Adult Tartar Sauce

   
     I made this recipe while playing around one day trying to come up with something better than regular old tartar sauce.  I consulted a couple of my old recipe books for ideas and revisited some of the better ingredients in my remoulade  recipe I wrote oh so long ago.  I like remoulade, it's just a pain to make and involves tarragon which goes brown quicker than an avocado in a heat wave.  Dried tarragon has no flavor because it doesn't dry well so it was off to come up with something that has the flavor of remoulade but not the headache.

Harley's Sandwich Shop Tuna Salad & a Double TT Diner Club

     Harley's Sandwich Shops were a landmark in Baltimore from the 1940's to the 1980's when they were bought up by Shane's.  I was really young when this happened, maybe 8 or 10 years old but I do remember the couple times I went with my grandparents to Harley's.  He was well known for his subs and his burgers simmered in a secret sauce, a recipe I'll get to another time, but it was his jazz show on local Baltimore radio that really made him famous.

1924 Fish Florentine Recipe

     This recipe comes from a 1924 edition of "Recipes For Everyday", a publication that was available though Crisco.  As you can imagine, Crisco is an ingredient in all of the recipes.  Now I don't have anything against Crisco, I use it when baking cakes because there really isn't a substitute but I don't want to eat it in everything everyday.

Back From Alaska

Salmon Cannery (Nushagak?) c.1935

Well it was a long 3 months while I was away for work but I'm finally back home with my family.  For those of you who are new to my blog, I've been working at a Salmon cannery in Dillingham, Ak for 5 years now as the Head Night Watchman.  It's an interesting job and I get to meet many new people from around the world, until this year that is.  The Government decided to end the J1 visa program which allowed foreign college students to come to the US to work in the Summertime.  This meant we had American college students in their place and as the night watchman I was run ragged with all their drunken boobery. 

So where do we go from here?  Obviously I'm taking some time to be with my family before I immerse myself fully back into the blog.  When I do start writing again I'll go back to the format of vintage ads mon, wed, fri and recipes tue & thu.  Saturdays are freeform and Sundays are my day off to go to church.  I am still amazed at how far this blog has come in less than a year and even more heartwarmed that I still get readers even though the blog went inactive while I was in Alaska.  Thank you all for sticking around, we'll be back with our regularly scheduled programming shortly.

Easy Recipes for Sweet or Savory Crepes

Crepes have been around for a long time and each country has their own version of the crepe.  They were truly made famous by a French chef who invented Crepes Suzette.  There are 2 ways to make crepes, the sweet way with wheat flour for desserts and the crepes gallette way with buckwheat flour for savory dishes.¹  Most Americans think making crepes is some sort of wizardry, harder than it really is.  If you can make a pancake, you can make crepes.  It is however helpful to have some specialist equipment such as a crepe pan.  Crepe pans are flat with very low sides that make it easier to flip the crepes when they are cooking.  The pans can be found in non-stick and blued steel versions.  I recommend the non-stick for beginners because the blued steel pans require a bit of seasoning before use.  Also helpful is to have a long thin metal spatula called an icing spatula.

Fried Salmon Cakes or Croquettes

This is a recipe that I have had for many years now.  Transcribed from my grandmothers original handwritten card from the early 1930's before it faded into oblivion, it has to be one of the oldest family recipes I own.  These cakes were all the rage during the depression years since canned salmon was relatively inexpensive.  You can still make these inexpensively if you shop around a bit.  The Wal-Mart Supercenter near me had the Double Q brand pink salmon for $2.58/ 1# can.  I highly reccomend the Double Q brand if you can find it because it's made by Peter Pan Seafoods and is a much better quality product.  The can I purchased actually was canned in Dillingham, Ak where I work during the summer.  Although these can be made with canned Red Salmon, I advise against it because the cost it just too high and you're not really gaining anything in using red salmon.  Remoulade is the perfect sauce to accompany this recipe.  It's been a Creole tradition since Napoleonic times and had many variations although I stuck with the traditional Creole one.1  The recipe I used can be found HERE.

Recipe: Poached Fish with Welsh Parsley Sauce

This is a recipe that seems like so much trouble but is really simple to prepare if you do some things beforehand.  My wife was working this day and did not get home until after 7pm and I had dinner on the table by 8.  For the fish, Salmon is traditional but I balk at smothering such a tasty fish in a cream sauce.  I prefer one with a nice white flesh, Cod, Whiting, Perch, Halibut, etc. (I used Cod).  Leftover sauce can be kept and tastes delicious over some scrambled eggs the next morning.

Crab House Maryland Crabcakes

Even though I live in Jacksonville I'm from Maryland originally, as a matter of fact most people in Jacksonville are from somewhere else.  Being from Maryland I do love crab cakes but the ones you see in stores and restaurants around here go from mildly passable to pathetic and everything in between.  The problem lies with a few things, over reliance on expensive crab meat, the use of too much fillers, i.e. bread crumbs, and the wrong seasoning.  Every true Marylander knows that to make the perfect crab cake you shun the Special and Jumbo Lump Crab meat at $21 to the pound and buy claw at $10 to the pound.  Claw meat is the most tender, most delicate and has the best flavor.  In the recipe you use just enough crab meat to bring the pattie together but never enough to make a bready cake.  And as for the seasoning, Old Bay, that ubiquitous seafood seasoning that can be found everywhere from frontier Alaska to Davao City, Philippines, has too much ginger in it to make it respectable crab seasoning.  For the authentic Maryland flavor you Phillips Seasoning¹ or Wye River Seasoning.² 

Fish Tacos and Homemade Flour Totillas Recipe

We continue our Lenten season parade of fish recipes this week with a great recipe for fish tacos.  I defrosted the fish overnight and in the morning set up the marinade and let it soak until dinner.  Cooking time is quick and easy if done on a grill or in the oven.  You can buy your own tortillas but I became disenchanted with what is available in the store, bleached and bromated flour and lots of preservatives.  It doesn't take long to make your own flour tortillas at home, just a little effort in rolling them out.  For other fish recipes check out Piccadilly Circus Fish 'n Chips, Salmon l'Orange, and Jacksonville Garlic Shrimp.

Jacksonville Traditional Garlic Shrimp Recipe

Garlic shrimp is a ubiquitous fixture here in Jacksonville and is arguably the food the city is most known for.  Many people argue the origins of the dish saying it's some sort of Caribbean fare but few can look back on the pages of history and realize that is tapas cuisine from Spain.  There is an abundance of shrimp in the waters off the First Coast and so it stands to reason the first Spanish colonists would have used them to make Gabas al Ajillo and this recipe was passed down through the years until it became a part of the consciousness of Jacksonville residents.  This recipe is a distillation of a couple different recipes to make something like the original Spanish settlers would have cooked.  Served over Angel Hair Pasta, it makes a night light dinner bursting with flavor.  As always, you can adjust the ingredients to suit your taste.  This recipe comes out rather spicy so change the spice according to your tastes.

Salmon l'Orange Recipe

Salmon l'orange is a simple recipe of fresh salmon fillets poached in orange juice and white wine with some spices.  It's such a simple dinner and only takes 1 hour to marinate and 15-20 minutes to cook so it won't eat up your day with prepping it.  It's also healthy too and everyone is on the salmon for health bandwagon.  I'm not going to argue, it's good for you but not all the time.  Everything in moderation.

Piccadilly Circus Fish n' Chips

 Happy Halloween everyone!

My uncle was once married to an English lady, so I have some English cousins.  Their Grandfather, as it turns out, used to sell Fish n' Chips before the war in the 1930's.  I once asked him to share his recipe with me but even in his old age he kept the recipe close to his chest.  I loved him anyway, he was a right old English gentleman and veteran of the war in North Africa.  He passed away 7 years ago but before he did he instructed my aunt to pass on the recipe.  So needless to say I was very happy to finally discover what his secret was all these years ago.


1930's Fish and Chips

1.5-2lbs firm white fish Cod works best) cut into manageable pieces

Batter
1 1/4C Flour, sifted
1tsp Salt
1 Egg Yolk (reserve egg white)
1 1/4C Newcastle Brown Ale (a little less than 1 bottle)
1T Oil

Coating
1C Flour, sifted
1/2tsp salt
1/2tsp pepper
1/8tsp each Onion Powder, Garlic Powder and Sweet Paprika

Tartar Sauce
1/4C Mayonaise
2T Sweet Pickle Relish
2tsp Lemon Juice
1/8tsp Paprika

Instructions:  Get your oil going early as it takes a long time to get it hot.  You'll be deep frying, use whatever method suits you, we have a pot with a wire basket.  Don't fill the pot more than halfway with oil or it will overflow the pot.  You want the oil to be 375°, you can use any oil you wish but Peanut or Canola have the highest smoke points and are more suited to high temperature deep frying.  While the oil is slowly heating mix together the batter ingredients and set aside for 30 minutes to rise.  Whisk or sift together the coating in a separate bowl.  Take the reserved egg white and whisk until you have stiff peaks, fold it into the batter until blended.  Take a jelly roll pan and line it with newspaper or paper bags and turn your oven on to 250°.  Fry your chips first, if you're using fresh potatoes then wash and dry them, cut into wedges and deep fry until golden brown.  dump them onto the paper lined jelly roll pan and place in oven to keep warm.  Let your oil recover temperature back to 375° between batches.  Make sure you fish is dry then coat it with the flour mixture before dipping into the batter.  Gently place in oil and fry until golden brown.  When one side is done turn the fish over to cook the other side.  Drain and place in over with fries until all pieces are done. Serve with tartar sauce and malt vinegar.

Unfortunately I didn't have any newspapers laying around to wrap the fish and chips in when I took the picture. Don't worry about lead in newspaper ink, it's been removed since the late 70's and all newsprint inks today are soy based and totally harmless. And yes I'm being very specific about using Newcastle as that is what the recipe calls for.  If you try using Guiness or any dark beer it will come out too dark after cooking, likewise if you go cheap and use Miller or Budwiser expect a crappy tasting end result.  Newscastle is available for around $6.99/6pk here in Florida and I'm pretty sure you can get it just about anywhere.  In a pinch you can substitute Bass ale or any English style brown ale.