Fish - N - Chips

Mark here...this is another of the Barefoot Contessa's recipe's called Parker's Fish and Chips and it's one of my favorites.  We made it while watching Friday Night Lights episode, "Extended Families".  It's a bit messy though, so be warned, but it really is a classic fish and chips.  The nice part is the baked potato "chips"...it sort of saves you from the oil-overload...

Fish and Chips

Ingredients
1 1/2 lb cod fillets (they are usually deboned but its worth checking)
salt and pepper
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
pinch cayenne
1/2 cup water
1 egg
Vegetable oil
2 large potatoes
olive oil
1 large mince garlic clove
sea salt
rosemary

The Chips recipe follows the fish, but it's best to get started on them first as they will take longer...

First salt and pepper each side of the cod fillets and cut them into roughly 2 inch squares or thereabouts.  Then mix the flour, baking powder, lemon zest, cayenne water, egg, and salt and pepper (to taste).

Pour and heat the oil, 1/2 inch, and heat to 360 degrees.  This part is very important...too cool and it won't crisp, the fish will either stick to the pan or fall apart (or both).  Dip each fish piece into the batter and then put in the hot oil.  Don't put too many or it will just take forever (too many will cool the oil).  Cook each side about 3 minutes depending on size, then remove.  I just put all the pieces on a folded brown paper bag, rustic East Cost style. When done finish by sprinkling with salt.

For the Chips...

Preheat the oven to 400.

Slice the 2 potatoes into long thick chips, this mean roughly cutting each potato into eighths.  Lay onto baking pan and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, some sea salt and pepper, and about a tablespoon of chopped rosemary.  Cook about 50 minutes turning roughly every 15, in my opinion.

Extended Families

Mark here... Laurel and I have just watched the next episode of Friday Night Lights, "Extended Families".  This was a really good episode.  First of all we deal with the fall out from last episode.  Buddy Garrity fights with his wife and ends up being kicked out.  Where does he end up?  The Taylors!  Tami is none too pleased with Buddy on the couch and neither is Julie.  Next thing we see Tami making Buddy pork chops.  She is pissed about this and Coach Taylor is a bit dumbfounded as to what to do.  At the same time, Coach receives a dinner offer from TMU, a college.  Thinking this may mean a job offer the Taylors take them up on the offer.  This leaves Buddy home alone with Julie, who is not happy about it.  Tami tells her to get over it in a funny moment.  Julie ends up at a party at Tyra's...  Buddy discovers where the Taylors are and, having no boundaries, sees no problem giving the Coach hell about it later.  Coach tells him he should be thinking about his family, not football.  What we see though is that Buddy can't stop thinking about football, it's really the only constant in his life.  He's also oblivious to what's going on in his family, or to the fact that he's imposing on the Taylors.

Meanwhile, at Tyra's, her mom is not handling the break up with Buddy well.  We're see she's taking too many pills.  In the middle of the party she emerges from her room to collapse on a glass table, leading to an ambulance.  Julie of course has to call her parents at their dinner.  Tami rushes to the hospital and takes Tyra and her mom home.  This lead to a bit of a revelation.  Tami has banned Julie from hanging out with Tyra because she's supposedly a "Bad girl".  Seeing Tyra's home life makes Tami realize Tyra is actually the sane one barely holding her fractured home life together.  There's a tender moment between Tami and Tyra where Tami apologizes for not wanting Julie to hang out with her and helps Tyra clean up her house.

There's also a plot line where Lyla runs away to visit Jason and realizes they are growing apart...  And Smash realizes his girlfriend is behaving weirdly.  As the episode progress she shows signs of manic behavior, which seems ok to Smash until the end, when we realize its bipolar behavior and the depression sets in....

Hey Laurel here and again I agree with Mark on all counts.  The only thing I would add is that we see Lyla go through some tough times for a change when she realizes her and Jason are growing apart.  It's obvious that she has lead a charmed life up until the point that Jason hurt his back, but now she is really getting it from all sides.  Her fiance is permanently paralized and is finding a new life without her within the disabled spots community, and now her parents are getting a divorce.  She has 2 younger siblings that she has to take care of while her parents are super vocally fighting in front of all of them.  Tough pill to swallow.  Lyla has had it easy her whole life and now things are finally catching up with her.  poor girl.