Fish Fridays of Lent

During the season of Lent, Catholics are asked to participate in the threefold discipline of fasting, almsgiving and prayer to commemorate Christ’s ultimate sacrifice. According to Canonical requirements, all Catholics 14-years-old and older must abstain from meat (mammal or fowl) on Ash Wednesday and all Fridays during Lent.

We get in the habit of having fish on Fridays and often continue to have seafood on Fridays long after the Lent period has ended. One of our family favorites is Dom’s mustard-coated fish fillets:

¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon sugar
Salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients together and coat fillets liberally to cover. Let sit until your pan is ready. This can even be used as a marinade. Preheat a cast iron pan to get the surface very hot. Place filets skin side down (even if skin has been removed.)

Once a visible line of cooked flesh has risen to ¼” (translucent to opaque) and fat has rendered, carefully turn; about 3-4 minutes. The sugar should have caused a firm crust by this time. Cook the remaining side for another 2-3 minutes. Don’t try to make a pan sauce from the pan drippings as the flavor will be strong and greasy.

Serve with a fresh Caesar Salad or saffron rice is a great compliment to this dish along with a salsa made of fresh mango, red onion, lime juice and basil or cilantro.

While we prefer this marinade for salmon, this mustard dressing works perfectly on other types of fleshy fish like cod, halibut, swordfish or snapper.

King Cake for Fat Tuesday

Many people do not know that the term Mardi Gras actually means “Fat Tuesday.” Fat Tuesday is the last day of the Carnival season which begins on Twelfth Night (January 6th is the twelfth night after Christmas) and ends the day before Ash Wednesday. This is the last opportunity to celebrate before the beginning of Lent. The pre-Lenten carnival has Roman Catholic origins and is celebrated in New Orleans, as well as Brazil, France, and Germany. A tradition of the Mardi Gras season is the King cake. The cake has hidden within its sweet brioche, a token, usually a coin or bean. When the cake is cut the recipient of the token is the King (or Queen), and can expect good fortune in the coming year. The recipient is also responsible for providing next year’s King cake. King Cakes have a reputation of being hard to make, but I think this recipe will put an end to that myth.

King Cake Dough:
1 package active dry yeast (1 Tablespoon)
½ cup warm milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
3 ½ cups sifted flour

Filling:
4-6 ounces jam or preserves of your choice
1/4 cup softened butter

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk and allow to proof (bubble). In a large bowl, cream together 1/4 cup butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring between additions. Next add the yeast mixture, and mix. Gradually blend in the flour one cup at a time. Mix together until a soft dough is formed. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rise in a warm location until it doubles in size, about 2 hours.

Gently deflate dough and transfer to a floured surface. Roll out dough into a large rectangle. Grease token and push into the dough, then rub 1/4 cup soften butter over the rectangle. Spread preserves over the buttered rectangle. Starting from one long side, roll the rectangular dough into the shape of a tube. Pinch the seam and gently place the roll on a greased cookie sheet to form a ring, pinching the ends to seal. Cover ring again with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let rise for 30 minutes to an hour. Place in a pre-heated 375o oven and cook for about 20 minutes or until top is golden brown. Cool and decorate with purple, green and yellow frosting.

Handy Little Sticks

Chopsticks are not just for eating your Mongolian beef or sushi, those little bamboo sticks can come in very handy in the kitchen! Here are some ideas:

Deep frying is normally done at between 360 and 375 degrees Fahrenheit, but without a thermometer it can be difficult to tell if the oil if ready for frying. Next time try this trick; when the oil has preheated, dip a chopstick into the oil. If the oil around the chopstick starts to bubble steadily, then the oil is hot enough for frying. If no or only a few bubbles show up, then the oil is not hot enough. Lastly, if the oil bubbles very vigorously, it is too hot and needs to cool off a bit.

The chopsticks are also great for turning over frying items, such as chicken or onion rings. The extra distance their length gives reduces the chance being spattered by hot grease. You can buy a pair of longer (15 inches) chopsticks for cooking at an Asian food market or kitchen-supply store.

Use chopsticks for coating or dipping items. Chocolate covered pretzels are much easier to make when using chopsticks to hold the pretzels and dunking them in chocolate. Dipping shrimp or vegetables in batter (especially tempura) can be very messy. The chopsticks can be used to dip into the batter as well as place the item in the oil. Chopsticks are perfect for coaxing stuck toast from the toaster especially since wood does not conduct electricity.

Chopsticks also work miracles in tight places. Olives in long skinny jars are easily removed with chopsticks as well as a lost sock behind the dryer!


Long hair is not always convenient when you are working in the kitchen; chopsticks to the rescue. Try twisting the entire length until it tries to twist back on to itself. Pull the loop end up (the end without the tips of hair) and insert the chopsticks to secure your coiffure.

Lastly, they make great magic wands for your Harry Potter wannabes!

Snow Cream

It rarely snows in Atlanta, and when it does it is cause for celebration. When they were little, the guys adored the Little Bear series by Maurice Sendak and according to one of the stories, a special chant must be recited while stirring the snow cream. “Whether the weather be cold, or whether the weather be hot, we’ll weather the weather, whatever the weather, whether we like it or not!”

10 cups clean fresh snow (large mixing bowl full)
1 (14 oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Add condensed milk and vanilla to snow and fold together gently until well mixed. The amount of snow will reduce a good bit when ingredients are mixed so add snow as needed.

Hint: Refrigerate condensed milk ahead of time, while it makes it a little more difficult to mix, the snow does not melt as quickly. Serve immediately.

Superbowl Pretzels

What is it about football that makes everyone want pretzels? The guys are preparing to watch Brett Farve and Drew Brees fight for supremacy in Superbowl XLIV, while I make a batch of pretzels to take to the party. They are best served warm with a creamy mustard sauce of good mustard mixed with mayonnaise (Duke's of course!)

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package active dry yeast
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for pan
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel salt (you can use coarse Kosher salt if pretzel salt is unavailable.)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside. Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan. In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan. Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.