Monkfish

I guess this is becoming cooking-from-my-childhood week. First it was King Cake, from my time in New Orleans. Last night it was monkfish, which I was introduced to when I lived in Norway. Monkfish quickly became my favorite fish due to its firm texture and delectable flavor. It's nickname is Poor Man's Lobster. It doesn't taste like lobster, but it certainly has the texture of it. I love monkfish, but it is very hard to find in Texas. And when I can find it? It costs a small fortune.

When driving home from my meeting last week with Meredith, I took a wrong turn due to road construction that confused me. I wound up by a new grocery store called Market Street, so I decided to go in. (Just so you know, it's dangerous to the budget to go in to browse through a new grocery store. I was throwing things in my basket willy-nilly.)

I was drawn to the fish counter at the back of the store. There, prominently displayed at the front, was monkfish. Not only that, but it was on sale. I debated whether or not to buy it. While it was a bargain (for monkfish) at $13.99 a pound, it was still way more than I typically spend on any one food item for a meal. But after getting into a discussion about it with the fish guy and the woman handing out salmon samples, I threw budgetary caution (further) to the wind and bought some.

Oh, it was so worth it! I used this recipe, which was good, but in the future, I think I'll add some white wine to it for better flavor. My husband who isn't particularly fond of fish even declared monkfish very good! I served cumin rice alongside it.

Sometimes, it's nice to spend more for something special.