Friday, May 4, 2012

FFWD Almond Flounder Meuniere



It's been another crazy week.  We flew in from visiting my grandma in Florida early Monday morning.  After a weekend of doing nothing but eating, I knew I'd want a quick and relatively-healthy dinner.  This dish sounded perfect.  I went shopping for fish on my lunch break and couldn't find baby flounder (I actually don't think I've ever seen baby flounder, I'll be very curious to see if anyone managed to find it) but sole was on sale so I bought sole fillets instead.  Because I was in a lazy mood, I used some almond meal instead of grinding up almonds.  It was quick and coated the fish very well, but I think next time I might grind the almonds myself.  I wish the dish had a little more texture.  I also used a meyer lemon, because that's what I had in the fridge.  I really liked the flavor it added.

I served this fish with a big salad, which sounded great to me after a weekend without vegetables.  We're still struggling to keep up with all of the lettuce Paul has been growing.  We've eaten salad at every meal (except for breakfast!) this week, but it's growing faster than we can eat it.  I think we're definitely going to start giving some away.  I know it's healthy, and Paul said he likes eating salad at every meal, but to be honest I'm getting a little tired of it.  Anyway, after I finished cooking the fish and plating it with the salad, I put it on the table and took out the camera to take quick photos before we started eating.  I tried to turn the camera on and realized I had forgotten to charge the battery, again!  I was too hungry and tired to care so we ate dinner anyway.


After dinner (during which I charged the battery), I decided I'd try to take photos of the extra pieces of fish.  I was about to put them on a plate, when Paul came in and said that all of my photos are boring and unimaginative and that I need to worry more about staging.  He's completely right.  I'm terrible at photography, and at this I point really see taking the photos as the last thing in the way of getting to eat, but this was not the night for me to work on my photography skills.  So, Paul decided to put the fish back in the cast iron skillet and take photos himself.  Next time I make this dish - and there will be a next time, I'm always looking for quick and easy fish dishes - I'll hopefully be more motivated and practice taking some photos myself!

18 comments:

  1. This reminds me that I've had "cook with fish" on my to-do list for so long (I have never ever cooked a fish. I don't think canned tuna counts..I'm such an inexperienced cook!)
    This looks delicious! I don't have photography skills at all, so I know what you're feeling. But the photos turned out great too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It took me many years to try cooking fish at home. I was so afraid of it. I still sort of am - it's so easy to over cook - but this is a nice recipe to try. The fish cooks so quickly there's less risk of it drying out.

    ReplyDelete
  3. LOL...my husband just wants me to get the food in front of him and stop taking photos :) Yes, this was another winner...and that last photo is wonderful~

    ReplyDelete
  4. The photos tend to be hardest part for me. I see how creative everyone else is and I always tell myself that I need to try a little harder. But there is no job waiting for me in food styling. What you see on my blog is how it looked just before I was about to eat it. With the same darn plates, napkins, and placemats.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm no good at staging, either. The photo really is an obstacle standing in the way of my meal. As for texture, you should def try it after grinding your own nuts. Mine was nicely chunky.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Photos are the worst, everyone is waiting for the their food and my sous chef complains I take too long to take the photos. And, the lighting at night, when most of us who work during the day are doing the dishes is most challenging. I've bought two books on food photography and still feel like I'm hitting my head against the wall.

    The fish looks great in the cast iron skillet, and I agree that this was delicous!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I really thought this was a simple way to make the fish. I like coating one side only,
    but I almost lost it trying to flip the fish. I think my pieces were a bit too small.
    Frustrating about your camera, but those things happen. The fish does look good
    and I'm glad you enjoyed it. Tricia and I both like this one and will be doing it again soon.

    ReplyDelete
  8. How ambitious that you fit this in between your trips. Despite all the butter, this did feel like a healthy meal. I think your photos are fine, but I know how you feel. I feel the same about my photos. It doesn't help that my husband is critical and gives me similar feedback to what Paul gave you. However, when I let him take photos, I always like mine better... I am intrigued by Christy's mention of books on food photography.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Your dish looks delicious! I will definitely cook this again. Dont worry about the photos, they look alright to me ..when I started my blogging, my kids and hubby will also comment on my pictures but now they will not laugh at me any more...practice makes perfect :) Have a nice weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  10. haha! I have the same problem with my photography...! I need to work harder to make things look nicer and use more natural night - although I do most of my cooking and baking at night... Ugh. Great job though!

    ReplyDelete
  11. How cute! It's nice to see the husband's get in on the act. :) It's fun to style, but really sometimes there isn't time and it is nice to just take photos and not think about it. Your fish looks so good. I think you would like the texture that grinding the nuts yourself would give it because you can control how fine you want them.

    ReplyDelete
  12. It can be very hard to feel "photographic" when its time to get dinner on the plate.
    I thought it was clever that you used almond meal - that makes this dish even easier.

    ReplyDelete
  13. It was hard to wait to eat this while photographing it, so I can understand what you're saying. Especially with this dish--very tasty.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Meh, I'm positive my photos are boring. I just want to get a clear shot!

    ReplyDelete
  15. The photo is usually the hardest part of this project! I didn't find baby flounder. Mine was regular adult flounder:)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh my, now I have to go back and re-think my photographs. It's difficult to be a cook and a writer and a photographer all in one. That's a little too much pressure for me. Most important of all is the making and eating. And, you looked as if you both enjoyed that.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Salad from your own garden and fresh fish that looks delicious and that you both enjoyed - what more could you possibly ask for - wonderful!

    ReplyDelete