It is with a huge relief that I say wedding planning is wrapping up! (PHEW!) But what a journey! It’s now been over a year since we got engaged and started to plan our future together, and this past weekend was no exception. Frankie got his ring in on Thursday (CHECK!), Saturday morning I had my first dress fitting (CHECK! CHECK!), and since I got my invitations 4 days early, those went out on Saturday afternoon (CHECK CHECK CHECK!!)! Now all that’s left—big ticket item wise—is getting the actual ceremony finalized (readings, vows, musical interludes during the ceremony depending on the structure of the ceremony, etc.), so I think we’re in a pretty good spot with only 87 days left to go! I still need to order place cards for the actual day, but I have to impatiently wait for all the RSVP’s to come in before I can do that…thankfully, I have my upcoming Bridal Shower(s) to look forward to in the meantime! But onto the food!
During my second visit to the Farmer’s Market, I always expect there to be at least one meat booth, and sure enough, there I came across Jake’s Country Meats, and I bought myself two very large chicken breasts (which I have yet to do anything with as of yet). But lo and behold, they were also selling Wild-Caught Great Lakes fish! So, I happened to snag myself a couple beautiful filets of trout, whitefish, and salmon! I was really excited about the trout because I don’t see it very often, and most of the time it’s farmed or ridiculously priced. If memory serves me right, I paid $30 for all the fish and chicken, and you never pass up a good deal when you see one!
In terms of finding a recipe for the fish, since I figured if I couldn’t find anything that looked interesting, I was going to stick with basic pan searing, I turned to Eddie, who has been fishing up a storm in Colorado on the weekends when he isn’t studying or doing homework. He put a recipe from Munchies on my radar for Trout and Green Bean Almondine, and if you remember a few months ago, I made their 3-hour Gumbo, which was DELICIOUS, so I went full speed ahead, and was not disappointed! Cooking the fish itself was exactly what my gut reaction said: keep it simple, a little butter (I used avocado oil, hello Whole30 and no smoke!) and a good solid sear on each side so that skin gets stupid crispy. And I can say without a doubt, that keeping things simple vs. elaborate almost always turns out for the better. I mean, I’m currently obsessively working my way through old episodes of Hell’s Kitchen, and the 5-ingredient 5-star dish challenge always proves that sometimes less really is more. You need to highlight a star ingredient? Highlight it, and don’t cover it with a bunch of unneeded excess. As I’ve said before, I don’t cook fish often, but this was so totally worth it, and it came out better than a lot of fish dishes I’ve eaten out at restaurants! Frankie found it smelled a little too fishy (he is trying different kinds of fish, which is more important than not trying any at all, especially since we’re trying to cook Whole30 at home 90-95% and fish is a great source of lean protein), but he still really enjoyed it!
I didn’t make the potatoes because I had a corn risotto craving like none other, and frankly, the risotto went really, really well with the fish and green beans! I will say I’m not going to include parmesan in the risotto next time. It was too strong and completely overpowered the corn…or I’ll only add a sprinkle, but not ¼ cup like they say, especially if I’m making this with FRESH corn! I want the corn to be the star, not the cheese, but these things you learn as you go, am I right? But if you’re wanting to try something a little bit more outside the box, this is the fish recipe to try! – Cooking Maggie
Trout Almondine from Munchies
Corn Risotto from NY Times Cooking
The Real Cooking Maggie 