish.
Cook 1/2 box of pasta elbows.
In the baking dish put a layer of cooked pasta. Top with some American Cheese and then add more pasta. Continue layering until you end with a pasta layer. You should have 4 layers of pasta. Beat 2 eggs and pour over the pasta. Fill the baking dish with milk. Fill until the milk almost reaches the top of the dish. Sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs, parsley and Parmesan cheese. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes at 350 degrees. Cover the top with foil if it starts to burn.

The cheese can be whatever you have in the house. Tonight I used American, Cheddar and Gouda cheeses. It was creamier than usual. Delicious comfort food perfect for Lent.

Sogliola alla Mugnaia

And now we begin our Recipes for Lent. We actually began on Wednesday with the Escarole and Beans. Tonight I made a recipe for the Mario Batali cookbook that Chris gave me for Christmas, Molto Italiano, 327 Simple Italian Recipe to Cook At Home.

I have to tell you, cooking the recipe was easy and fast. But my favorite part of preparing dinner was when I was at the stove and turned around and saw 2 cats sitting on the table glaring at me. Not staring, glaring. I do not do a lot of cooking with fish. They did notice tonight's dinner.

From Molto Italiano, 327 Simple Italian Recipe to Cook At Home, Sogliola all Mugnaia (Sautéed Sole Miller's Style)

Ingredients-
flour for dredging

salt and pepper
2 pounds Sole Fillets
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
juice of one lemon
2 tablespoon minced parsley

A lemon, cut into thin wedges, for garnishing

Method-
Season the flour with salt and pepper and spread on a plate. Dredge the fish in the flour and shake off the excess.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tbsp butter with olive over medium heat until the butter foams and subsides. Add the fish and cook, turning once, until nicely golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer the fish to a serving platter and cover  loosely to keep warm.
Discard the cooking fat and wipe the skillet clean. Return the skillet to medium heat and melt the remaining 2 tbsp butter. Stir in the lemon juice and parsley, and pour over the fish. Arrange lemon wedges around the fish and serve immediately.

Escarole and White Bean Soup

Another Lenten Meal. This one is from Lidia's Favorite Recipes, I guess we are still featuring that cookbook! I made this yesterday at my lunch break, 2 soups in an hour, not bad.

I did make a couple of changes in the original recipe, time being the factor. I had bean stock in the freezer so that helped a lot. The taste soup was nice and light. I served this with Italian bread and spreadable Parmesan cheese.

My version of Escarole and White Bean Soup from Lidia's Favorite Recipes.

Ingredients-
1 14 oz can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups bean stock
salt, pepper and ground thyme to taste
1 head of escarole coarsely shredded, washed and drained
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

Method-
Heat the bean stock, which I had in the freezer from the last time I made dried cannellini beans.
Adjust the seasonings.
Add the escarole and cook stirring occasionally until it is tender, about 15 minutes. Add the crushed red pepper and the beans. Serve with Parmesan cheese.