When I was a pre-teen, one of my favorite things to eat was a McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish.

Hey, don’t judge. I was very young.

(And why the heck the French term for “fillet” is used for this fast-food item is anyone’s guess.)

There was just something so comforting about that squishy bun that held a golden square of fried fish smothered in tangy tartar sauce.

I even remember how my best friend and I, chilled to the bone as we hoofed it to the mall one blustery, foggy, Saturday afternoon, decided to make a pit-stop at Mickey D’s to get a a fish sandwich to-go. As we continued our trudge in wind and cold (OK, no knee-deep snow), we alternated bites of the sandwich between the two of us. And darned if its warmth didn’t fill us with the fortitude necessary to brave the sales racks at the stores.

Older, wiser, and hopefully making more healthful food choices now, I don’t even remember the last time I ate one of those sandwiches.

But thanks to Martha Stewart, I can now partake of a much better version of it.

Yes, consider this a home-made version a Fillet-O-Fish with a bona fide Martha seal of approval.

“New England Fish Sandwiches” is from her new cookbook, “Martha Stewart’s Grilling: 125+ Recipes for Gatherings Large and Small” (Clarkson Potter), of which I received a review copy.

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