Baked Haddock and Sweet Potato Fritters

I have always had a hard time coming up with a resolution at New Year’s.  I think it is because I live my life pretty consistently and true to my nature.  But this year was different.  I've felt like this before in years passed;  just not timed with a calendar new year.  It was dairy and a definitive moment when I would cut it out of my diet.  I've cut one other thing out for a period of time and that was caffeine.  Well, this New Year’s timing has me thinking about what in my life could change and would make me feel better.  And I got a very clear answer: meat.  I’m so excited to announce my new year’s resolution is to eat less meat.  I won’t go into the reasons among meat mass production, environmental degradation, human nutrition, environmental and social responsibilities, and ME. 

Eating less meat tonight meant a salad with steamed asparagus and hearts of romaine, steamed clams, baked haddock, and sweet potato corn fritters.  Eating less meat doesn't mean I’ll load up on fish.  Look forward to hearing more about tofu, beans and other ways of cooking with protein but without the meat.   I realized, however,  the haddock recipe was worth blogging as soon as I put that first soft, flaky, warm, buttery, bit in my mouth.

Baked Haddock                                                                       serves 3 as protein portion

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. wild caught haddock

1 ½ T. butter, melted

1 tsp. lemon juice

1 clove of garlic, crushed

Paprika, parsley, salt and pepper

1 T. pecorino romano grated cheese

                  

Instructions for meal creation:

1 –Drizzle oil on the bottom of a baking dish that will fit your fish.  Preheat oven to 350°.

2 – With 2 filets, cut each into about 3 inch wide steaks.

3 – Dip in milk and then pat dry.

4 – Lay flat in baking dish.

5–Make butter mixture combining melted butter, lemon and garlic.  Stir well.  Brush onto fish.

6 – Sprinkle all of the seasons, very lightly just dispersing a pinch of each steak.

7- Sprinkle cheese evenly.

8 – Bake for 25-35 minutes.  Raise heat to 375° after 20 minutes.

9 – Serve and enjoy.

Serve this Haddock dish with…

Sweet Potato Corn Fritters                                                                     serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS

2 sweet potatoes, cooked, mashed                                         ¼ c. shredded cheddar (optional)

3 scallions, chopped                                                                        ¾ c. breadcrumbs

1 c. corn                                                                                               Vegetable oil for frying

3 T. corn meal

1 egg, beaten

1/3 c. grating cheese

½ t. paprika

Salt and pepper

   

Instructions for meal creation:

1 –Combine all ingredients in the first column.  Mix well.

2 – Make patties with about 2 Tablespoons of mixture each.

3 – Chill patties in refrigerator for 15 minutes. (This is a key step to encourage the patties to stay together while frying.)

4 – After chilling, roll patties in breadcrumbs, covering all sides.

5–Heat oil.

6 – Fry patties in hot oil for about two minutes on each side, until lightly golden.

7- Line a plate with paper towels and transfer cooked patties unto plate to absorb some of the oil.

8 – Serve and enjoy.                       

My husband and daughter live for a treat after dinner.  They are both drawn to dairy-base desserts, whether they are baked or frozen; they will relish in contentment.   A nice way for all of us to cool down and treat ourselves during the evenings as we sit in our snug home is to make cold treats.  Here are two of our favorites.

One of our favorites is pudding.  And I got to thinking about how relevant pudding is at this time of the year.  Historically,  pudding has a different personality than our current “American” sweet pudding.  In fact pudding dates back to ancient times.  It was actually a meat-based meal of necessity, differentiated between black and white.  In the 1600’s, it is believed that pudding expanded their scope to included either a savory (meat-based pudding) or  now a sweet pudding (flour and sugar-based).  We were later to discover through word history that pudding actually was the sausage.  The word pudding back in the 1400’s meant  a human meal made of animal the stomach, intestine lining  filled with meat of that animal, herbs, oatmeal, and then boiled. 

The pudding I’ll suggest today is more of a custard.  Custard is an oldie and dates back to the Middle Ages.  Those smart Romans were familiar with the property of binding eggs. Again historically, custards were meat-based and savory, but within a few hundred years Europeans and American began to create sweet custards we now today as pudding.

Etymology of pudding:

pudding (n.) 

c.1300, "a kind of sausage: the stomach or one of the entrails of a pig, sheep, etc., stuffed with minced meat, suet, seasoning, boiled and kept till needed," perhaps from a West Germanic stem *pud- "to swell" (cf. O.E. puduc "a wen," Westphalian dialect puddek"lump, pudding," Low German pudde-wurst "black pudding," English dialectal pod "belly," also cf. pudgy). 

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=pudding  (Dec. 7, 2012)

We are making homemade pudding pops today.  I have this awesome kitchen gadget that helps me freeze my pops just right.  IT’s the ZOKU.  Santa brought it last year.  http://www.zokuhome.com/  (might be just the right, last minute gift for someone in your home!)  I’ll start with the homemade pudding recipe.  It’s delicious.

Homemade Pudding Pops 
Serves
6
3 ½ cups of milk, fattier the better
½ cup cocoa       (add if you want chocolate flavored)
1/3 cup and later ¼ cup sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon of salt
2 large eggs
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon butter

Directions:

In bowl, whisk 1/3 cup sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, salt, eggs, and yolk.  Whisk in a ½ cup milk.  Set aside.

Heat rest of the milk and sugar.  Bring to boil.

Remove from heat.  Gradually pour hot mixture into egg mixture whisking constantly, until mixture is smooth.

Transfer combined mixture to heavy bottomed pot and heat over medium-low, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens to a mixture (like mayonnaise) 3-5 minutes.

Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla extract.

At this point if you are making straight pudding, pour into 6 serving dishes, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate about 2 hours..

If you are interested in pudding pops, let cool 5 minutes, then pour into your freezing tool (ice cube trays).  I use the ZOKU.  It sits for about 10 minutes and wah-la – puddin’ pops.