Oscar Pasta and Sesame Fish Sticks

Wednesday, March 17, 2010
This was a perfect "kids night" meal.  The Oscar Pasta is a staple at our house and the Sesame Fish Sticks are definitely one to do again!  We thought it was all great and so did Greysen.  (note: fish sticks were still great re-heated days later - popped in the oven at 350F on a baking sheet for a bit)

Oscar Pasta
Any kind of pasta - Greysen prefers penne or rotini
a big container of fresh spinach
dash of nutmeg
salt to taste
butter and or milk
(I sometimes also stir in diced or minced carrots)
Cook pasta to directions. Steam spinach in a pot with a tiny bit of water. Put fully cooked spinach in blender or magic bullet, add a dash or two of nutmeg, a dash or two of salt and a good chunk of butter (or natural oil butter). Can add a little bit of milk to make creamier (and easier to reheat). Blend. Pour spinach sauce over pasta. Stir and eat.

Sesame Fish Sticks
1.5 lbs halibut, cod or other firm white fish fillets
1 c flour
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
2 eggs
1 c sesame seeds
¼ c vegetable oil
Lemon wedges, tartar sauce or ketchup for serving
Cut fish fillets into sticks measuring about 1 by 5 inches. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Pour the flour into a shallow pan. Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the flour and stir with a fork until blended. Crack the eggs into another shallow pan, then beat the eggs with the fork until they are smooth and uniformly yellow. Pour the sesame seeds into a third shallow pan. Line up the pans of flour, eggs and sesame seeds in a row in front of you, in that order. Drag a fish piece through the flour, turning to coat it all over. Gently shake off the extra flour. Now dip the fish piece quickly into the eggs, letting the excess drip off. Finally, drag the fish piece through the sesame seeds, turning it to coat evenly with the seeds. Set it aside on a clean plate. Repeat until you have coated all the fish pieces. Place a layer of paper towels on another clean plate. Set a sauté pan over medium heat. Pour the oil into the sauté pan and let the oil heat for 1 minute. Using tongs or a metal spatula, put the fish sticks into the pan, one by one. The coating should sizzle when it touches the oil. Put as many fish sticks in the pan as will fit without crowding. There should be a little space around each stick. Cook the fish sticks until golden brown on the first side, about 5 minutes. Using the tongs or spatula, carefully turn the fish sticks over. Cook the fish sticks on the other side until they are golden, about 5 minutes more. Transfer the fish sticks to the paper towels to drain. Turn the oven to 200°F. Place the first batch of fish sticks in a baking dish. Slide the dish into the oven to keep the fish sticks warm. Fry the remaining fish sticks and keep them warm in the oven. Serves 4. Recipe from www.williams-sonoma.com.