Skip, who first "invented" chips? Some think the French did, though they don't seem to like fried potatoes called French fries.

When you think of Fish and Chips, you think of England, where there are 10,500 "chippies" (the shops that sell fish and chips), serving 360 million fish and chips meals a year.

When you think of England's national dish, you think of Fish and Chips, but that's not it. Their most popular national dish is Chicken Tikka Masala.

Though from what I can tell, there actually is no official dish.

The first and very best fish and chips I have ever eaten were from a chippy window somewhere near Gatwick airport. I was staying in a historic Coach Inn where you still had to wear a coat and tie to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

So, instead of putting on clothes after a day of shooting in a hangar, I ventured out at the recommendation of the concierge to have fish and chips from the local spot.

It came wrapped in newspaper, and I consumed the whole thing in my room. This was almost 38 years ago, and I still remember the bite, the taste, and the total feel of this meal. It was awesome!

And that's why we have this vinegar and why my memories came swimming back to me.

This Malt Vinegar is made just for fish and chips. Well, not really, but gosh darn it, it is perfect for fish and chips.

This Artisan Malt Vinegar is special. It is made in oak barrels and fermented up to a year using Maris Otter 2-row barley malt (the favored malt of English brewers) and the local Cornish spring water, which are both key ingredients in creating this exquisite Malt Vinegar.

A cool sidebar is that as it ages, the vinegar is protected by really thick walls in a bomb shelter in the middle of nowhere.

This vinegar is dark and full of flavor. It is vinegar and it is malt, it is very smooth with only a little acid vinegar finish. Think of a classic English ale with notes of chocolate, caramel, and the hint of oak. It shares the thick richness of a stout, but it is not cloudy.

This is a wonderful vinegar to add to your collection for many dishes; and this Malt Vinegar really shines when shaken over fish and chips!

Shop Now for Artisan Old-Fashioned Malt Vinegar!

Click Here To See Everything Featured in This Newsletter!

Fish and Chips are relatively easy to make on your own. And they can be very good when made at home.

This recipe is similar to many out there; changing the recipe with different choices of flour and spices will make it yours.

Or, find the best Fish and Chips place you can. I plan on heading back to England to find the best.

Click here to see the Fish and Chips Recipe!

This Tikka Masala spice mix helps to create the distinctive and flavorful taste of the dish. It's important to note that there isn't a single standardized recipe for the spice mix, as it can vary based on regional and family preferences.

The term "Tikka Masala" refers to a spice blend used in Indian cuisine, especially in dishes like Chicken Tikka Masala.

The history of Tikka Masala spice mix is intertwined with the broader history of Indian spices and their use in traditional cuisine. Spices have played a significant role in Indian cooking for centuries, both for flavoring and for their health benefits.

As for the specific origin of the Tikka Masala spice mix, it's challenging to pinpoint a precise history. It likely evolved over time through a combination of regional culinary traditions and influences. The popularity of dishes like Chicken Tikka Masala, both in India and abroad, has led to various interpretations and adaptations of the spice mix to suit different tastes.

Shop now for the Tikka Masala Spice Blend!

We like these. The tomatoes are whole and nestled beautifully inside the can. The taste is pure tomato, the way a canned tomato should be, with no added elements, allowing you to be in control of how they're flavored.

For almost 20 years we have had one favorite canned tomato from Italy.

So when this can of tomatoes came into our lives one day, I was a bit stubborn, and hard-pressed to find a reason we should change.

And then I used them in my basic tomato sauce and knew they would become my new favorite. These are consistently sweeter tomatoes, with a richer, fuller color, and with nice soft ends. These tomatoes worked just as they should, adding to a dish, without being too strong. Perfect.

They have just 3 ingredients: tomatoes, tomato juice (juice from processing), and citric acid. No salt added, Non-GMO, Gluten-Free, BPA-Free, Pesticide-Free. 100% Pomodori Sardi Tomatoes from Sardinia. Like all great ingredients, there is a difference from one brand to the next!

These are truly exceptional tomatoes.

Shop now for Posardi Sardinian Whole Peeled Tomatoes!

Easy, pop-the-top, tomato, potato, and carrots dish.

It all started with too many potatoes and carrots. I had just purchased a bunch to test a few recipes. And then our friend Farmer Mark gave us some amazing sweet carrots and wonderfully oddly shaped potatoes. I ate those first of course, and then had a handful of those two ingredients leftover that needed to be eaten before they went to the garden compost or to the local wild bunny which I haven't seen since the weather got dark (winter).

And we had a bunch of jars of red sauce, marinara of various types, that we were testing, and I thought why not cook them all together and top with an egg.

This classic style of dish has been called everything from soup to Moroccan Shakshuka.

It is super simple. Cube up the potatoes so they will cook, cut the carrots to bite-sized pieces, add the tomato sauce and water to cover the potatoes in a pan and cook.

When the potatoes are soft enough to eat you can slide in a bunch of eggs, then cover and cook. When the whites of the eggs are cooked, eat! Serve on the plate with sauce, potatoes, carrots and an egg per plate.

I tried it without egg first. But I saved the remaining mixture, heated it up in a small fry pan, and then nestled the egg in the sauce, covered the pan and cooked until the egg was ready. It was great!

Consider adding leftover chicken, other vegetables, tofu, salami, or cheese. Anything goes with this simple base dish which is great on its own!

Click here to see the Tomato, Potato and Carrots Recipe!

Think anchovy, and you might think of those super-salty, crinkled-up, spiny, fishy bits on pizza or Caesar salad. Think again!

Top-quality Spanish and Italian anchovies are seawater-fresh, flavorful, and never too fishy. Their firm flesh is retained because they've been preserved with great care, in age-old, proven methods. In short, they're a far cry from most anchovies available in America.

We've tried anchovies from many different producers to bring you the finest bounty from the Cantabrian Sea and beyond.

Choose from anchovies painstakingly filleted and packed in oil, or whole ones preserved in salt. The fillets are wonderful, but the whole fish are delicious too, and surprisingly easy to prepare.

Here are our two key tips to reaching anchovy heaven:

Think outside of the box! That is, remember that anchovies are more than just a little fish. Instead of wondering how to serve them, we like to think of them as a condiment or seasoning. They're sort of like a brilliant cross between savories like capers and olives (add briny taste and textural interest) and sauces like Worcestershire and Asian fish sauce (just a touch adds great umami flavor). And did you know that anchovies are a key ingredient in both of these? Anchovies work with pastas, in dips, and of course, in salads. And when they're this good, they're also wonderful served plain.

Buy good quality - there's no substitute for this. These Spanish and Italian anchovies are excellent. They're packed in olive oil, and they're beautifully preserved. The flavor, texture, and smell will all reflect that. Good anchovies are meaty and firm, not mushy, and not unbearably salty, with a dark reddish-brown color and a rich, deep flavor.

THE CHOICE: SALT-PACKED WHOLE FISH OR OIL-PACKED FILLETS?

Most of us are familiar with anchovies that have been filleted and are packed in oil. At their best, these are delicious bursts of flavor with good, firm texture, but too often, the ones sold in the grocery store or slapped on a pizza are not that great. Ours are wonderful. Look for anchovies packed in olive oil, which not only gives the fillets better flavor but helps the fish retain healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

Anchovies may also be preserved whole, in salt. These are harder to come by, but aficionados often prefer them for their superior flavor and meatier texture. And they actually tend to be less salty than the fillets, once they're rinsed of excess salt and soaked for about 15 minutes in water.

HOW TO PREPARE WHOLE SALTED ANCHOVIES

To use whole salted anchovies, first soak them in cold water for about 15 minutes to rid them of excess salt. (If you're really in a hurry, rinse them under cold water.) Then, by inserting your thumb down the middle of the fish, you'll be able to remove the bone. Rinse well after, and you're in business.

AND GOOD FOR YOU, TOO!

Anchovies are high in heart-healthy omega-3s; they add calcium to your diet, and they have a good amount of protein without too much fat. In addition, they have one of the lowest levels of mercury of ocean fish.

SO, WHAT DO I DO WITH ANCHOVIES?

So many delicious possibilities! Although we've emphasized them as a seasoning touch, good-quality anchovies are excellent on their own. Together with gently boiled potatoes and hard-boiled eggs, they make a simple, satisfying meal, perfect when followed by a green salad (with maybe a hint of anchovy in the vinaigrette!). A little finely chopped anchovy stirred into a sauce or marinade brings out the flavor in milder fillets of fish.

STORAGE AND A NOTE ABOUT THE TINS:

After opening your anchovies, keep them refrigerated. For the tinned ones, we prefer to transfer them to a glass jar or other container and add a little olive oil to cover if necessary.

Even before opening, the tin should be kept cool, either in a cool, dark cupboard or in the refrigerator, the warmest part if possible.

Shop now for the Versatile Flavor of Anchovies!

This oak-aged Trio Red Wine Vinegar from Katz Farms takes two years to make.

This terrific vinegar is crafted using the traditional "Orleans" Method.

It's a blend of carefully selected vintages of Merlot, Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon from the heart of one of the world's great wine appellations, the Sonoma Valley. "Trio" has been crafted to mirror the classic Meritage blends where small lots of selected red varietals are mixed to create wines of great structure and character.

The finished blend is well-balanced and full-flavored and retains the varietal characteristics of the grapes with nuances of cherry, raspberry and oak.

This vinegar will enliven your favorite dishes and create distinctive dressings and sauces. The Sonoma Trio is a favorite of many of America's top chefs. Try reducing it for sauces for meats or grilled peaches or figs, and use it in your next dressing.

The Making of Vinegar

Vinegar is one of the original "slow foods" - in millennia past it was used as a beverage, in cooking and as the basis of many sauces.

Over time, art has yielded to industry, and the traditional slow methods, such as the Orleans method, gave way to large "generators," which could produce uniform batches of vinegar in days rather than months or years. This is accomplished by adding heat and oxygen to the tanks along with a considerable amount of agitation, and results in vinegars that look and taste the same year after year, with little to none of the flavor characteristics from the base wine surviving.

The 500-year-old Orleans method relies on quality wine, oak barrels, time, and an artisan's judgment. Specialized bacteria, acetabactors, are introduced into the wine with oxygen creating the perfect environment for the conversion of alcohol to acid. The process is driven by Mother Nature, and it can take anywhere from three to six months. Then, all but 10% of the finished vinegar is drawn off and placed in oak barrels for aging; the remainder is left in the converter to be used as the "mother" for the next batch of vinegar. More wine is added to the conversion barrel and the process begins again.

Shop now for Red Wine Trio Vinegar!

This recipe was adapted from Epicurious.com. The key to this recipe is to use chicken thighs vs. chicken breasts. The skin adds a lot of flavor. The other key is the anchovies. Be sure not to over-salt the chicken, as both the anchovy filets and the salted capers will add a fair amount of salt. You can always add salt at the end if desired.

See the Chicken with Tomatoes and Olives recipe here!