What I learned today

[Jenise]

Once upon a time, like 30-40 years ago, turbot from somewhere in that part of the world became a big deal in markets where I lived in Southern California. It seemed to be one of the few fish that was very acceptable frozen, and I was introduced to it by my stepmother who made it often. Was a staple for years, until it wasn't. I have rarely seen turbot since! Probably been serving it to my cats without even knowing it, apparently, by the name 'Ocean White Fish'.

This is the fish that sparked the "Turbot War" between UK and Iceland in 80s (vague memories of this on network news).
Real turbot is considered a top rank fish.

Y'all were getting me confused so I've had to look it up.

Turbot, the real turbot, is a flatfish -- like flounder, sole, and halibut -- but it is rather round and left-eyed, whereas halibut are rather long, can grow quite large, and are right-eyed. Another feature of turbot is that the flesh is a beautiful white and remains so even when cooked. And they don't live in the North Atlantic, where the war took place.

The Turbot War was a series of incidents in 1995 between Canadian and Spanish (eventually, EU) fishing fleets. The argument was mostly about where exactly is the line between Canadian waters and international waters. A lot of other nations became involved when Britain voiced support for Canada... the French took custody of a British vessel because it was prominently flying a Canadian flag, and Iceland rebuked Britain based on its experiences in the previous Cod Wars.

The Cod Wars, actually a series of conflicts that span most of the 20th century, came to a head in the mid-1970s with UK and Icelandic ships ramming each other and brandishing weapons (only a few were actually fired). After a while of this, Iceland withdrew its diplomats from London and threatened to exit NATO unless the matter was resolved. NATO negotiated a settlement, essentially in Iceland's favor: Britain had to agree to the normal 200-mi economic zone around its shores rather than an 'open seas' policy that they'd followed for many years prior.

Turbot Fish is also the name of an elimination pattern in Sudoku. It's called that because the five-square pattern has a turbot-like shape.

New England fishermen call large halibut and other flatfish "doormats".

-Paul W.

Don't stop by for a few days ad the Turbot Wars are being waged again. Always reminded me of early Canada where the interlopers were after cod and came all the way across the Northern Atlantic in small boats to get them.

We fish halibut in the waters where I live, but turbot come from Eastern waters. I rarely see it out West here. Another flatfish we almost never see here is Brill.

fish sauce is a good stand-in for anchovies.

Isn't fish sauce made of the liquid from salted anchovies?

This is the fish that sparked the "Turbot War" between UK and Iceland in 80s .

I don't recall that. I remember the 'cod-wars between UK and Iceland. Cod is the main fish used for fish'n'chips which is a big thing here. Turbot, not so.

. So I looked at Wikipedia and they said

The Turbot War (known in Spain as Guerra del Fletán; French: Guerre du flétan) was an international fishing dispute and bloodless conflict between Canada and Spain and their respective supporters..

[Jenise]

fish sauce is a good stand-in for anchovies.

Isn't fish sauce made of the liquid from salted anchovies?

It is. But one might have a bottle of fish sauce on hand all the time but not an open jar of anchovies. And in that context, I was talking about a caesar salad dressing made from silken tofu.

[Jenise]

Yesterday I learned that: [drum roll]...Dominos pizza isn't as bad as I thought it was.

Had to pick up dinner on the way home from the hospital where Bob had surgery. He had not had a bite to eat since the day before and wanted pizza. Between here and the hospital the options are poor--the only truly good pizza was five or six miles the other way--and there's a Dominos in the back of a Shell station right where we get off the freeway to come home. In 20 years here I've not once been tempted to order from them...until yesterday. And I've not tasted a Dominos pizza since our time in Alaska in the early 90's--friends were fans so we ate it at their place a few times. I did not like it.

Since then they've come up with a super thin crust, crispy pizza. I saw an ad for it some time back and that's the only reason I was even willing to consider it yesterday, especially since we wanted just a plain cheese pizza. From the hospital parking lot, I was able to download an app and order on line for carry-out.

Which also means that I had to physically walk in to collect the pizza and from the cashier station I could see--SHOCK!!--a guy hand rolling out/shaping dough on a pile of cornmeal. This would be the 'Brooklyn style' I saw on the app, also something new I guess. Not what we ordered, but hey, that wasn't the industrial factory-made crust I remember from Alaska!

And I liked the ordering process. Pick a sauce (there were quite a few options) and then indicate you want a Light, Normal, or Heavy application. Ditto the cheese. I went heavy on the tomato sauce and light on the cheese and overall, the whole experience vastly exceeded my low expectations.

What a pleasant discovery!

We have sworn off all but a few pizza outlets that we know - local artisanal types. I wince every time I see the TV ads for things like thick crusts stuffed with extra cheese (Hey, America, if your arteries haven't already clogged up, here's a short cut).

It is quite unusual to find a commercial outlet that actually puts out a nice pie like you describe.

[Jenise]

There are no artisinal type places within striking distance; besides Dominos there are two other chain places we wouldn't go back to a second time. So in 20 years here, we've never had pizza delivery. In Bellingham there are two places for wood fire pizza, and one is a Whole Foods market of all things. I've brought pizza home from both, but it's rare. When we want pizza, I make my own. But I would actually order from Dominos again, and I can't believe I'm saying that.

Which also means that I had to physically walk in to collect the pizza and from the cashier station I could see--SHOCK!!--a guy hand rolling out/shaping dough on a pile of cornmeal. This would be the 'Brooklyn style' I saw on the app, also something new. Not what we ordered, but hey, that wasn't the industrial factory-made crust I remember from Alaska!

This sounds like the pizza they serve at the Shakey's pizza chain. Our family used to go quite often to the one in Omaha, Nebraska when we lived there in the early 1960s. There was a Shakey's Pizza in Nashua NH when I first moved there in 1980. By then the chain had been taken over by some big food conglomerate and the quality was nowhere near what it used to be. The place in Nashua closed decades ago and they don't operate in New England anymore.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

Shakey's in Los Angeles used to do one of the best lunch buffets. They had a name for it--Bunch O' Lunch? Something like that. Fried chicken and the original JoJo Potatoes, multiple pizzas and lots of salads. We're talking a looooooooooooong time ago, but it was deservedly popular for a weekday break from work type of lunch. Fast and good. Far as I know they disappeared from the west coast decades ago. Another popular chain was called Me & Ed's. They too disappeared from the U.S., but of all things there's one in Langley just over the border from me. Was a big surprise to drive past it.

Luckily, we have one NY-style pizzeria that's ranked in the top 50 or 100, depending on the source. And, then we have a local franchise that's quite popular and several local pizzerias that are good. Other than our NY-style pizzeria, the best in town is what I make from scratch.

My pizza (and bread) stone is a heavy, thick kiln shelf that I get as hot as my oven goes. And I cook the pizza on the top shelf so the reflected heat emulates a pizza oven.

According to Wikipedia, Shakey's still operates 50+ restaurants in the US--all but one in California and one in Washington State. "Shakey" Johnson used to play jazz piano in his original restaurant. I remember that the Shakey's in Omaha NB had a player piano and the piano rolls were mainly jazz and ragtime.

Here in New England a lot of--I'm tempted to say most--independent pizza houses feature Greek-style pizza and sub sandwiches (often called "grinders" in New England). The New England Greek-style pizza phenomenon was started in the late 1940s by a Greek-American soldier who had fought in Italy during WW II and encountered pizza there. He started a pizzaria in his home town in Connecticut and got permanent US resident (green card) visas for some of his Greek relatives. He then set up a semi-franchise business to help other Greek families get their relatives into the US. He sold the complete plans for setting up a pizza restaurant: floor plans, obtaining pizza ovens, menu recipes, and even pizza sauce, flour, and other staples. The crust is thicker than New York-style but thinner than Sicilian-style pizza. This out-of-the-box restaurant approach is why so many New England pizza joints look the same. You can also spot the Greek-style pizzarias because they offer Greek salads, spinach pizza, and gyros.

New Haven CT is famous for its local style of pizza. I've never tried it. But I have been to Santarpio's Pizza in East Boston. Some of the best pizza I've ever had. It fully deserves its fame.

-Paul W.

Interesting, Paul! Thanks for that story. I always wondered why the pizza in New England was so similar from place to place. (And so blah, but that's a different story.)

Some of the New Haven shops are also excellent.

My pizza (and bread) stone is a heavy, thick kiln shelf that I get as hot as my oven goes. And I cook the pizza on the top shelf so the reflected heat emulates a pizza oven.

I use the same trick (with a pizza steel), with the addition of turning on the broiler for 10 minutes to

1. make the pizza steel even hotter, and
2. emulate the reflected heat from a pizza oven's roof

It's not as hot as a wood-fired oven, but the [Neapolitan-style] pizza cooks in 3-4 minutes.

Something I learned from Serious Eats.

Redding had a Shakey's Pizza we visited every Sunday, late afternoon on our way home with the three kids after spending a day on Lake Shasta. I recall hubby complaining that a large pizza with sodas for the five of us was $5.00. Now this would have been over 45 years ago. I was sad to see it go because the pizza was very good.

Acid in water for boiling potatoes..... came across a recipe for Batata Harra, Spicy Lebanese Potatoes that called for first boiling starchy potatoes in water with some vinegar before draining, spicing then baking. I have never seen a reference to vinegared water for boiling potatoes. This seems to be a way to prevent starchy potatoes from becoming too mushy in say potato salad. Apparently the acid helps form a crust that helps to keep the potato intact and prevents the pectin in potatoes from breaking down.
I ordinarily like a waxy potato for salads but will try it the next time I have some starchy potatoes to use. Starchy potatoes do absorb flavors better than waxy, especially when warm but this is about texture and less about flavor.
Anyone vouching for the effectiveness of this method ?

I am surprised no one mentioned Papa Murphy's Pizza. I pick up the Garden Veggie Pizza w/ Thin Crust, bake it at home. I usually add, cherry tomatoes, pickled jalepeno slices and Frozen Pizza Spice from Penzeys. It is very good and one slice is 180 calories.

We ate homemade pizza three days straight. But not tonight.

Just now, I lowered the oven rack/baking stone to the middle for some bread baking in the next several minutes.

[Jenise]

Christina, I have not done it. But in fact I have seen references to it, often regarding french fry cookery (which I don't do, so not relevant). I do recall storing the factoid if I ever wanted to play with it, that Kenji Alt-Lopez' rule of thumb is one tblsp white wine vin to each quart of water. I recall wondering if it would help hold the skin on, like when you boil red pototoes for potato salad. I searched around one day looking for someone to address that, but never found it.

I'm going to try that vinegar water cooking method. I never boil the potatoes for a potato salad, but steam them. I like that they come out drier that way. I do add the vinegar based dressing while they are still warm, as they seem to absorb the liquid better. I like my potatoes with the skin on, and that they are fully cooked but still hold together well.

[Jenise]

I just learned that one should never EVER buy Galbani brand part skim ricotta cheese. It's gross. Soft, wobbly and sweet like milk jello. Couldn't have been further from the BUF ricotta I longed for, and inedible.