Best Fish Fry Recipes

I just love a good fish fry and here are several coating recipes below that will be perfect for any kind of fish you like.


Where I grew up in Utica, New York our family loved to go out for a haddock fish fry every Friday night.


The competition for making the best fish fry in local restaurants was everywhere in my hometown, we just rotated and tried just about all of them.


Our hometown also had a market-style fish place we would go to and they would fry the fish right there and we just had to bring it home.


Those are some fond memories of growing up and we all just love fish fries and looked forward to them.


Living in Florida we go ocean fishing often and are lucky to have some fresh fish to cook mostly snook which is seasonal and redfish which can be caught all year.


I like a crispy bread coating on fish, mom loved a beer batter-fried or Italian coating.


Dad loved the flour-cornmeal style coating.


So here is a roundup of different recipes from Italian style, batter, and more that we developed over the years after moving to Florida to season and fry fish with.


Every one of these is a different coating to try and hard to choose which one we like the best.


Our favorite fish to eat is still haddock but again, cod, and grouper are good choices and any coating you choose will work with just about any fish you like.


I love all kinds of seafood, some of my other family's favorite recipes, especially on Christmas Eve when we make more than 7 fishes celebration!


You may also enjoy my Baked Fish with Roasted Vegetables or a delicious Cioppino which is a fish stew.


Scroll down to the recipe card to print it off and try one of the recipes that sounds good to you too!

Pumpkin Zucchini Spice Bars

I love summer and zucchini season, I also love fall the pumpkin season.


What better way than to incorporate two favorites into one moist flavorful cake like this pumpkin zucchini spice bar?


Did you know you can freeze your homegrown or store-bought shredded zucchini so when your pumpkin is ready in the fall you can make these delicious cake bars?


I have been freezing zucchini for years and enjoy using it all year long.


The combination of several spices used in these bars just shouts fall.


The comforting smells await you, don't miss trying this recipe.


If you adore pumpkin like we do, don't miss trying my pumpkin cheesecake cake mix bars or my pumpkin latte done in a slow cooker!


Scroll down to the printable recipe card, and see why these are the perfect fall spice bars.

Baked Eggplant Sinatra Florentine

This is a childhood favorite mom would make and is called Baked Eggplant Sinatra Florentine.

Making favorite foods of famous actors like Frank Sinatra was always a favorite hobby and challenge to mom and she would rush right into the kitchen to adapt it her own.

I can't remember what newspaper mom found this recipe in the '70s but it remains a family favorite so thanks, Frank Sinatra.

This sure is an oldie but really flavorful just bursting with melted cheesy eggplant topped with a fresh tomato sauce. I just love the flavors of each forkful.

Not sure the famous singer ever really loved this dish as the article but mom certainly loved it and we cherished the recipe she adapted with her own sauce and method of making eggplant.

This easy yet gourmet-style baked eggplant will certainly put a smile on any eggplant lover's face with approval.

Never seen this on a menu personally I had a reader send me an email stating she worked as a waitress in the famous Fontainebleau in Miami back in the 1960s and this was a popular menu item Sinatra often ordered when he ate there.

Scroll down for the printable vintage recipe.

Fruit Dumplings

Here is a basic dumpling recipe for any kind of fruit you love!

No matter what season it is, these dumplings are the perfect fruit dessert.

Whatever fruits you decide to use, they only will be more or less sugar to sweeten it!

This easy basic recipe can be made all from scratch or using a mix to shorten the time if you're in a hurry.

These dumplings are like an old-fashioned shortcake on top of a sweet baked fresh fruit.

You can even use canned fruits if fresh isn't available.

If you have never tried this baked dumpling version for a simple kind of cobbler, you're in for a super treat.

Scroll down to print out these simple instructions and I would love a comment on how you liked the recipe!

Italian Almond Paste Cookies Cafe Style

Italian Almond Paste Cookies Cafe Style cookies are one of my favorite Italian cookies, with a strong almond flavor they are a must-make and always on our cookie tray during the Christmas holiday baking cookie season.

When we visit our hometown in Central N.Y. (Utica, New York)one of our first stops is the Italian local bakeries which are very popular while sipping a cup of espresso and also in many European bakeries all over Italy.

The flavor is rich sweet fragrant using almond paste in the dough with a crunchy outside and chewy soft baked cookie inside.

These are classic and traditionally found on most Italian wedding cookie trays and certainly, one cookie you'll have etched in your memory if you love the flavor of almond.

Their texture is similar to a macaroon using egg whites and Almond Paste which we also make from scratch, the flavor is just fabulous!

The cookie has been made in our family for over 100 years and continues to be made through the generations of bakers.

Easy to mix, and roll into balls then decorated with pinole nuts of sliced almonds.

With the addition of sliced almonds, pistachios, or pignoli nuts to the top, they are decorated to the nines and just fabulous all the way around from top to bottom in richness and flavor.

Scroll down and print off this authentic traditional Italian Almond Paste Cookie recipe for the best cafe-style cookie you will ever bake!

French Bread Pizza

French Bread Pizza, is the quickest meal on the planet, everyone loves this pizza.

Thick crusty bread, delicious favorite toppings, no fuss, done in minutes!

Really the skies the limit folks, these are a 5-minute meal.

Leftovers? Here's a great way to use them.

Whether you're having a party, in a hurry or just love pizza this one for you!

Add any toppings you like, sauce cheese or other suggestions below and viola, instant pizza using french bread!

Of course, if you want to make the real deal with fresh pizza dough, then this may not fix your craving.

If you love pizza like we do, any way you serve it gets devoured.

Scroll down and print off my printable tips all the way to the bottom.

Cioppino Fish Stew

Cioppino stew is one of those fishermen's delights that have been around in my family for over 100 years.


Back in the 1960s we only had this on Christmas Eve for the Feast of 7 Fishes.


Seafood was quite pricy for us back then and things were a struggle and on a strict budget, mom and grandma always kept that tradition.


If you have never heard of Cioppino which is an Italian fish stew, and love seafood, you're in for a treat.


The stew originated in San Francisco, California, and is a popular Italian-American dish served there.


Fish stew is also referred to as Bouillabaisse (Provençal fish stew originating from Marseille, France) usually with onions and fennel, this doesn't have that in the recipe.


The stew is brimming with fresh seafood in a tomato and wine broth that tastes like the sea and is very versatile on what you can add.


This is very rich in flavor and found in the most expensive Italian restaurants on the menu.


Cioppino is a medley of delicious seafood, and you can add whatever you love in the fish family.


This dish is easy to make and has a rich tomato base that is perfect for sopping up the sauce with warm garlic bread or over a big dish of your favorite pasta.


A traditional fish made every Friday and family favorite was Fried Haddock and I still make it.


This is no doubt a fisherman's hearty old-fashioned stew and total comfort meal.


If you're a seafood lover, don't miss printing this recipe, scroll down and let's get cooking cioppino!

Pressure Cooker Beer Stew

I have to admit I had never used the pressure cooker mode before and boy was I missing out!


This beer stew was the fastest, juiciest meat cooked in this new Crock-Pot Express that I have ever eaten.


The biggest difference between using the slow cooker method is, that this pot can sear first so the meat is browned in the same pot and so easy!


After searing in around 4 to 5 minutes, add ingredients, set it, and viola, it cooks in 35 minutes as opposed to 5 to 6 hours in the slow cooker.


The meat is fork-tender, and adding a little thickening to the pot for 5 more minutes made the juices thick and perfect for dipping your bread in, isn't that the best part?


The crockpot express version has really upped their game with appliances and recently getting this as a gift, I am thrilled with mine.


You can slow cook, pressure cook, steam, make rice and homemade yogurt, brown, saute, and much more, all with this one “fancy” appliance.


It has the same features as an instant pot so if that's what you own, then just follow the same recipe ingredients and setting on yours.


Now, if you prefer not to use a beer in your stew using apple juice is a great substitution!


Make sure you follow the step-by-step instructions in the recipe card and scroll down to print them off.


Read everything in your manual before starting.

Pusties Pasticiotti Recipe

Italian Pusties Pasticiotti Pastry (or called Pasta Ciott) is usually made around Easter time and is a family custard-filled favorite tart.

Small little tarts made with sweet dough filled with cream or custard flavors of all kinds but most popular are vanilla cream or custard filling or chocolate cream and sometimes a ricotta cheese filling.

Very famous in Central New York where I grew up in Utica, where the best of the best Italian bakeries can be found.

During the year we do make these more than Easter time as they are a huge holiday favorite pastry along with Cannoli Pastries and Cassata (a traditional Italian Cheesecake)

Homemade is great, but the memories of the Utica bakeries always have that special place in my heart and the taste lingers in my mind.

For now, while living away these will have to be the best thing until I make a visit.

Scroll down for our family recipe for Pusties, Utica Style.

Mom's Italian Stuffed Pepper

Mom's Italian Stuffed Peppers are unique to the region she grew up in which was Bari, Italy.

The stuffed consisted of hard-boiled eggs with rice and meat and the perfect marriage of flavors inside the pepper.

The traditional recipes for stuffed peppers didn't include hard-boiled eggs.

Even though you could leave them out of her recipe, there were some slight differences.

No problem, if you were looking for that Traditional Italian Stuffed pepper recipe both of them are listed in recipe cards for you here.

I also included some photos of each.

Whichever way you like them, these are both delicious.

I will give you suggestions and you can adapt to them any way you prefer.

Scroll down to the bottom and print off Mom's recipe and the Traditional Italian Stuffed pepper recipe.

Glazed Pork Belly Burnt Ends

If you love pork and smoked meats, these glazed pork belly burnt ends are going to be epic to you!


When I first started cooking with my smoker, I had no idea I was going to love smoked foods as much as we all do.


We have smoked just about every meat there is.


Burnt ends made with pork belly is a favorite treat now especially for an appetizer, our guests devour them in an instant.


They're so soft tender and a little sweet, with a hot kick to them.


The recipe is very easy to make and the results are fantastic.


If you have a love for pork and smoked meats this is the one to try.


I really love our new electric smoker for easy precise cooking since everything is timed and makes it much easier than smoking on the grill.


The instructions easily can be done on your grill by adding the wood chips and following this recipe using a timer and getting the heat at the right temperature.


We have also used many kinds of wood chips, our favorite with pork is cherry wood for this recipe, but you can use any other kinds you like.


The glaze these are tossed in at the end, makes them mouth-watering and irresistible!


Scroll down to the recipe card and print off how to make these delicious burnt ends.

Zucchini Almond Poppy Seed Bundt Cake

I am obsessed with this zucchini almond poppy seed cake, one slice and you'll be hooked.


It's a unique tasting bundt cake that really so moist and delicious, it's addicting.


I honestly couldn't stop eating it even while still warm, it's the best tasting cake ever.


You don't have to even make a cake, this recipe is great for muffins, loaves and easily molds into any pan!


Seriously, no matter how you make this recipe, it's great plain, frosted or maybe just a sprinkle of powdered sugar.


Zucchini bread is one of my all-time favorite quick bread, and I make several and freeze them throughout the summer. all summer


This recipe was loved immediately here for zucchini desserts.


Chocolate zucchini bread has always been in the number one spot, this gave it a hefty competition.


One thing I need to say right off the bat, if you were expecting a fluffy light cake, this isn't it.


This cake is a heavier cake and I chose this pretty bundt pan because when sliced it cuts like a pound cake.


The almond flavoring with poppy seeds added is my favorite and a nice change to the lemon style zucchini bread all over the web.


Of course, if you want the classic lemon zucchini loaf, then just change the extract to lemon and add some zest.



Scroll down to the recipe, if you just want to get into your kitchen and bake this, there is a printable recipe card at the end.