Greetings beer lovers!

If you are checking the calendar, you’ll see I’m a few days late on my July beer post…this has honestly been the craziest summer!  I am sorry, but am trying not to beat myself up about it, thinking you’ll understand and can relate.  Won’t you?

This (last) month’s beer is Summit Pilsener.  A Bohemian Style, lighter beer perfect for summer and what I am making…Fish & Chips!  You can read more about this delicious beer here.

Our house is abuzz with Olympic excitement!  The kids jump out of bed early and beg to stay up late, absorbing every minute of coverage they can digest.  Favorites of theirs include any of the swimming events, all of the gymnastic events, track events and beach volleyball…I even came home one day to this sprawled across my driveway…gotta love their enthusiasm!

So in honor of the Opening Ceremonies, I decided to make a ‘little spot’ of Fish & Chips to have that night for dinner.  The Pilsener was a great beer to use for the batter; light & bubbly, not too bitter.  Here is the recipe for the batter:

“Olympic-style” Fish & Chips:

(this makes enough for two servings of fish, so feel free to double it if necessary)

1 egg

3/4 cup of flour

1 & 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

6 oz. of Summit Pilsener

2 –  6 oz. fresh fillets of cod or other fish

2 teaspoons of seafood/fish seasoning (I used Chesapeake Bay seasoning from Blue Crab Bay Co.)

sea salt

You’ll notice this batter is similar to the Beer Battered Onion Rings I made here.  We (really my husband cause I suck at it) like to make our own sauces because it never fails that we buy a whole bottle of whatever sauce and we use two tablespoons of it and there it sits for months until it lands in the garbage.  Plus, making your own sauce is not only easy, but you know exactly what is in it!  Too many times we’ll buy a dressing or sauce that has some weird flavor to it and when checking the label, it will say “blah, blah, blah & herbs” …yah, so do your own.  For this dinner we needed both Tartar and Cocktail sauces, because you may notice I snuck in some battered shrimps, hence the need for cocktail sauce.  Although I don’t think real Fish & Chips are even served “over the pond” with either sauce and of course in my shopping for this meal, the one thing I forgot, was the Malt vinegar… note to self for next time!

So, for the “chip” portion of this meal, I sliced up some red potatoes and just started those off in about an inch of oil I had placed in a large pan (I used canola oil) while I cut up the fish and got the batter ready.  (you can cut your “chips” a little smaller so they cook quicker) I also decided to make fish “bites” instead of whole pieces.  Once the “chips” had browned a bit, I pulled them out, gave them a sprinkling of sea salt and thru them in the oven to hold.

After I removed the “chips” I cleaned up the oil and added a bit more, bringing it back up to a good frying temperature.  (please be careful when frying things in oil, wear an old shirt and keep small children away from your pan…do you know what to do in the case of a grease fire?  If not, read this post) Once the oil was ready, I popped the fish in gently and flipped them over, once one side was golden brown.  Place them on a paper towel lined plate to drain and sprinkle with a bit of sea salt.

                        

So, another blog post that is totally late is the one I want to do about our recent (and first ever as a family!) camping trip we took to the North Shore!  The first day, we drove all the way to Grand Marais and had to eat at the Angry Trout Cafe.  I had fish & chips there and could have just eaten a bowl of their Tartar sauce and been happy!  (well maybe not…that actually sounds gross now reading this!)  I googled the recipe and found what appears to be the recipe below, on this website.  Not sure if it’s authentic, but I thought I would post it anyway!  I think the addition of the dill is what I loved most about this sauce.

Angry Trout Cafe, (as written by the Mother Nature Network) Tartar Sauce:

1 1/2 cups good mayonnaise

6 tablespoons pickle relish (you don’t have to buy this either, just chop up some dill pickles and add a bit of sugar)

1 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons dried dill weed

The hubby’s homemade Tartar Sauce:

Mix together Mayo, pickle relish (or chop up your own dill or bread & butter pickles), lemon juice, and a splash of Worcestershire sauce.  Yep, play with it until it’s the way you like it! 🙂

The hubby’s homemade Cocktail Sauce:

Mix together ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and a little splash of Tabasco or other hot sauce.

This would also be good as a sandwich with some really great coleslaw on the side!  I hope you’ll try making this Fish & Chips at home one day!  Let me know if you do!

As always, until next time…go for the gold!

Shawn