If I told you I’m a great fish fancier, actually like it a lot on my plate, I’d be flat-out lying.
I do, though, like certain types of fish, if fixed a particular way. But what I love, really, really love, is fish and chips. Yes!
As luck would have it, then, my husband and I discovered some years ago that, throughout the United Kingdom, fish and chips not only absolutely abound, it would be hard — next to impossible — to ever, anywhere or any time, run into a poor-to-bad batch.
The best in the land are said to be served at the Seashell in London (they are great!), but our own personal favorite can be had at a little place near the harbor in Looe, Cornwall.
Drop into the little grocer’s shop, pick up a box of salt and a bottle of malt vinegar, then head on down to the fish shop. Order your fish (a huge variety to choose from) and chips, haul the heavenly, hot, greasy bundle across the street to a courtyard garden spot right on the quay, and go ahead and gobble your heart out. Delicious beyond description!
Since we are here, though, not there, we’ll just have to make do with a do-it-ourselves take on fish and chips. And thanks to Marysville cook Babs Johnsen, we’re all set to do just that. She passes along the following name-brand fish shop recipes and mentions, “I cut these from a newspaper eons ago.”
Here’s the proper how-to, exactly as it appears on the clipping:
Arthur Treacher-style fish
Soak 3 pounds of fish fillets in just enough dairy buttermilk to cover; refrigerate in covered container, with 1 lemon sliced over it, for 2 to 3 hours to remove fishy taste. Heat 11/2 pints oil in heavy, 21/2-quart saucepan. Drain off milk. Cut fillets in halves (makes triangle shapes). Dredge in dry pancake mix.
In a mixing bowl, combine 2 cups pancake mix and 21/2 cups club soda to give consistency of buttermilk. Dip floured fish into batter; let excess drip off into bowl. Deep-fry 4 minutes on each side and warm in a 250-degree oven without heaping till all are fried.
Note: You can also use self-rising flour in place of pancake mix. Fish should be frozen (or fresh, if available) — perch, cod or pickerel.
Beer may also be used in place of club soda.
Arthur Treacher-style chips
Cut crinkle-cut frozen cottage-style potatoes in halves and fry as you would french fries. (A 2-pound bag serves about 6 people along with the fish as given above.)
SOS: Banana bread? Again?
Yes, just when we thought we surely must be done with this subject, once and for all, along comes this request from Kirkland reader Gloria Carpenter.
“I’m looking for a recipe I found about 1990, chocolate chunk banana bread,” she writes, “in either a Betty Crocker or Pillsbury small cookbook, the kind stocked at checkout stands at grocery stores.
“The one I remember, I think, calls for bananas that are chopped, not mashed. This bread had a completely different texture than the regular banana bread recipes I’ve tried. Can anyone help me?”
If you can share such a recipe, please write to Judyrae Kruse at the Forum, c/o The Herald, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206.
We are always happy to receive your contributions and requests, but please remember that all letters and e-mail must include a name, complete address with ZIP code and telephone number with area code. No exceptions and sorry, but no response to e-mail by return e-mail; send to kruse@heraldnet.com.
The next Forum will appear in Monday’s Time Out section.
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