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Tampa Woman Hungers To Set The Hook Into Fish Cakes

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By JEFF HOUCK

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 11, 2008

"If anyone knows the answer to this, it would be you!" writes Pauline R. of Tampa. "Where can I find fish cakes?

"Are there any restaurants that you know of that make them?" she writes. "I would even settle for the frozen fish cakes in a box, but not a single grocery store in Tampa sells them. In Boston, everyone had fish cakes and baked beans. Where are the fish cakes??"

I feel your pain, Pauline. The desperation in your note is real. It will come as a shock to know that Florida is no Massachusetts when it comes to cuisine, just as Massachusetts is no Florida when it comes to weather and water activities. Sure Massachusetts has Cape Cod, but it's only worth visiting for, what, two weeks a year? What fun is it to walk the beach in a parka?

And while I appreciate your faith in my fish cake finding, I have to admit to a lack of culinary GPS abilities in that department. Perhaps a friendly reader will have a few leads.

As for the baked beans, have you tried our frijoles negros? They're wicked good.

Looking For Good Bar

"At a memorial Mass recently, we were served refreshments, and one of the items was a square of what looked like chocolate on top, but when you bit into it, it was like an Almond Joy candy bar," Marie Cisarik of Spring Hill writes.

The dessert had a base to it, plus coconut in the middle, with chocolate on top, with a sliver or whole almond, Cisarik says.

"Everyone in the group wanted to know how to make them, and if you could find a recipe, we would appreciate receiving it."

We didn't have anything in our files fitting that exact description. Maybe someone out there has a recipe to offer. In the meantime, here's a recipe for Almond Joy Bars we found on the CDKitchen Web site.

For the record, Almond Joy first was introduced in 1946 by the Peter Paul Candy Manufacturing Co. in New Haven, Conn. Hershey Foods purchased the company's U.S. operations in 1988.

Crazy For The Croutons

Marlene Stiff of Zephyrhills is looking for the recipe for Outback Steakhouse's croutons.

"They are the best I've ever eaten," she writes.

Nice to know we have a crouton connoisseur among the column's readership. Can anyone help her out?

ALMOND JOY BARS

1/2 cup shortening

3 tablespoons cocoa

3 eggs

11/4 cup sugar

1 cup flour

14 ounces sweetened condensed milk

2 cups flaked coconut

1/2 cup sliced almonds

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted

3 cups confectioners' sugar

1/3 cup cream or milk

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine shortening, cocoa, eggs, sugar and flour. Spread in 13-by-9-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Stir together sweetened condensed milk, coconut and almonds. Spread over partially baked, hot crust. Return to oven for 15 minutes more. Let cool.

Combine chocolate, confectioners' sugar, cream, butter, salt and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Spread over coconut layer.

Looking for a recipe? Write to Jeff Houck, The Tampa Tribune, P.O. Box 191, Tampa FL 33601; or e-mail jhouck@tampatrib.com. Recipes are not tested. Keyword: Recipes, for more recipes and to check out our online archive Looking for a recipe? Write to Jeff

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