Leslie Bartosh, CEC, AAC, FMP

  Jerk Riverence Rainbow trout with Thai style salad. Years ago, I had the pleasure of visiting Negril Jamaica.   The resort I stayed at, had a good Chef.   The food was fresh, vibrant, good, and very tasty.   No matter the meal, it was all prepared with care and pride. This was my first exposure to Jerk style cooking.   Today as I think back on it, I remember the delightful balance between spice and the flavor of pimento (all spice).   Sometime after my visit, I found some premade Jerk spice mixtures.   They weren’t the same as what I had in Jamaica but were good none the less. Today when I want Jerk style food, I use my own Jerk seasoning mixture.   Usually, I will use it on fish. When I “Jerk” fish, I like to do so over lump charcoal.   In Jamaica of course, this would be done over pimiento wood.   If the weather or time does not permit cooking on the Jerk on the grill, I will either broil or saut é the item.   Even, though it is not quite as tasty as Jerk prepared ov

Pesce alla Marinara su Orzo Many cultures have dishes that revolve around some kind of seafood being cooked in a tomato sauce.   Sometimes the dishes are stews, sometimes they are a soup, other times the dish is a braise or poach of some sort.   For this dish I wanted to do something different.   I was not in the mood for a soup or stew.   I also wanted to use food I had on hand to avoid a trip to the grocery store. I had Riverence Rainbow Trout on hand.   I have prepared their steel head and rainbow in a variety of ways that we have greatly enjoyed.   Still, I wanted to do something different. In the theme of fish cooked in tomato sauce, I have previously prepared steel head trout in a bouillabaisse style sauce and in a putanesca style sauce.   Thinking about these dishes launched me in the direction of fish in marinara sauce.   From there it was a function of deciding on the accompaniments.     We have used orzo in a variety of fish dishes and like it so it seemed a natura

  Pecan Encrusted Riverence USA Rainbow Trout on Crawfish Risotto with Asparagus. I had been thinking for a while about risotto.   Caused in part, I am sure, by some frozen crawfish stock I had in my freezer.   I had made the stock, using leftover crawfish bodies, for another dish.   Not one to waste stock, I froze the remainder.   As I was thinking about the risotto, Riverence USA was kind enough to send me some of their wonderful Rainbow Trout.   The idea of serving the Rainbow Trout on the Risotto was hatched. At first, I thought about seasoning the Rainbow Trout with a Thai spice seasoning mixture and bronzing it.   After all, the crawfish stock had some spice to it.   But, then I started thinking about terroir and crawfish and Louisiana and ………..The infamous light bulb lit up and this dish was born.   The whole dish was fairly easy to produce.   I preheated the oven. I thawed/heated the stock on the stove top. While this was happening, I blanched the asparagus in

  Having survived the freeze of 2022, we decided we needed a preview of summer. This meal of grilled Riverence steel head trout, fresh corn on the cob and salad was just right to get us in a summer frame of mind. The trout was simply seasoned with lemon pepper and griddled. #LifeLongLearning #LifeLongTeaching #FamilyFood   As always, your comments or questions are welcome. Until next time, Bon Appetit Y'all  Leslie Bartosh