What to do on Lenten Fridays

     Well as we approach the 5th week of Lent and pasta with pesto and pizza were getting ho hum I decided to take my mom's old favorite and give it a new twist. Back in the 60's it was potatos and eggs -now called Frittata or fried fish on Fridays. I have to say my mom did a great beer battered fish with lots of lemon drizzled over it-even those who were not fish fanatics couldn't help themselves!  So with that in mind I decided at the last minute to replicate the meal with a 2010 twist. I stopped at my trusty fish guy Eddie to pick up some fresh fish. Whenever I have made fish tacos in the past I have grilled the fish either outside or on my trusty grill pan inside which also does the trick. You need a fairly thick piece of fish or it will get lost in the tacos with all the fixins' on it. Last time he had fresh monk fish which my husband flipped for but this time the cod was fresh and just the right thickness-any white fish will do.
   So for three people I bought a little over a pound-I had already picked up lemons, cilantro, soft taco shells,
fresh organic salsa, and an avocado. Sometimes I shred cabbage and radishes to use as a sort of coleslaw topping but that night I thought Mexican would be the way to go.  It really does not take very long make so if you are in a hurry and hungry this is perfect.
     First I washed the fish and left it to dry as I got the other ingredients ready.  Luckily for me, my daughter was home and she has become a master at making guacamole so that was one less thing to do. She mashed the avocado and added lots of lemon juice, garlic powder and just a little jar-style salsa which adds just enough liquid so it macerates easier. I through togeher a salad with a light vinegrette to have as our side dish. I added corn and fresh red onion to the organic salsa to give it more color and zip.
     At this point I was ready to make the batter for the fish but I came up with a real snag-NO BEER in the house! Oops I thought it was here?! Neither of us wanted to get back in the car so I thought how can I be resourceful to continue with my plan. And then it came to me. I needed the batter to be light and foamy and effervesent-well I had ginger ale that would work but I was not sure that regular old all purpose flour would give a puffy crustly-crust. So I looked in my cabinet a lo and behold I had Presto self-rising cake flour! This has baking powder and salt added to it which would give it the boost and seasoning I needed.  So I used
1 cup of gingerale and 1 cup of the Presto flour which foamed up just like I imagined it would.  I filled  my little Fry Daddy with canola  oil and waited for it to heat up. In the mean time I also preheated the oven for 250 degrees so that I could keep the fish warm during the process.  I salted and peppered the fish on both sides and then cut them into bite size pieces, then rolled them  in the batter until all of the fish was covered.
     One by one I dropped them into the sizzling pot and they turned puffy, brown then crispy-I quickly moved them to brown paper (never use paper towels as that absorbs the grease leaving the fish saturated and limp) then I transferred them on to a large plate and put into the oven after liberally squeezing lemon over the top.
     On the table we lined up the salad, guacamole, and fresh salsa in anticipation for the main dish. NOW for the tacos -usually I just wrap them in a wet paper towel and put in the microwave for 25 seconds but this time I decided to use my panini maker to quick -grill them. So I sprayed them with olive oil spray by Filippo Berio and slightly grilled them just until they were warm.

     Well it all fell into place nicely- using the slightly grilled taco shells, adding the fish, and the toppings, we had a healthful Lenten repast.   

North Shore gets hit by a storm or where to go during a blackout

After returning home Saturday night from a lovely family celebration we were innundated by a torrential rainstorm followed by large blasts that turned out to be transformers.  Those transformers "transformed" our lives into 32 hours of darkness with accompanied by a pervasive chill. Fortunately it was not the sub-zero weather we had been having and  it was daylight savings time so the darkness was kept at bay for one hour longer. But as we approached dinner time on the second day, and came to the realization that the power was not coming back on,  we knew we had to find a place to eat! We decided to go to Alexandros in Mount Sinai NY which is a cozy Greek restaurant with great food and attentive service.  After we were seated the friendly service gave us a mortar and pestle to mash our own fresh hummus complete with warm triangles of pita. To start we decided to share the grilled stuffed octupus-filled with tomatos and feta-wow each bite was like a taste of summer with that fresh off the grilled goodness. This appetizer gives you 6 and although we could have eated more we knew we wanted to save ourselves for our entrees.

I wanted something traditional and homey so I got the moussaka -layers of potatos, eggplant and ground beef smothered by bechamel sauce. This was smooth and delicious. George could not pass up the red snapper which they filleted at the table quickly and efficiently-his meal included rice pilaf and grilled asparagus done al dente. I was sufficiently satified but was persuaded to share some baklava to end our perfect "blackout" dinner. We cane home to a cold dark house but the memories of that dinner kept us warm.

The Rockaways

     We have been spending a lot of time in Rockaway Beach, Queens as of late and are exploring the sights and sounds in that beach community. It is a very unaffected area with just a few chain restaurants.  We love it because it is 10 minutes from Kennedy Airport, 10 minutes from Long Beach (another fun filled town) and 10 minutes from Howard Beach which has a plethora of  diners and restaurants. As you drive along the main drag of Howard Beach which is Cross Bay Blvd. your head will be spiinning with all the different ethnic eateries that are represented. Since we were in the mood for Italian food and fish we chose Lenny's Clam Bar. Lenny's Clam Bar  has graced the corner of 161 St and Cross Bay Blvd in Howard Beach since 1974 and is known for the owner Joe's hot sauce-a kind of Fra Diavlo.  We ordered linguine with red clam sauce and the "combination" which includes shrimps, mussels, calamari and scungilli sauteed in a marinara sauce.

Both dishes were nicely prepared with fresh seafood and a light not cloying sauces. The portions were more than ample and everyone brought home treats for the next day.
     Believe it or not we decided to have the dessert specials for the night which were lemon sorbet served in a garnished lemon shell and the Bananas Foster which I make at home but have never had out -both were as we expected. The lemon sorbet, which  was a perfect way to cleanse the palate after a slightly spicey meal, was a smooth, tart, lemony treat.  The Bananas Foster had the slight cinnamon-rum taste I was looking for and blended with vanilla ice cream AND whip cream although not prepared table side the presentation was good and the taste decadent! We will definately return. The other great thing about dining out in Queens is that everything is still bustling late night so we were not rushed and leisurely enjoyed our meal and was by no means the last to leave.

Hard Rock Cafe

There are a lot of theme restaurants in the "Big Apple" and the Hard Rock Cafe is one of them.  I had the pleasure of joining with a group that was lunching there on a field trip.  I approached the meal with trepidation as usually theme restaurants seem to be tasteless and the service is poor. To my surprise, as well as those I dined with, we had a great experience.  The service was hospitable and quick-perhaps because they were expecting a large group-or maybe it is always that good. I liked how the menu shared the calorie count of all of the food so you can make an educated decision -this is mandatory for NYC I hope it becomes required for Long Island as well. I had a simple pulled pork sandwich accompanied by a fresh coleslaw and seasoned fries. All done nicely and proportioned well. After the lunch we were invited to take and "impromptu" tour of all the memorabilia that surrounds each room. Some of the collection moves to other Hard Rock locations and some of it is permanent. One of the featured displays was of the Beatles collarless suits that they wore when they arrived in New York in the 60's complete with their monogramed TWA flight bags, Jim Morrison's leather pants, as well as John Bonhams (Led Zepplin drummer)original drumsticks. We found out the restaurant used to be the old Paramount theater, built in 1926, where the likes of Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland entertained the throngs of fans. If you are a fan of rock and roll and who isn't-or just like to take trips down memory lane I strongly reccomend this restauant in the heart of the theatre district.

Branzini

I guess I should start at least 10 years ago when I read a review of a restaurant that was considered an unfound treasure. It was called Dino's and it was in Smithtown NY. My family enjoyed many memorable meals there. One of the many things we liked about this restaurant is that you could always get a seat with a very short wait. We each began to order our favorites when we ate there and my husband's favorite was Branzini. They would come to the table with the whole fish and debone it in front of him finishing it with a flourish of a bit of olive oil and some seasonings.  After that whenever it was on a menu he would order it and always exclaim how much he loved it! I always wanted to prepare it but was afraid it would not live up to his favorable experiences. So recently I noticed my local fish monger started carrying it so I though I would give it a whirl. After asking Eddie the owner for a bit of information ,plus some tips, I bought it. He told me this Meditteranean Sea Bass was called the "Godfather of the sea bass" and that it has become quite popular because it is a white fish with a mild flavor and according to him EASY to make. After researching recipes and remembering Eddie's advice I took the plunge. Like most recipes simple is the best way to go-which is what I did. Basically, after cleaning and drying off, I seasoned it with kosher salt and fresh gound pepper, and drizzled it with a good quality olive oil.  I sprayed a grill pan with Bertoli olive oil spray (new great product) and set my burners to high. My grill pan fits over 2 burners so I can cook more that one item-I chose to throw on some scallops as well. With skin side down I sear the fish for 3 minutes then turn over for another 2 minutes. To finish I flipped it back over squeezed 1/2 a lemon and then garnished with lemons for additional flavor.  Many times we get nervous cooking fish but really it is the easiest and quickest to prepare and if we don't have a lot of time fish is the way to go!