Birthday Meal: Fish and Macaroni
Birthday Meal: Fish and Macaroni
When you hit March, you feel like winter's almost over. Even though some of our biggest snows have occurred in April, it's a mindset that comes with March that makes everyone feel better and more hopeful. Best of all, it's my birthday month. We celebrate a person's birthday by having their favorite meal. Mine isn't anything glamorous or expensive. In fact, it sounds a little bit like something you'd find in an elementary-school cafeteria. But it's what I request for my birthday: fried flounder fillets, macaroni and cheese with tomato, slaw and spinach For dessert, it's got to be a rich, chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream.
Fried Flounder Fillets
- 6 flounder fillets
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup corn meal
- salt and pepper, to taste
- dash of cayenne pepper
Rinse fish and dry lightly. Mix together flour, meal and seasonings. Pan fry in vegetable oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
Macaroni and Cheese with Tomatoes
- 1 8-ounce box elbow macaroni
- 1 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 8 ounces Velveeta cheese product
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
Cook macaroni as directed on box. Drain. Stir in butter and cheese until melted. Add milk, then tomato sauce. Salt and pepper to taste.
In case you don’t like the tomatoes, and you want an old-fashioned baked version, here’s the recipe my half-sister made.
Tammy’s Macaroni and Cheese
- 1 8-ounce box elbow macaroni
- 1 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 stick butter
- 1 egg
- 1 pound longhorn colby cheese, cut into cubes
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook macaroni. Drain. Add butter and cheese to macaroni in the pot. Let melt. Mix milk and egg and warm it in the microwave (nuke it by about 15 second intervals -- but don't let it cook! Just let it get warm). Add milk and egg mixture into macaroni. Turn into a casserole dish and bake uncovered for 45 minutes.
The last time my mother made me one of these expensive and decadent cakes, it was my 30th birthday. I was on my way to their house and mom was in a rush to prepare it, so she began to ice it before it was cool enough. The unthinkable happened: the top layer slid right off the bottom and hit the floor. She was nearly in a panic, but dad had the situation in control. He got the layer off the floor and removed all the icing. He let it cool, mixed up another batch of icing, put it back together and nobody knew the difference, until they told me!
Hershey Bar Cake
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 4 eggs
- 6 Hershey bars, melted
- 2 small cans Hershey syrup (12 ounces)
- 2 1/2 cups cake flour
- 1/2 teaspoon soda
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in bars and chocolate syrup. Sift flour and soda. Add to mixture, alternating with buttermilk. Add vanilla. Bake in three layers at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Cool.
Frosting
Mix well and frost cake:
- 1 8-ounce package of cream cheese
- 1 stick butter
- 1 box powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Served with vanilla ice cream, this is almost too good.
Printed with permission from www.suite101.com.
About the Author: Lee Ward - For the last 20 years, I have been working as a professional journalist in newspapers, magazines and radio. Currently, I am the Lifestyle Editor at a daily newspaper, The Independent in Ashland, Ky. I am always interested in freelance writing or editing opportunities and working on my fiction and poetry. I can be emailed at hillygator@msn.com.
