The Art Of Fish Frying
If you like fried fish (even half as selflessly as Jive does), don’t miss this post.
Fried fish is an incredibly delicious food – especially if it is fried properly. If it is hasn’t got broken into pieces and dried out while being fried. In fact, there are basic rules for frying fish - pretty simple but effective ones!
First, the fish needs to be prepared for frying: it should be thoroughly dried with a paper towel, seasoned with salt and put aside for 15 minutes. This is necessary to preserve the fish from falling apart while it is being fried.
While the fish is resting, prepare everything you are going to need later. Have some salty flour handy: just before frying you will need to dip the fish into it. Heat the pan with some olive oil in it, and melt some butter in it (50/50 butter to olive oil). Oil should completely cover the bottom of the pan.
When the oil heats up, dip the fish into the flour and put it into the pan. Sprinkle it with lemon juice. I also put in some sage for the fish to get more flavor (in fact, the sage goes better with meat, still adding 2-3 leaves to the oil will give the fish a very delicate flavor). Just be sure not to overact – the sage does have a pretty intense flavor.
Fry the fish on both sides until it gets that golden crust. If you fry a whole fish, make tiny cuts on its sides, so it’s easier to control the cooking process, as you can watch the flesh through the cuts. Once the color pf the flesh has changed to white and the it has become opaque even near the ridge, you can remove the fish off the frying pan. Take a minute to put the pieces (or the whole fish) onto a paper towel before you serve them - the paper will absorb some fat. Enjoy!
Our Top 5 in August 2011
1. Travel of the month:
Did an extensive trip to Alsace/France ,came back exhausted but happy and with some good food / lifestyle shots.
2. Movie of the month:
“How I met your mother” (Still enjoying – Ira.)
3. Song of the month:
“La Calda Notte” by ‘Mondo Candido’.
4. Gear of the month:
Bought an original BODUM coffee press, to enjoy better coffee and to pension off our automatic coffee machine.
5. Event of the month:
IPA (International Photography Awards) have announced 2011′ winners. “Halftime” by Ira has become a part of IPA’s history :)
The Justification
Yeah, calories, we know. But once you are in France, you get overwhelmed by the variety of the sweets, cakes, candies, pies.. And you struggle not to let yourself go and grab at least one of each of those. The next morning you realize that you did. In order to justify the purchase of at least 8 of those anti-diet weapons, you place them in front of the lens and photograph them. Voila!
Our Top 5 in July 2011
In order to give this blog a more personal touch, we’re posting our ‘Top 5′ at the end of every month to recap this month’s highlights. This post is not necessarily about food and photography, but about us:)
1. Dish of the month:
Seafood with garlic sauce , cooked on a large frying surface and eaten on the veranda in a Chinese restaurant. Went there one Saturday, and enjoyed the dinner extensively!
2. Movie of the month:
“How I met your mother” (Working while while listening to this movie turned out to be very productive – Ira.)
3. Song of the month:
“We are the people” by ‘Empire of the sun’. Most enjoyable in the car while cruising the evening city.
4. Achievement of the month:
Gave this blog here a very nice start, didn’t we?
5. Event of the month:
Flea market with antiques in Heidelberg, Germany. We’ve scored a full trunk of accessories for photo sessions!
Mojito
13 leaves mint
1 tbsp brown sugar (I don’t like powdered sugar but feel free to use that if you like)
1.25 OZ Havana (better) or Bacardi rum
2-3 limes
crushed ice
2 OZ club soda
If we had started this blog back in 1930, this post should’ve been entitled ‘Criollo’ – this was the original name of the cocktail known and enjoyed as ‘Mojito’ today. It originates from a non-alcoholic Cuban beverage, and started to gain attention worldwide after they’ve added some rum (the white one – important).
If there is an incarnation of a Mojito freak outside Cuba, it has to be me. If I had my little way, I would’ve placed Mojito-mixing machines on every crossroad, really. Even if it was a non-alcoholic Mojito, a so-called ‘Virgin Mojito’.
Mixing a good Mojito is not as complicated as it looks when they prepare it in bars. Make sure you have all the ingredients handy, because some of them can lose their flavor really fast (mint leaves). Put mint leaves into a Collins glass, add sugar and lime juice (if you prefer fresh limes instead, squeeze their juice directly into the glass, before adding mint leaves). Grab a muddler and smash the lime juice / sugar into the mint leaves. Don’t squeeze like there is no gravity, but make sure to make it all evenly smashed. Add crushed ice and the rum. Stir and cover with club soda, and you are done. Some people prefer to garnish Mojitos with mint leaves – I do not, since garnishing gives it a subtle look of a complex, expensive cocktail, and I do not like it with Mojito.
*Note: Mint and sugar conceal the taste of alcohol, which can make you think your Mojito is lighter than it is. Anyhow, drink responsibly and support the national cab industry if you are too mojitoed to drive yourself.
