So...whats for dinner?

Moon, Ah. When I think Fish Fry, I think of an Elks Lodge or a church where you pay some money, the volunteers are working hard to keep up with the buffet line, and the sides are all way too sweet. But the fish, the fish is generally fabulous. In a restaurant, the range is far greater. Mr. 02143 and I head to a place that has the atmosphere of a hospital waiting room when we want Fish and Chips. This restaurant is part of a great fish market. In fact, you can buy the fish at the market and have them cook it for you for a dollar per pound any way you like. But, I always get the fish plate which is whatever white fish came off the day fish boats that morning, breaded and fried. It is served with French fries. The plate costs $6.99 for four large pieces of fish. On Wednesday, they add a fifth piece of fish for the same price. Big Fish Wednesday they call it.

The next step up would be one of the Irish pubs. The biggest difference is that they are more expensive, and the fries are better, and sometimes you get some kind of cole slaw or salad to accompany. And then, of course, we have a ton of places that are more upscale, with a greater choice of sides. But for the money, our Fish Market can not be beat. And the people are incredibly kind and friendly.

We still do have church events around here, but they seem to all be non-fish events. All the Orthodox churches have festivals. For example, the Greek churches rotate their festivals and they roast whole lambs, grill sausages, serve spinach pies in all shapes and sizes. I have to admit, I no longer attend these places since they have become too popular and crowded.

And, thus, we have concluded my contribution to the Fish Fry discussion!

*susan*

When we were dating and for a little while after we were married, Sharon didn't particularly like fish. Her tastes have changed...it's amazing what some new cooking ideas can do. :-)

Our wedding rehearsal dinner was on a Friday night and the priest ended up sitting next to Sharon. I"m not Catholic, so I ordered up a nice London Broil. When the hostess asked Sharon what she'd like, ...pause.....looks at priest..looks a bit annoyed.."I'll have the fish special."

Yes, Nance, I would concur about adding the fish sauce or anchovy paste to the tomato sauce for umami. I was a bit worried when my Vineyard friend added anchovies to a tomato sauce she made for us last summer, and we never tasted "fish". It was wonderful! I must remember to start using the anchovy paste I have in a tube to try to achieve this result.

Haha, Eric, I'm glad that Sharon was protective of the fishermen's jobs (under clergy rehearsal dinner duress)!

Assuming this never got read with my missing posts, last evening I had a delish kale salad at a restaurant in DS2's probable (taking nothing for granted here) new neighborhood. And a crabcake BLT, which was really tasty.

Nance, That is a beautiful montage. An ode to quality food! I think I need to make some lasagne! I might consider making some ricotta, blending in some spinach.

Lacey, sorry to hear of your posting woes. Using the iPad? I have never posted from the iPad since I hate typing on a virtual keyboard.

Tonight I made some "samosa" meat, dal, and rice. I also had to make some tamarind-date chutney which required a trip to the Indian shop. The kids moved a bunch of stuff to the new house today. They even set up a bed and had their first "snuggle" in the new house. No. I did not ask for the definition of "snuggle." His family all came to meet them there and see the house. They approved!

*susan*

Pot roast tonight...browned the meat, then I caramelized 3 HUGE onions and braised everything in regular Coke for about 5 hours at 145F degrees. It's not quite fall apart tender, but not bad.

Tonight, I saw the grocery store's meat department had what was labeled London Broil on sale for $2.77 per pound. I got about 10 pounds. It's already cut to size, bagged, labeled, and in the freezer. It looks like a top round steak and I found two "USDA Choice" stamps on the cuts of meat. For that price, I had kind of expected "select" grade, so I was surprised (and pleased).

Wow, I got up for a few minutes before finishing my post and I see that several of us had the "it's time to post" thought.

Minus, I pray for her to get treatment to get rid of the tumors.

Wow, Nance....that's a lot of cooking...It looks good. If I hadn't just finished "the experiment", I'd be drooling over the screen. :-)

Susan, that made me smile. I wouldn't ask either.

Chi, Sharon went to school "two doors up" from Brooklyn...SUNY Maritime at the south end of the Bronx. She grew up in *way* upstate New York...an hour and half drive north of Syracuse.

This post took awhile. Sharon is making Apple Dumplings and I figured I'd clean things up for her, so I stopped typing for about 15 minutes.

Edited... Minus, I, too, am praying the tumors can be brought under control.

Minus - I'm so sorry about your cousin. I'm glad you can spend time with them.

Sandy - can't say I've every had Brooklyn pizza. New York- yes. Is there a difference? Your Middle Eastern meal sounds excellent.

Susan, lol, you know you have a close relationship with your kid when she tells you about her "snuggles" ;-)

Eric - you snagged quite a deal! I've seen so many recipes (pot roast mainly) calling for Coke. Did you like it?

There really isn’t a difference between NYC and Brooklyn pizza, except that the latter is usually served by the slice in street-corner pizzerias with the ubiquitous shakers of grated parm, red pepper flakes, garlic granules and oregano on the counter. I suspect it’s the same way in all the boroughs. (I decided to garnish my slices with basil from the plants on my windowsill). It’s all the more amazing to have it so good here in Chicago, considering that so many food writers swear the difference is the NYC tap water. (Years ago, Food Network had a NY-style pizza-cookoff held in L.A. between DiFara and the top joints in Phoenix and SF--the crew from DiFara brought their own water).

Me too, Carole.

Dinner this Sunday was at my sister's house, about 2 min. from my mother's house. Baby brother Brian, wife and grown daughter were in town and my mother decided we should have an early Thanksgiving dinner. It was just like Thanksgiving except for the date on the calendar. All six of my mother's chilluns were present and all the spouses except one. I cooked the creamed spinach that my sister/hostess loves, fresh cranberries with splenda, and made a big garden salad. Others cooked the turkey, dressing, mac and cheese and mashed potatoes. One brother brought a delicious cake from a bakery. Daubage?? Not sure on the spelling. It was a creamy lemon on the inside with dark chocolate icing.

There were two turkeys and I brought one of the carcasses home to save it from being discarded. Nance and Susan, how do you make the stock in the oven? Thanks in advance for a refresher course.

DH will have some carb leftovers, dressing and mac and cheese, as part of his dinner tonight. I'll have steamed broccoli with some fresh lemon and butter and maybe a salad. One very large chicken breast is thawing. I'll slice it horizontally into two thinner pieces and pan fry it in a little butter and oil combo.

All this pizza discussion is making me want to make pizza.

Carole, the only thing I did differently was add the aromatics, brought the thing to a boil then put it in the 180° oven.

I like the sound of that cake.

I would make broth and can it in pint jars so mom could use it to make soup for my dad.

Dad is gone, but I still can the broth and put it up in the pantry.

The stock pot is too tall to fit on the electric stove, so I use a kerosene stove. Set to low, the stove holds the stock pot broth at 175F degrees and after 12 hours of simmering, the kerosene tank is still 3/4 full, so I don't have to "babysit" the simmering broth. A larger kerosene stove (the canner is also too tall to fit on the electric stove) handles the pressure canner work.

It's old tech, but it works well. :-)

Lacey - I agree about how nice the overnight stock is. So tonight is the remains of the bird's breast in soup with some noodles and cheddar onion biscuits.

Today I have been perusing NOLA hotels for our Christmas getaway. I've already made reservations for our Reveillion. I'll try to post a menu. This time I AM NOT GETTING SICK. Even if I have to forego my beloved cafe au lait and beignets. Perhaps I'll have one or the other but I AM NOT GETTING SICK. I recently talked to my gastro doc about these episodes and among other things, he told me to stay away from coffee with weeds in it and funnel cakes with a fancy name. What a wet blanket he is.