Mario Batali’s Pollo Agrodolce or Sweet and Sour Chicken a l’Italiano

         I was recently involved in a Television program.  Every time I used a phrase that was French, (as in the expression “A certain je ne sais quoi”), the director would stop me and ask me to translate whatever I was saying into English.  He claimed that no one in America would understand a word I was saying. So I spoke English.  But even there I got into trouble using certain words.  Apparently, no one in America knows what a ‘cynosure’ is.  Or ‘grommets’.  Or ‘clerestory’.  I once read that the New York Times is written for an 8th grade reading level.  So why should I have been the least bit surprised that in Food and Wine magazine's February issue, they'd renamed Mario Batali’s classic recipe for Pollo Agrodolce "Sweet and Sour Chicken".

Crispy Flounder with Pears, Endive and Meyer Lemon

         My friend, Eric Lemonides, owns Almond Restaurant in Brideghampton and a second Almond on 22nd Street in the City.  Last Monday, when I went to his Bridgehampton address for dinner, he told me that one of the great off-season successes he's had is his  "Meatless Mondays" menu.  His chef, Jason Weiner, and Jason's gifted sous chef have devised all kinds of meatless menus.  So today, in their honor, I send you a meal so that you too can celebrate Meatless Mondays.
But even if it's not Monday, if you are looking for a quick fish dinner, look no further than this recipe, from the appropriately named “Make it Tonight--Just 30 minutes to dinner, start to finish” in Fine Cooking magazine.  It combines pears and endive along with either sole, if you’re feeling posh, or flounder if you aren’t.  Either fish will do but the ingredients you really must have are the Meyer Lemons. You'll end up with a plate of sunshine in the middle of a early Spring night.