The Friday Night Fish Fry

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I’m not exactly sure how it became such a staple of WesternNew York’s regional cuisine, but every Friday night, all over this part of theEmpire State, countless hundreds of restaurants feature what’s simply called a“fish fry.”
It’s a boneless fillet of haddock, usually dipped in sometype of beer batter and served humbly with tartar sauce, fries, baked potato, or as you seehere, mashed potatoes. I enjoyed this fine example at Countryside FamilyRestaurant, a few miles from my mom’s home, and it was awesome.
I really want to do a demo for this recipe, especially sinceI’ve had hundreds of requests for “fish and chips,” which I assume this is a directdescendant of, but to do it properly you really should use a nice bigdeep-fryer. I may get a turkey fryer in anticipation of the holiday season, andcould break it in with this fabulous fish dish. If you have any “fish fry”memories, please feel free to share!

Beef Borscht – You Really Can’t Beat This Beet Soup

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This delicious and vividly colored beef borscht is the firstsoup I can ever remember eating. Every summer, we’d drive to New York City tovisit my father’s side of the family. His father was Ukrainian, and his motherwas Polish, and like the pierogis they’d have ready for us, this beef and beetsoup was always a very welcomed part of the trip.
It was also this soup that started my lifelong love ofadding sour cream to things. The way the tangy, rich cream melted into the hot,beefy broth was a wonder to behold, and unlike any other soup I’d eat the restof the year. Speaking of beefy broth, I only used one measly piece of shank,but you are welcome to add one or two more to make this even more awesome.
Of course, there are a thousand versions of borscht, and asusual I have no idea how authentic this is, which is fine since, well, it’ssoup for God’s sake. Beside what vegetables to add or delete, there is also thequestion of temperature.
Word on the street is that the Ukrainian/Russian versionsare served piping hot, and that the Polish versions are served chilled.However, there does seem to be a general agreement as far as beverage pairingsgo. I’ll let one of my YouTube followers, Afterapplepicking, explain:
“Hot, beefy, red, Russian borscht is only to be served with copious amounts of beer orvodka. Which is quite a distinction from the cold, vegetarian, pink Polishborscht, which is only to be served with copious amounts of beer or vodka.”
Well said! Anyway, I hope you give this blast from my soupypast a try soon, and as always, enjoy!

Ingredients (amounts not critical!)2-3 quarts of beef broth(to make your own: simmer a well-browned beef shank or twoin 3 quarts of water for 4 hours, or until the meat is falling off the bone,and completely flavorless)1 bay leaf1 cup chopped carrots1/2 cup chopped celery1 onion, chopped3 cups sliced beets2 cups chopped cabbagesalt and pepper to taste1/4 cup white vinegar, or to tastesour cream and dill or chive to garnish
*This soup doesn't require a lot of thought. Simply simmer everything until tender!

What I’m Having for Dinner: Roast Pork Loin

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My stay with family in Western New York is quickly coming toan end, and I’ll be traveling back to San Francisco on Friday. I do have onemore new video recipe to post before I go, and as a little tease, I’ll say itwill certainly be a controversial one.
In the meantime, I thought I’d repost this brined roast porkloin recipe, since this is what I’m making for dinner tonight. I’m sure I’lltweak it somehow, I always do, but I’ll use the same basic technique seenherein. To read the original post, and get the ingredients, follow this link. Enjoy!

Tarte Tatin – See What the Others Aren’t Willing to Show You

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When I looked at some other tarte tatin recipes onYouTube, I noticed that very few showed the “flip on to the plate” step.They would just skip from the out of the oven shot to the final beauty shot. Thereason of course, is that very few tarte tatins come out of the hot panperfectly, and if they showed that, then you may not think they are as awesome as their profile says they are.

So, it’s with much pride that I show you the whole uglyscene that is the tarte tatin dismount. The good news is, it’s very simple toslap everything back on the crust before it cools, and none will be the wiser.This is even easier if you’re doing a version with very soft and tender applesand lots of caramel, which is my preference, as you’ll see.
If you do a Google image search for a classic, old recipelike this, you usually see a lot of photos that look alike, but that’s notnecessarily so with tarte tatin. You’ll see an amazingly diverse array, whichis fascinating since they were all made with the same few basic ingredients.Most of this is a result of cooking time in the pan before baking.
Some feature firm, barely cooked apples, while others cookthe fruit all the way down to a buttery, caramelized jam. The beauty of arecipe that uses just pastry dough, butter, apples and sugar to make the magic,is that no matter how yours comes out you’ll enjoy it. Of course, you’ll wantto hedge your bets with some vanilla bean ice cream to be safe. I hope you givethis classic French treat a try soon. Enjoy!

3 large apples, quartered3 tbsp butter3/4 cup sugarpie dough for a single crust

Cream of Cauliflower – Come for the Soup, Stay for the Bacon Gremolata

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We’re heading into the heart of hot soup season, and thiscream of cauliflower will ward off autumn’s chill with the best of them. I’m abig fan of the cauliflower in all forms, but this simple soup may be myfavorite application.

Of course, human nature being what it is, I wasn’t satisfiedwith just the soup, and wanted to garnish with something new and exciting.Unfortunately, I couldn’t think of anything, so I decided to follow that age-oldadvice which says, “when in doubt, bacon.”
I’ve garnished soups like this with bacon before, but nevertried toasting breadcrumbs in the rendered fat. Not surprisingly, it workedvery well, and the additions of lemon zest and parsley elevated things evenmore. The only problem with a recipe like this is the next time I’m served acream of cauliflower, no matter how good it is, I’m going to be a little sadthere’s no bacon gremolata floating on top.
By the way, I realize there are no breadcrumbs in a truegremolata, but I thought it sounded kind of cool, and besides, I’ve never beenthat big on respecting the sanctity of culinary terms. I was going to go with“baconized breadcrumbs,” but that sounded a little too much like moleculargastronomy, which is much worse.
If you’re not into eating animals, some diced shiitakemushrooms and a pinch of smoked paprika would be a great substitute in thegremolata. You’d also need to add some olive oil to replace the rendered baconfat, but you probably knew that.
Now that I think about it, that vegetarian version soundspretty amazing as well. Maybe next time I’ll skip the bacon and…oh, who am Ikidding? Anyway, I hope you give this delicious fall soup a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 8 servings:1 onion, chopped1 rib celery, chopped 1 tbsp olive oil3 cloves garlicsalt to taste1 large russet potato, peeled, quartered2 heads cauliflower, trimmed1 quart chicken broth1 quart water1/2 cup creamcayenne to tasteFor the gremolata:4 strips bacon1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs

Freezer Cooking for Weight Loss

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Dear Reader-

As you may have heard by now, Puddie and I are tackling a Year 2 Change challenge this year and we are determined to Lose the Weight for Goode!

And with that challenge comes the challenge of what to eat… and how to make GOODe choices ahead of time so that we are less tempted to jump off track when in a time crunch or exhausted from a rough day. (Not to mention making them yummy enough to keep us on track too!)

I am a firm believe that if you fail to plan, you just as well plan to fail…

And as it turns out– as I thought about it– Freezer Cooking and Crock Potting can really help me keep us on track.

We usually plan our meals around the meat (protein) we decide to eat… leaning heavily on chicken, pork tenderloin and lean ground beef.

I regularly keep our seasoned ground beef on hand, but starting this week, I am going to do the same with our chicken and pork cuts…

The thinking being that if the major part of dinner is already ready(and prepared in a healthy way), we will likely eat something GOODe for us.

As it is super easy to whip up some sides and make a meal in about 15 minutes or less.

Here is the plan…

Crock Pot to the Rescue

I think I am going to start regularly cooking up a whole chicken in my crock pot every other week for a quick healthy protein (we remove the skin) to pair with meals or toss into soups/casseroles. Using what we need and freezing any leftovers.

On the opposite week, I will cook up a pork tenderloin or loin in my crock pot. Again, using it in dishes and freezing leftovers in recipe or individual portions.

Eventually that will build up enough in the freezer to have chicken or pork at a moments notice, just like we do our ground beef.

One Skillet a Week

While we like shredded chicken and pork, we also like flavorful chicken breast portions to go in our soups, salads, casseroles or just to enjoy on their own.

So, in addition to the whole chicken, we will also prepare chicken breast tenderloins all at once, one time a week– instead of every night…

Reducing clean up to one skillet versus 5-7… which disappoints me oh-so much

BUT it also shaves a good 20-30 minutes off of most recipes.

Weighing out the portions and bagging them up for the fridge and freezer make for super quick chicken dishes.

Sharing Recipes

After I cook things up, I add them to my LoseIt.com Recipes and it figures my recipe’s nutritional content (Psst… have you seen all the cool stuff this awesome free site and app can do?!?) AND then I share them with Puddie’s account so he can log them too.

And, once I have it in my recipes, I never have to recalculate it. It is there waiting on me to log if I ever need it again.

Easy Make Ahead Chicken

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Dear Reader-

As I mentioned yesterday, I have been using Freezer Cooking to help me keep us on track for our Year 2 Change Challenge.

One of the super easy recipes I use as a base for many other recipes (although it is plenty good on its own… just sayin’).

First you need about 2.5 lbs chicken breast tenderloins… Breasts would be okay too, just not as good.

Cut them up into bite size pieces.

Next I take a good non-stick skillet and begin heating it to a medium heat and toss the chicken right in… that’s right, no oil.

Season a little lighter than you normally would (Salt, pepper or season salt) because your broth will add salt and flavor in the next step.

Now take 1/4 cup of chicken broth…

As the chicken begins to get a little dry, pour it over the chicken to cover the pieces.

Add another 1/4 cup if necessary to keep chicken moist while it finishes cooking

Measure out portions… Usually makes enough chicken for 2 casseroles or 8 individual (4 oz) portions.

We use it as a short cut for our Chicken Asparagus Bake and to shave time off of this super yummy Italian Chicken Bake.

Miss Add also LOVES this plain as an alternative to chicken nuggets.

Print Easy Make Ahead Chicken

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 8

Serving Size: 4 oz

Calories per serving: 111

Fat per serving: 1 g

This recipe is a great way to make up a lot of chicken at once and pop in the fridge or freezer for another casserole or meal.

Ingredients

• 2.5 lbs Chicken Tenders
• 1/4 to 1/2 Cup Chicken Broth
• Seasoning to taste

Instructions

1. Cut tenders into bite sized pieces and place in a medium heat non-stick skillet.
2. Season lightly and stir to cook all sides of chicken.
3. As chicken begins to look a little dry, add broth gradually to keep chicken moist until it finishes cooking through.

Notes

Calories 111 Total Fat 1g Sat. Fat 0g Cholest. 55mg Sodium 365.1mg Carb. 0.1g Fiber 0g Sugars 0.1g Protein 25.2g

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Make Ahead Crock Pot Pork

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Dear Reader-

Yesterday I shared our Make Ahead Chicken that we cook up in a skillet each week for casseroles and quick go-to dinners as I whip out our freezer cooking skills to help us  lose the weight for GOODe in our Year 2 Change Challenge.

Tonight I thought I would share our basic way of cooking up pork in the crock pot to have shredded pork on hand for a quicker version of Pork Tacos (Take cooked meat and heat through with other ingredients on stove)  or BBQ Ranch Pork Sandwiches (or again… all on its own).

We actually have tons of pork crock pot recipes that we love so I sometimes fudge a bit on the recipes b/c I want a little of this and a little of that from one loin.

So, a lot of times, I will prepare it in a basic way (see below) and then just heat a portion of it up later in the week with the method from one of our other recipes.

I start out by placing my tenderloins (2 lb) in a lined  slow cooker.

I then add 1/2 cup of sherry or broth and season with usual seasonings (salt, pepper or seasoned salt).

Put a lid on ‘er and turn on low for 6-8 hours.

A perfectly tender base for whatever you dream up for dinner and as low in fat and calories as chicken breast… dude.

This will make up 7-8 individual 4 oz portions, or enough for two main dishes.

Print Make Ahead Crock Pot Pork

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours

Yield: 7-8

Serving Size: 4 oz

Calories per serving: 136

Fat per serving: 3

Great on its own or as the base for tons of great recipes

Ingredients

• 2lb Pork Tenderloin
• 1/2 Cup Sherry (or Broth)
• Seasoning to taste

Instructions

1. Place loin in crock pot and pour sherry over top.
2. Season to taste.
3. Cook on low 6-8 hours until tender

Notes

Calories 136 Total Fat 3g Sat. Fat 1g Cholest. 60mg Sodium 298.6mg Carb. 1.1g Fiber 0g Sugars 1.1g Protein 21g

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And then I told mom

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Dear Reader-

While it is nothing compared to Aunt Lou’s story, a week ago I woke up to every blogger’s nightmare…

I found one of my popular posts had been copied word for word and photo for photo onto another blog… crediting me as the site it was “reblogged” from, but leaving no reason for anyone to click over…

My heart sank.

Years of hard work to build up this site and someone just took my stuff… my words– my thoughts of what would make a good post– without asking… and put it on their site for their gain.

It was a popular post that introduced new readers everyday to my site.

Instantly I wondered… What if people started finding my post there instead of my site?

What if this was just the tip of the iceberg?

What if the site owner was a jerk  and refused to remove my content?

It made me ill.

What if it had been a picture of Miss Add?!?

After emailing the site and scrambling to figure out HOW on earth to get my stuff back, I did what any kid in the blogsphere would do…

I told mom…

Type A Mom to be exact.

@crisgoode @parenterest how frustrating! I see they describe one post as being “re-blogged.” Umm, you can’t reblog someone’s post.

— Kelby aka Type-A Mom (@typeamom) September 13, 2012

Now before you jump on @parenterest, please know she was a newbie and was mistaken on the rules of the blogosphere road and has since apologized, removed content and made amends. 

My point of telling this story is to explain how frustrating and helpless something like this can make you feel.

And Kelby (Type A Mom)– along with many others– stood up for me.

Turns out I was lucky.

The site owner talked with me and quickly learned from her mistake and removed my content.

But as it turns out…

Kelby is having her own bout with internet thieves.

As are many other bloggers… and yes, some of their kids photos are being used…

So who is the theif?

A novice in the blogosphere? A black hat creep?

Nope…

None other than Sponge Bob…

Well, not exactly Sponge Bob,  but Nickelodeon’s NickMom… which shares the same parent company.

Read details of their theft here and how one of their writers quit over the whole thing here.

Truth be told, I usually don’t post on stuff like this… but after going through my own scare, and so many coming to my defense, I felt compelled to return the favor.

I can’t imagine the frustration of all those involved… knowing that a company as big as Nickelodeon is taking such an unprofessional approach to social media and refuses to make it fully right.

The crazy thing is that the very group of folks they are ticking off are the people that could help make them wildly successful with their new programming.

Not sure of the strategy there…

Why not hire one of those hard working bloggers you stole from to get you out of this mess… I mean you clearly like their work, just sayin’.

On another note: If you are a blogger and have your work stolen, check out my friend Jackie’s post on what steps to follow.

Oven Scrambled Eggs- Light Version

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Dear Reader-

Well the verdict is in for this week’s results for our Year to Change Challenge … you can see how I did over at As Goode As It Gets.

Psst … you can also get the skinny about a brand new project I will be starting soon with Gooseberry Patch that may or may not cross over here .

I share all of this because it is one of the main reasons I woke up this morning and decided to rework one of my favorite recipes… Oven Scrambled Eggs.

I have been craving eggs all week and since I am not really a morning person, I haven’t had my act together to make them like I wanted… that is until today…

(Which also led to a revision of my Breakfast Burritos as well to be posted soon ).

Truth be told I was a little scared to mess with a GOODe thing… consider 24 eggs were involved!

But I bit the bullet and it turned out marvelous!

Start by putting 12 whole eggs and 12 egg whites in a bowl…

If one gets away from ya, don’t worry… you can always fish him out

Next add 2 1/2 cups skim milk

Salt and pepper to taste. I used 1 T salt in this recipe, but will likely reduce it next time by at least half.

Grab the most adorable 5 year old you can find and have her whisk them up GOODe while you tend to the oven… Hey, we believe in manual labor around here

Now heat the oven to 350 and take 1/2 stick (4 T) of Light Butter and pop it in the oven until it melts…

 

Once melted, add in the egg mixture.

Bake for 10 minutes…

It will look interesting… but take a spatula all along the sides and stir it up well.

Bake for another 10 minutes.

Stir and bake for just a few more minutes… watching closely.

I worried they wouldn’t be yellow.

I worried they would stick.

I worried they’d taste fake.

I worried for NOTHING.

They were delicious!

Knocking over 100 calories and well over half of the fat off the original recipe. Mommy Score!

By golly, I think we can do this

Print Oven Scrambled Eggs- Light Version

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 10

Serving Size: 2/3 Cup

Calories per serving: 145

Great lighter version of scrambled eggs. Very fluffy!

Ingredients

• 12 Large Eggs
• 12 Large Egg Whites
• 2 1/2 Cups Skim Milk
• 4 T Light Butter
• 1 T Salt

Instructions

1. Whisk all ingredients together EXCEPT for butter.
2. Melt butter in a 9 x 13 pan in a 350 degree oven.
3. When butter is melted, add eggs.
4. Bake for 10 minutes and then stir well.
5. Bake another 10 minutes and stir well.
6. Continue to bake for another 5-10 minutes watching the eggs closely until fully set.

Notes

Calories 145 Total Fat 8g Sat. Fat 2.7g Cholest. 257.1mg Sodium 551.7mg Carb. 3.5g Fiber 0g Sugars 3.5g Protein 13.9g

Original version was:

Calories 284 Total Fat 22.3g Sat. Fat 10.3g Cholest. 536.9mg Sodium 959.7mg Carb. 3.9g Fiber 0g Sugars 4g Protein 17.2g

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