After receiving a recent firefly flash, Dave shared a long-forgotten childhood memory.  He recalled a meal in Benton, Illinois, at his grandparents, John & Mertus's. This was a non-traditional house at that time as Coal Miner John did most of the cooking.  On this occasion, John had prepared a special Sunday noon meal for the family.  Labeled the Very Special Traditional Samuel family meal, it was commonly known as Fin & Haddie.   Seems Fin & Haddie was probably smoked cod, something that probably wasn't too easy to find in a rural downstate Illinois coal mining town back in the 1950's.  It was a special occasion dish, definitely reaching back to the family's Irish roots, and it was as authentic as you could get in a melting pot society of poor immigrant farmers and miners.

At the time, Uncle Dave had no idea what it was, and like most kids, was totally grossed out by it.  The fish was baked in a deep dish in the oven while immersed in milk with lots of butter on top.  As Dave reflects "you have to appreciate that I was TOTALLY grossed out - mean - fish - swimming/floating in a bath of milk - I felt that some things were just 'wrong" - and that was one of 'em."

But now as an adult, he thinks about how hard John had to work not only to find the cod, but to prepare it. Cod is the common name for the Genus of fish Gadus. Cod is a popular food fish with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense white flesh that flakes easily. Its relative, the Haddock, also has a firm white flesh, and although the two can be cooked in similar ways, Haddock cannot be salted like Cod.  Which means to preserve it, it has to be either smoked or dried.  Haddock and Cod, being cold, salt-water fish, are predominantly found in the Northern Atlantic.  Which makes both fish the primary ingredients in those wonderful United Kingdom Fish N' Chips - and hence the Irish ancestry of the Fin & Haddie.

Something Uncle Dave may not know is that the Fin & Haddie of his childhood is most likely derived from the form of smoked haddock known as Finnan Haddie, named for the fishing village of Findon in Scotland.,where it was originally cold-smoked over peat. Finnan Haddie is often served poached in milk for breakfast.   Interestingly enough, Fin & Haddie is still found on dinner tables in New England.  In Maine, it's evolved to fresh haddock, creamed and served with peas and potatoes.

Now we can promise you that we're not going to be poaching Fin & Haddie for breakfast - but we can promise some awesome fish dishes. Please check our menu, posted daily, to see the extra offerings during the season of Lent, www.ffgrill.com.