Dinner For One: Trout

I decided to stop into the Lobster Man today (Bleecker St.) for a fillet of salmon that I've treated myself with before. It comes to between 6-7 dollars for a single (but perfect) portion, and it's good smothered in mustard and baked. It's kind of a lot, I know, but whatever, it's worth it.

WELL, today I noticed my favorite bony fish tucked away in the back of the icing shelf for 6.95/lb. Brook Trout! I took an ample single serving sized whole fishy home for 3.95.

Success! Spread the dijon on top, sprinkle on thyme, broil in the oven for something under 10 minutes, take it out and place it over a bed of pan wilted rainbow chard. And eat. Not too bony today either. Now if I can only figure out how to get the whole fish off the pan in one piece.

-R

Lemon and Thyme Roast Chicken Legs over Sweet Potato Gnocchi and Summer Sqash with Brown Butter!

Tonight's dinner for two.

Things learned:

1. I was correct in assuming that if I slow roasted the chicken at a lower temperature for a while and then cranked the heat at the end, it would produce both succulently fall-off-the-bone-moist flesh and crispy shiny skin! Success!

2. Sweet Potato Gnocchi are really sticky. Use lots and lots of flour. The consistency of a sweet potato is, indeed, a bit gloopier and wetter than that of a regular potato. Otherwise, I found that it can be subsituted into a regular gnocchi recipe just fine. Mine included just sweet potato, flour, and one egg, although some call for ricotta cheese which must be lovely x20!

3. Italian flat leaf parsley makes anything look/taste good. As does a lemon wedge.

4. Pouring the chicken-y contents of your roasting pan over your whole meal just before serving is a good idea.

5. Big Apple Meat Market (Right next to Stile's farmers market!) sells really cheap meat!!!!!!!

IN FACT:

Let's do a rundown, shall we?

2 Chicken Legs (1.97!)

1/2 Summer Sqash (.20)

2 Sweet Potatoes (.44)

1 Lemon (.20)

... everything else I had on me, but all basics (flour, garlic, parsley...). You get the point.

-R