When Hubby Gives You Trout....

Uhh...cook it within three days! No, really if you've read any of my previous posts, you'd know my husband loves to fish. I can't imagine the fascination, but whatever makes him happy!! Anyway, last week he came home with a lot of trout, and a lot more smoked trout. Now, the fresh trout I know how to fix, but what to do with all this smoked trout? I asked him what he wanted me to do with the smoked trout, and he said, "Feed it to me". Brilliant, isn't he? ;)

After a little thought, I decided to make a Smoked Trout Frittata. I've seen recipes for a Smoked Salmon Frittata, so I figured I'd just substitute the fish. After a little more rooting around in the refrigerator, I ended up substituting out most ingredients (except the eggs, of course!). I really think that's the beauty of a frittata - kinda rustic and use what you've got on hand! Heaven knows, with this egg CSA I've gotten myself into, I sure have enough eggs!! So, here's a photo of my Smoked Trout Frittata with the recipe:

Smoked Trout Frittata

3 T vegetable oil

Flaked trout from 1 -2 smoked trout fillets (1 if large, 2 if smaller)

6 green onions (1 bunch) chopped, both white and green parts

1 small container of mushrooms, cleaned and chopped

8 eggs

2 T milk

2 T heavy cream

1/2 (8 oz) package cream cheese, cubed

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Crushed red pepper flakes to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Heat oil in a large, oven proof skillet (I used a 10" cast iron skillet). Add green onions and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring until onions are soft. Add the smoked trout , cook briefly to release flavors.

In a medium bowl, whisk eggs together with milk and cream. Pour over the trout and vegetables and stir gently. Scatter cubes of cream cheese over the top. Cook over medium heat without stirring, until the edges appear firm.

Place the skillet in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until nicely browned and puffed. If you prefer, slide onto a serving platter. I just serve straight from the cast iron pan.

Just in case you've never cooked trout before, here's my favorite recipe (or really method) for serving it. Trout is excellent served with homemade coleslaw and cornbread, but last weekend we grilled a thick steak and had a "surf and turf" meal.

Pan Fried Trout

In a small dish, pour some milk (I like to use buttermilk). In another dish, pour some cornmeal. Season the cornmeal lightly with a dash of cayenne pepper and a pinch of salt. Dip cleaned trout in milk, then roll in cornmeal. Collect all your trout fillets and fry in about a 1/4" vegetable oil (again, a cast iron skillet is excellent for this). Fry about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove to a paper towel lined dish and serve immediately with fresh lemon wedges. Enjoy!

Garden Update

Wow, my garden is really taking off!! I've come to realize my tomato cages aren't big enough!! Uh-Oh! :) Anyway, here are a couple of fun update photos - hope you enjoy!!

My first zucchini (the part just behind the flower). I've learned alot about zucchini this year. The plant has both "male" and "female" flowers that need to be pollinated. Usually bees do this, but with the shortage of bees anymore, it may be necessary to hand pollinate them yourself (this is true of all the squashes). So each morning out I go with little cotton swabs. This is the first one I got to pollinate (I feel like a fertility doctor!! LOL!!)

Here's the beginning of my first cucumber. Isn't it adorable? (I'm such a proud parent!!). I didn't have to pollinate them - they know what to do!! I can't wait until I can make some bread and butter pickles!

Tomorrow I'm going to post my menu/recipes for the upcoming 4th of July. I don't have photos of all the recipes, but I don't think you'll be disappointed!!