So You Think You Don’t Like Fish, Huh?

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So I was trying to sleep just moments ago, but I can’t. I can’t sleep because I keep writing this little post in my head. I toss, turn and try to get the post to go away. It’s really not that big of a deal. A mother needs her rest and I should be able to relax, but relaxation is just not coming. Instead, I feel compelled to tell you about the true miracle that occurred in my family last night. It’s so darn exciting to me that I’ve completely reawakened, my brain flooded with chemical elation.

I have an announcement to make (drum roll please. . .)

I made a meal last night for my family and EVERYONE LIKED IT!

YES!!! (punch your happy fists to the sky for emphasis)

Yes, that’s right, EVERYONE liked it, including my three incredibly picky eaters, including the one who is so limited in what he will eat that I pay him money to try new foods (10 cents just to try it, 25 cents if he likes it). I had to anty up a quarter last night and it is true euphoria to have reached familial consensus on a meal we agree tastes GOOD.

Okay, okay, enough already, just what did you feed your family! Please, do tell us what it was that finally had them all eating with smiles instead of the typical “blecks!” --and here’s the surprise twist in this little culinary plot—though not that surprising if you read the titles to my posts, as I like a little forshadowing that way.

Yep, that’s right! It was FISH. Homemade fish sticks. And I’m so root tooting excitied about this even fully over 30 hours later that I am up out of my comfortable bed to share this recipe with you. I know there are some skeptics out there who think they don’t like fish (yes, Nancy, I am talking to you), but if my son—the one who is in the 2^nd percentile for weight since he finds 98% of all flavors unpalatable—if he will eat this, then I HIGHLY suspect even non fish likers may be converted.

So I give you a recipe from the stunningly beautiful Nigella Lawson, out of her book Nigella Express. I am completely in love with this cook book. I’ve made at least 10 recipes from it and they all taste fabulous AND they are indeed quick. But the best part of about said cook book is Miss Lawson’s descriptions of the food. I could almost be content to just read this cook book and never have to actually eat food, her descriptions are just that satisfying. Or, at the other end of the spectrum we could accurately say that her descriptions are so mouthwatering, I want to eat each and everyone of them (all while laughing out loud at her witty British humour and drooling over the gorgeous pictures that accompany each recipe). Can you tell I have a love affair with cookbooks? It is true.

Goujons of Sole with Dill Mayonnaise pg. 73

(So that’s what Nigella calls these, and I do want to give her credit, but I don’t even know what a goujon is! Is that a British word? I shrug my shoulders and say ‘dunno’. I also didn’t have any Sole (lots of soul, no sole) so I made them with Tilapia bought at Costco.

I would have to call them:

Crispy Breaded Tilapia

2 tilapia fillets

½ c corn starch

2 eggs

1 cup bread crumbs

½ c peanut oil

So here’s just how you do it: I happened to have a 6 month old bundle of drooling gorgeousness on my left hip during this whole processes--I even cracked eggs with one hand for the first time. It would be slightly simpler if you had both hands free, but not impossible to do with only one hand, as I know from last night’s experience.

Cut your fish fillet into four pieces—once length wise, then again through the middle so you’ve got 4 long narrow strips. You could cut those 4 strips again in half to make 8 if your fillet was particularly long, but mine was on the shorter side. Do that to both fillets. How did I do this with one hand? Kitchen scissors. They're amazing like that.

Then line up three plates of shallow dishes near your pan of oil (don’t heat it up quite yet). First plate needs the corn starch (season with a little salt and pepper)

Second plate needs the eggs, beaten

Third plate needs the bread crumbs. (Nigella suggests panko, which is Japanese style bread crumbs. I’ve never tried these, but I look forward to getting some soon.)

Dip each piece of fish into the cornstarch, then the eggs, then the bread crumbs. You can let the coated fish pieces rest on a cooling rack (you know, the kind you put cookies on) while you work on the remaining fish.

Then heat up your oil until it is quite hot and fry each piece until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.

That’s it! It tastes great and cooks up quickly. I didn’t even make the Dill Mayonnaise, but I will tell you how since you were expecting it:

Dill Mayo:

Take about 1 cup of good quality mayo and add 1tsp lemon juice (she says lime, but I’d use lemon since we have that around more) and fold in 1/3 cup fresh dill. Oh doesn’t that sound yummy? I can nearly smell the fresh dill now, feel its silky, downy leaves on my hand as I chop.

You’d better believe we’ll be making this again soon. And this time, I’m gonna find me some fresh dill.

Finally, with typing that last sentence I feel a wave of sleepiness seep into my bones. Now that I know you might get to eat fish as yummy as I did, I will rest soundly. Good Night my fair ones and may you dream of tastey meals, seafood or otherwise.

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