The Inspired Plate

Welcome to June's edition of The Inspired Plate! 

I loved this month's challenge.. it forced my hand at not just styling a fish photo, but it was the first time I purchased a whole trout to cook without the help of my mom.. and fisherman dad. The hunt for a whole fish came easier than I expected. My first stop was at one of our favorite restaurants, Fish House Vera Cruz in Temecula. They have a fresh fish counter that is stocked daily with fish fare from the Pacific Coast. Our visit that particular evening had my mind set on purchasing oysters to make, style and photograph our favorite appetizer, Oysters Rockafeller. Such a beautiful dish with it's parmesan cream and spinach topped oyster meat in a pearlescent shell. It's a full burst of flavor.. an ambrosia fit for Kings. 

My decision making for TIP challenges though would drive anyone a bit crazy.. It wasn't until last week's challenge count down that I was at a grocery store on the opposite side of town that shocked me with their fresh fish counter and beautiful whole trout for only $4.95 a lb. Originally when I set up these challenges, my mind set was on whole fish. I have seen them captured in food photo's among the best culinary magazines and I knew that was what I wanted to attempt. It took nearly 1 second to order those babies all ready and gutted from the fish monger. I was a happy gal.

The recipe.. well that was another decision I put off till the last minute. I actually shot my raw image before I knew what I was cooking. That doesn't always play well when you have "before and after" images. I used ingredients in my refrigerator for the raw photo's.. and then I realized that my recipe had to utilize those same ingredients. My hunt for baked whole trout proved successful among some of the great recipes at the Food Network web site. It fit perfectly and adjusted well to the ingredients on hand. I did change a few details.. I made lemon shallot oil instead of butter, and used basil instead of thyme. The rest of the recipe was kept as Yolanda Banks had written. I hope you enjoy this post.

Please be sure to visit the rest of "The Inspired Plate" gals.. they work so hard and really apply themselves to learn and perfect the art of food styling and photography. It is such a joy working with them and seeing their monthly challenge interpretations. 

To see what The Inspired Plate Challenges have previously posted, click on the link HERE! 

Next up in our blog circle is my dear friend Kim Kelly at Liv Life | San Diego, CA | Food and Travel Writer. I LOVE this gal.. she is a talented writer as well as recipe creator, a busy mom and wife, and developer of ducktape wonder costumes for her daughter's dance team. She always amazes me with how much she can get done in the limited hours of her day. Love you Kim!!