Some of you may know Andrea Trent as the multi-talented Member Experience Specialist who’s helped you to do everything from effortlessly managing your next box of seafood to walking you through how to get the skin on your salmon fillet Michelin-level crispy.
As a Member Experience Specialist, Andrea often draws upon her experience working as a chef at Boston’s South End Formaggio Kitchen, as well as her experience as a chef instructor, to guide our members with characteristic aplomb and culinary joie de vivre. Though Andrea has since traded in her chef coat for a cozy Wild Alaskan Company hoodie (the one that many of us practically live in), she’s as enthusiastic as ever about helping our members make delicious meals. In her words, “We’re gonna do this together, we’re gonna have a good time, and you’re gonna enjoy your meal.”
To that end, Andrea has shared with us her recipe for Lemon-Herb Compound Butter, a multi-purpose herbed condiment made with regular butter, fresh aromatics and just enough acidity to complement any variety of wild-caught seafood (and side dishes, too)! Andrea developed her easy, accessible recipe for Lemon-Herb Compound Butter to be your literal secret sauce for any seafood meal. Our team used the herbed butter to make this recipe for Steamy Pacific Halibut with Lemon-Herb Compound Butter, but you can find a few other serving suggestions as well as the recipe for Andrea’s Lemon-Herb Compound Butter on our blog as well.
To thank the chef with a little virtual toast, we’re sharing a fun chat we had with Andrea this week about butter and beyond.
First of all, why butter?
Because it can elevate your dish, but it’s not hard. Butter is just really accessible for a home cook, unlike a sauce that you’d find at a restaurant. Sure, you can make a bernaise sauce at home, but why would you?
Instead, you could roast a piece of fish, put a piece of compound butter on it and let it ooze down, and then serve it to your guests. They’ll say, “Oh my goodness! This is so niiiiice, you must have worked so hard on this!” And you’re like, “I literally just let some butter come to room temperature on my counter and put some stuff in it.” Dried dill, dying parsley, some grated garlic, and off you go!
What’s your cooking philosophy?
To me, if I have to do it everyday, it might as well be a nice experience.
That being said, I have almost 20 years of cooking experience (including 10 years professionally) and I still screw things up! But one thing I learned is that if I mess this up this one time, it’s fine, because I can do it again. There’s no point in having a panic attack over food, because you can just try again tomorrow. That was how I approached teaching.
Worst case scenario? It doesn’t taste great, but you get the nutrients from it, and then you try it again, and it’ll be better.
Also, butter hides a multitude of sins! Let’s say you overcooked your fish. That’s okay! Slather enough butter on it…
What is your favorite part about working with Wild Alaskan Company?
A huge part of Wild Alaskan is that it’s sustainable, it’s wild caught, and I get to connect people to things that are good for them and pull back that anxiety around cooking, when they’re new to cooking fish. It’s gonna be okay!
We also have members on the other end of the spectrum who are experienced cooks, and those people are fantastic too because I’ll be like, “Oh have you tried this?” And they’re like, “Yes!” or “No, I haven’t, LET ME TRY IT!” I have so many fun, fantastic, creative back-and-forth conversations with our members.
No matter who I’m chatting to, I love that “Ohhhh!” moment when you’re able to really put the pieces together around cooking seafood.
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Live Wild,
Monica
P.S. I’ve been energized by the outpouring of stories that you sent me in honor of Women’s History Month.
A couple of you remembered your first introduction to the culture, strength, and resilience of Native Alaskans. Another recalled a family friend, Vuka Stepovich, an immigrant from Yugoslavia who would eventually raise one of her children to become a governor of Alaska. And one of you told of a legal victory that a group of female attorneys had won in order to have the right to enjoy the fantastic view at a rooftop restaurant in Anchorage — previously a men’s only club. An especially notable member shared how her Great Aunt Polly helped to establish a library in Eagle River, AK. Polly, as some of you may know, is Arron’s grandmother. :)
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your stories with me and the Wild Alaskan team!
Pictured above: Pacific halibut cheeks (which some of you were able to snag this week as a member special!) on a bed of the season’s first green beans, topped with coins of lemon-herb compound butter. This will get wrapped up and steamed to perfection “en papillote” — a simple, low-effort meal infused with complex flavors.
