Summary: [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="460"]Chef Cindy Haenel, photo by Cecilia Nasti, www.fieldandfeast.com[/caption] This is Passport to Texas with support from the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program If you’re tired of turkey leftovers already, maybe you can find a fishing hole and reel in something tasty during your Thanksgiving break. Chef Cindy Haenel says there’s nothing like catching your own dinner. 09—It’s fabulous. I know exactly how old that fish is, when it came out of the water and how long it’s been dead. And that’s important with fish especially. Fresh is always best. Cindy is a chef instructor at Central Market in Austin. She and her husband Ken are avid anglers. 08—I love the saltwater as well as freshwater. But the saltwater you have more variety. You never know what you’re going to pull up. It’s exciting – like Christmas morning. Immediately put your catch on ice, and if there’s a cleaning station on shore, consider doing the dirty work there. Chef Cindy says be careful not to overcook your fresh fish. 22—Most people, if they don’t like the taste of fish, it’s probably because they’ve overcooked it. And, as it cooks, and the oil of the fish starts to come out of the flesh, it burns very, very quickly. So, if you will under cook your fish, or protect that fish with either a salt crust, or even if it just has a little butter, or some kind of fat on the outside it still protecting that fish while it’s cooking. Find fish recipes from Chef Cindy as well as a link to the Fish Texas e-Newsletter at passporttotexas.org… The Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series and works to increase fishing and boating opportunities in Texas. For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti. ______________________________________________ Trout Amandine 8 (4-ounce) lake or rainbow trout fillets 1 egg 1 cup milk 1 cup flour Salt and pepper 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 4 tablespoons butter 1 cup (about 6 ounces) sliced, blanched almonds Handful fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped 1 lemon, wedged Directions Heat a large skillet over moderate heat. Combine egg and milk in a tin pie plate, beat with a fork. Place a cup of flour in a second pie tin and season well with salt and sparingly with pepper. Coat trout fillets in egg and milk, then in seasoned flour. Collect fillets on a wire rack until all of them are dredged and ready to be cooked. Add 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil to your skillet. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons butter to the pan. When the butter foams, add trout and gently saute 4 fillets for 2 or 3 minutes on each side, until golden. Transfer trout fillets to warm platter in oven. Return pan to the stove and add 1/2 tablespoon extra-virgin oil and 1 1/2 tablespoons butter. When butter foams, repeat cooking process. When all of the trout is cooked, add last tablespoon of butter to the pan. When the butter melts, add almonds and brown until lightly golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove trout from oven and pour almonds over the platter. Garnish platter with chopped parsley, lemon wedges, and serve immediately. Serves 4 _____________________________________ _____________________________________ Salt Crusted Whole Fish Ingredients: 3 egg whites 2 cups sea salt 2 cups all-purpose flour 3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley 1/2 cup water 1 (2 1/2-pound) fresh whole white fish, such as striped bass 2 tablespoons julienned sun-dried tomatoes 1 tablespoon chopped kalamata olives 2 tablespoons chopped artichoke hearts 2 slices lemon, sliced in half, plus more for garnish 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper Directions: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, trimmed to extend 3-inches in diameter around outside of the fish. In a medium bowl, combine the egg whites
