When planning a fish fry in Northport, Michigan, where fresh fish is in abundance, one would expect to find perch. Wrong, even though it is on every restaurant menu in the area. And Alice's recipe called for perch. So, after buying back-up lake trout right off the fishing boat we managed to find some Canadian perch at a local market. (even their fish want to be in the U.S). Back at Ann and Kevin's house, Ann and I prepared the bread crumbs and egg wash and heated the oil to 350 degrees. Now, Alice makes no mention of oil temperature, but it is essential to successful frying. Ann breaded while I fried, and I must say it was most helpful to have an extra set of hands and certainly made the whole process smoother. All in all, a good, but not "fabulous" result. If I had my way I would have done a beer batter. As an aside, we tried to stalk Mario Batali (he's Ann and Kevin's neighbor) and invite him to dinner, but to no avail. Maybe next time.
Episode Note: "The Liberation of Marcia Brady" A seminal gender equality episode. A news crew is at Fillmore Junior High interviewing girls about their views on the Women's Liberation Movement (1971, good times). Marcia pleads the case for young women everywhere that girls are just as capable as boys. Greg, furious when he watches the nightly news, challenges Marcia to put up or shut up. As a result, she joins his Frontier Scout troop and Greg forces Peter to join the Sunflower Girls. Peter performs dismally at cookie selling, but Marcia triumphs at the all of the initiation rites the boys put in her path, even as they deliberately try to make her fail. Although she passes the tests, Marcia decides not to continue as a Frontier Scout, only wanting to prove that she could do anything he could do better (yes she can).
I highly recommend the guest chef experience; all the glory and none of the pesky pre-cooking (except of course chasing fish, may have been quicker in the bay with a trusty fishing pole). My tasting experience was also great, as they were perfectly cooked (and breaded of course) tho very much an excellent "period recipe". Maybe Joan will agree to put her spin on some of these "after Alice" and spice it up
ReplyDeleteIt looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteMy friends,
ReplyDeleteAlice has miss led you! As grouper is to Florida, whitefish is to Northern Michigan. When vacationing in the north one must have the freshest of fish and it can be found in most local markets after the boats return to port.
Better luck next time.