Fabulous (almost) Flawless Fish Sandwich & Fries

Fish Sandwich and Fries 
New recipes don't have to be complicated or hard. This one is easy and will slide into across your menu as smoothly as a fish swims in the ocean. Doesn't it sound friendly? A nice fish sandwich and fries. We eat a lot of fish in my house. Okay not as much as when we lived in California - Arizona is kind of lacking in well an ocean to really get fresh seafood.

my sandwich

Since you are my closest friends, and we are talking about fish, I have to tell you about the seafood thing. Its not completely off topic as it is a food/fish thing but its also a being married thing. Here goes... I was born and raised in the northwest, so I am very very familiar with salmon. When I got married I was shocked that my husband (not from the northwest) didn't share my love of this great fish. But, he liked almost every other kind of seafood possible. I do try new recipes constantly, but I don't really enjoy seafood except fish. So of course his favorite restaurants are ones that have seafood in the title. I know. I know. Seafood is good and healthy  But it gets worse, most of my intermediate family loves seafood too, things like clams, prawns, fish, oysters, and shrimp. (grimace). I swear its a texture thing. So here is the married part. Seafood is healthy, and I don't want to completely ignore everything that comes from the sea, so fish is our compromise.Compromise isn't always easy but at least this one tastes good ;) 

my hubby's sandwich - no veggies

Flounder was on sale this week so that's the kind of fish I used in these sandwiches, but do grab whatever is fresh and on sale. You want a mild/white fish like tilipia, or cod. Read the recipe below, and try it, or change it up like I have done with this one that I have adapted from the magazine: Rachael Ray Everyday Magazine "Deviled Fishwich" October 2007. Please click here for another recipe from this same fall issue. 

Fries: healthy. easy. fresh.
The three of us were really hungry I used two huge russet potatoes.

1.  Rinse potatoes off and cut into strips. The thickness is up to you. Thick steak fries are awesome but be aware they take longer to cook. Thinner shoe-string fries are great too - just keep an eye on them. Whatever you decide - cut them all the same size so you have even cooking!
2. Soak the strips in very cold water in a large bowl. You want the water to completely cover them. I do this for 15-30 minutes depending on how much time I have. This time it was exactly 15 minutes because the football game was coming on at 5:30 and I didn't want to miss kick off.

wet fries

getting dry fries

  3.   Heat the oven to 400 degrees and dry the fries off completely. I use a towel for this.
  4.   Lay the fries out in straight lines on a cookie sheets - so there is no overlap. I recommend doing this first so you can make sure they all fit. Its amazing how many fries you can get out of only 1 or 2 potatoes. Trust me you don't want to have your hands covered with salt, pepper, and olive oil and have to wait for someone to hand you another pan because you thought they were all going to fit. Just trust me.
  5.   Drizzle 1-2 Tbs olive oil, salt (approx 1 tsp), and pepper (approx 1/4 tsp) over the fries. Then use your hands to make sure every fry is coated with seasoning and oil. Then place the fries back out in rows with no overlap on the baking sheets. 

6. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes then pull them out and flip them over
7. As you are flipping them over carefully (they are hot) crank the oven hotter to 450 for 10 minutes or until they are brown and crispy and yummy. This time will be determined by the thickness you cut your fries. 

Totally easy, right? Didn't that sound easy? You got this! Don't buy the frozen stuff anymore.

Fish Sandwich.
Ingredients:

- tarter sauce bought or homemade
- hamburger buns
- 4 fish fillets
- 1 Tbs melted unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp herbs de Provence
- tomato thinly sliced
- lettuce or spinach 
- cheese ( I used mild cheddar)
- panko breadcrumbs 1/3 cup at least

1. Preheat your oven if you hadn't started the fries or aren't making them to 450. 
2. Melt your butter in the microwave or the stove 
3. Get your baking pan ready with foil AND some sort of cooking spray. My fish stuck bad so I would HIGHLY recommend this step. 
4. Put your breadcrumbs and seasoning mixture into a bowl. 
5. Dredge the fish into the panko breadcrumbs & seasonings ( I had five fillets and so I needed more breadcrumbs than a 1/3 cup). So all of the fish is lightly covered. 
6. Poured the melted butter over the fish (to help it get crispy in the oven)

7. Bake them at 450 for 5 minutes 
 8. Then turn up the heat to 500 for about 5 minutes until they all look like the bread crumbs are light brown and toasty. 
 9. Serve them on the buns with toppings (cheese, tomato, lettuce or spinach, and tarter sauce) and fries! 
10. Eat! 

from my kitchen to yours

enjoy!