There are a lot of ways to prepare fish, but poaching is the most foolproof method and is ridiculously delicious. Poaching the fish keeps it from becoming too dry, helps it cook more evenly and adds flavor. In this recipe, I show you how to make a wonderful butter, white wine, and parmesan trout. This recipe is equally good with salmon. With salmon, I would omit the parmesan and use lots of garlic and onion powder and a heavy hand of dill. With any fish, just add the seasonings of your choice. I always add a touch of cream at the end to make it absolutely luscious. One could just do without the cream, substitute vegetable broth for the white wine, or olive oil for the butter. Cooking is purely intuitive and this recipe is super versatile.

• Melt three tablespoons of butter in frying pan over medium heat.
• Season two pieces of fish well with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
• (Cooking tip!) Use scissors to cut fish to fit in the pan.
• Sauté until fish is cooked half way up the fish (by looking at it).
• Flip it for a few minutes (trout takes very little time to cook).
• Flip back over and pour in a good bit of white wine (about half way up the fish).
• Place lid on and reduce white wine about a third.

Here’s the thing about this recipe, you can’t really mess it up. Place a fork through to see if it easily sinks into the fish. If it is hard to get through, the fish isn’t cooked. Go about making your side dishes because the liquid is going to keep the fish nice and moist.

• Pour in a little bit of cream and top with parmesan. Salt and pepper to taste.

I made a roasted vegetable panzanella as the side, but mashed potatoes would have been delicious topped with that butter sauce. Enjoy!