The Friday Night Fish Fry

I’m not exactly sure how it became such a staple of Western New York’s regional cuisine, but every Friday night, all over this part of the Empire State, countless hundreds of restaurants feature what’s simply called a “fish fry.”

It’s a boneless fillet of haddock, usually dipped in some type of beer batter and served humbly with tartar sauce, fries, baked potato, or as you see here, mashed potatoes. I enjoyed this fine example at Countryside Family Restaurant, a few miles from my mom’s home, and it was awesome.

I really want to do a demo for this recipe, especially since I’ve had hundreds of requests for “fish and chips,” which I assume this is a direct descendant of, but to do it properly you really should use a nice big deep-fryer. I may get a turkey fryer in anticipation of the holiday season, and could break it in with this fabulous fish dish. If you have any “fish fry” memories, please feel free to share!
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The Friday Night Fish Fry

I’m not exactly sure how it became such a staple of Western New York’s regional cuisine, but every Friday night, all over this part of the Empire State, countless hundreds of restaurants feature what’s simply called a “fish fry.”

It’s a boneless fillet of haddock, usually dipped in some type of beer batter and served humbly with tartar sauce, fries, baked potato, or as you see here, mashed potatoes. I enjoyed this fine example at Countryside Family Restaurant, a few miles from my mom’s home, and it was awesome.

I really want to do a demo for this recipe, especially since I’ve had hundreds of requests for “fish and chips,” which I assume this is a direct descendant of, but to do it properly you really should use a nice big deep-fryer. I may get a turkey fryer in anticipation of the holiday season, and could break it in with this fabulous fish dish. If you have any “fish fry” memories, please feel free to share!
Categories: Baca selengkapnya »

Zucchini and Ricotta Casserole – Help Us End SZF in Our Lifetime

Recent made-up studies have shown that every Fall, millions of Americans suffer from a condition known as Severe Zucchini Fatigue (SZF). 

After months of eating zucchini, their bodies begin to shut down and they simply can’t stomach any more of the ubiquitous summer squash. Well, relief is now just a casserole dish away.

Thanks to the magic of mint, the goodness of garlic, and a generous topping of baked ricotta, your SZF can not only be controlled, it can be cured. For this to be fully effective, be sure to not cheat on the hot oven. 

I know your oven smokes a little bit when set to 450 degrees F. (mostly because you only clean it like once a decade), but that’s the temperature needed to brown the edges of the zucchini and cheese, before the liquids begin to leak out.

This is meant to be a relatively quick and easy vegetable side, but as I ate it I couldn’t help but think what a great one-dish meal this would have made with the addition of some spicy sausages. Maybe scatter a few slices of chorizo or lamb Merguez sausage in there? How is that not going to be great? Anyway, I hope you give this delicious zucchini and ricotta casserole a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients:
3 or 4 firm large zucchini
2 or 3 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves crushed garlic
salt to taste
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 cup (packed) thinly sliced mint leaves
1 cup ricotta cheese, or as needed
cayenne to taste

View the complete recipe

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Zucchini and Ricotta Casserole – Help Us End SZF in Our Lifetime

Recent made-up studies have shown that every Fall, millions of Americans suffer from a condition known as Severe Zucchini Fatigue (SZF). 

After months of eating zucchini, their bodies begin to shut down and they simply can’t stomach any more of the ubiquitous summer squash. Well, relief is now just a casserole dish away.

Thanks to the magic of mint, the goodness of garlic, and a generous topping of baked ricotta, your SZF can not only be controlled, it can be cured. For this to be fully effective, be sure to not cheat on the hot oven. 

I know your oven smokes a little bit when set to 450 degrees F. (mostly because you only clean it like once a decade), but that’s the temperature needed to brown the edges of the zucchini and cheese, before the liquids begin to leak out.

This is meant to be a relatively quick and easy vegetable side, but as I ate it I couldn’t help but think what a great one-dish meal this would have made with the addition of some spicy sausages. Maybe scatter a few slices of chorizo or lamb Merguez sausage in there? How is that not going to be great? Anyway, I hope you give this delicious zucchini and ricotta casserole a try soon. Enjoy!


Ingredients:
3 or 4 firm large zucchini
2 or 3 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves crushed garlic
salt to taste
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 cup (packed) thinly sliced mint leaves
1 cup ricotta cheese, or as needed
cayenne to taste
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Cheater Pierogi – This is No Polish Joke

During this video for quick and easy cheese pierogi, I joke about my Polish grandmother rolling over in her grave, but after eating several batches of these delicious dumplings, I’m pretty sure Grandma Sophie would have approved. 

I’ve always been a big fan of wonton skins. Not only have I used them for wonton soup, but also for tortellini, ravioli, and various other dumplings.  They’re very user-friendly, but use a damp paper towel to cover the open package as you work, since they can dry out quickly and become harder to work with.

Whenever I post a video like this, the most common questions usually revolve around what alternative fillings would work. Let me handle that issue right now. Anything will work as a filling. Literally. Most high-end grocery stores will have farmer’s cheese, but if you can’t find it, a mixture of half cream cheese and half ricotta would get you very close.

I decided to break with family tradition and serve these with bacon and caramelized onions, as we usually just fry in a little butter and serve with sour cream. I blame Chicago’s Pierogi Heaven for this, since it was during a recent visit that I had a plate served similarly, and it was amazing.

Anyway, whether you’re an old pro, or brand new to the joys of pierogi, I hope you give these easy, cheesy dumplings a try. Remember the old saying...if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying. Enjoy!


Ingredients for about 50-60 Pierogi:
1 1/2 cups warm mashed potato
1 1/2 cup farmer’s cheese, or any cheese blend
1 large egg
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne
50-60 wonton wrappers
sour cream and chives as needed

Bacon and Onion Sauce (enough to garnish about 12 pierogi)
4 slices bacon, sliced thin
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
2 tsp butter
*After bacon is crisp, drain excess fat, reserving about 2 tbsp to fry pierogi.

View the complete recipe

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Cheater Pierogi – This is No Polish Joke

During this video for quick and easy cheese pierogi, I joke about my Polish grandmother rolling over in her grave, but after eating several batches of these delicious dumplings, I’m pretty sure Grandma Sophie would have approved. 

I’ve always been a big fan of wonton skins. Not only have I used them for wonton soup, but also for tortellini, ravioli, and various other dumplings.  They’re very user-friendly, but use a damp paper towel to cover the open package as you work, since they can dry out quickly and become harder to work with.

Whenever I post a video like this, the most common questions usually revolve around what alternative fillings would work. Let me handle that issue right now. Anything will work as a filling. Literally. Most high-end grocery stores will have farmer’s cheese, but if you can’t find it, a mixture of half cream cheese and half ricotta would get you very close.

I decided to break with family tradition and serve these with bacon and caramelized onions, as we usually just fry in a little butter and serve with sour cream. I blame Chicago’s Pierogi Heaven for this, since it was during a recent visit that I had a plate served similarly, and it was amazing.

Anyway, whether you’re an old pro, or brand new to the joys of pierogi, I hope you give these easy, cheesy dumplings a try. Remember the old saying...if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying. Enjoy!


Ingredients for about 50-60 Pierogi:
1 1/2 cups warm mashed potato
1 1/2 cup farmer’s cheese, or any cheese blend
1 large egg
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of cayenne
50-60 wonton wrappers
sour cream and chives as needed

Bacon and Onion Sauce (enough to garnish about 12 pierogi)
4 slices bacon, sliced thin
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
2 tsp butter
*After bacon is crisp, drain excess fat, reserving about 2 tbsp to fry pierogi.
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Wishing You a Happy Labor Day Weekend from Manchester NY

I’ll be in lovely Manchester, NY for a few weeks visiting my mother Pauline and the rest of the family. We’ll have a steady stream of new videos as usual, but I am going to try to take a little break from the laptop, and stay offline as much as I can. So far so good…I think I only tweeted four or five times yesterday!

Uncle Billy. One of my most
influential culinary mentors!
Anyway, speaking of family, today is the famous D’Arduini family reunion, and if that name sounds familiar, it should. Despite being one of our older, low-res videos, Chicken D’Arduini, which I filmed here years ago with my uncle Bill D’Arduini, has remained one of our most popular chicken recipes ever. 

To honor the occasion, I’m reposting this wonderful dish just in case you haven’t seen it, or maybe forgot how delicious it really is. I hope you have a great holiday, and as always, enjoy! 


Chicken D’Arduini (click here for the original post and ingredients)

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Published by : Death Of Notes

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