Shrimp Melt

FRIDAY FISH: Pepper Jack Fish Burgers with Sriracha-Dijon Tartar Sauce

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When approaching Lent — otherwise known here as FRIDAY FISH time — late in each winter, I have for the last few years worked on a loose scheme for planning my fish recipes. I look and see which sorts of meals were the most popular on FRIDAY FISH in the previous year, check on current prices, consider my own cooking bucket list, think about availability, and then give myself time to dream. What’s cooking without dreaming? This year, my six categories that still could change were: 1. frozen fish fillets (inexpensive, easy to keep, and available everywhere); 2. salmon (healthy and nearly everyone loves it); 3. crab (I love it); 4. shrimp (a year-round favorite); 5. fresh tuna (let’s splurge once, kids); and 6. canned fish (because it’s good and has been trending for a year even though I usually include it anyway.) See below. 

Next time you go to the grocery store, you may have a hard time finding tinned fish like tuna, anchovies, or sardines in the aisle. That’s thanks to the viral “tinned fish” niche on TikTok and the growing group of online creators making video content on “conservas”—tasty and sometimes elaborate dishes made from canned fish and seafood.

 courtesy: How TikTok's Tinned Fish Craze is Driving Shortages/TIME
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FRIDAY FISH: Shrimp Melt

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We adored these hot, but they’re yummy cold and are a lot like shrimp rolls.

When I was a junior in college, I shared an apartment with three other women. Someone had the great idea of splitting the cooking chores and proposed each one of us would cook dinner one night a week for all four us, Monday – Thursday. Too many people went away or home on the weekend to worry about any of the other days. We didn’t know a whole heck of a lot about cooking, but gave it our best and were thrilled that we came home to a cooked dinner nearly every school night. Might have saved a few bucks, too. I have no idea what I made, but one roommate, Jan Jellinek, often made her mom’s famous TUNA MELTS. Now this wasn’t a diner-style grilled hot tuna and cheese sandwich, but instead was tuna salad with maybe cheese on a bun and heated in the oven for what I remember to be 45 minutes. That had to have been waaaay too long, but that’s my memory. (The oven’s a lot faster than skillets if you’re making several melts.) I married the next summer and Jan’s TUNA MELT was on our newlywed menu fairly often. It slipped off the weekly rotation somehow after we made a move or two, but 48 years later, I’ve never forgotten about it.

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