Once a year my husband escapes to the wilds of New Hampshire for a little "man time".  This is entirely understandable. Everyday he negotiates his way around a bathroom full of hair straighteners, curlers and dryers, not to mention baskets overflowing with pink shimmering body lotions and a spectrum of nail polish colors from florescent lime green to dark fuschia.

Poor man, a weekend in the woods with his best pal was called for.  He dusted off his fishing pole and hauled out his tackle box, being careful not to twist his ankle tripping over the Barbie accessories and headed for the door.  He waved goodbye and shouted his farewells over the pounding refrain of High School Musical III.  While he headed off to the wilds of NH (White Mountains), the older girls and I headed off to engage wildlife of a different sort, at the mall, prom dress shopping.

A few days later he arrived home with a cooler full of brook trout (also known as "speckled" trout) and a large rainbow trout.  They were beautiful fish.  My first instinct was to stuff and bake these little beauties, but I ended up breading and frying them and I'm glad I did.  They were delicious.

When you're lucky enough to come across some gleaming fresh trout, here's a srumptious way to deal with them.

Brook trout
1 cup of dried breadcrumbs
a large handful of fresh herbs, such as parsley or oregano
2 eggs
salt and pepper
olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter
2-3 lemons

Pat the fish dry with paper towels.

Dip in the egg and then roll in the breadcrumbs.

Heat the oil and butter in a large saute pan, when hot and bubbling place the fish in the pan.

Saute for about 4-5 minutes on each side until the breadcrumbs are golden and the fish is just cooked through.

Remove to a warm serving platter, squeeze over lemon juice and sprinkle over fresh herbs.

I served this with roast potatoes and green beans drenched in butter and lemon.


I really think I'm going to have to ask him to go back next weekend for more.