THIS POST WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED ON NAPTIME DIARIES. ENJOY!
I’m the kind of gal who enjoys entertaining and honestly never saw it coming. A few years ago my husband and I moved to Denver to help plant a church and, through all that comes with church planting, ended up hosting many little events in our home. At first I was a mess, worried about the dog fur that lives EVERYWHERE, whether the food would be good, if everyone would be fed, if anyone would have fun.
And then? Well, honestly then God taught me how to give myself a little grace, and then having friends in our house was fun. A blast. And, when we moved to Arkansas, and we started over with making friends, it was weird and sad to not have people over.
Luckily we’ve been so blessed in the friends we’ve made in this gorgeous state and I’ve learned to perfect my imperfect entertaining again. Things that can be made ahead are HUGE, and this is no exception. Making things en papillote basically means you’re steaming it in a parchment paper or foil packet. Everything cooks at once, and when you’re served your little packet there’s a big puff of beautiful steam and voila! Perfectly cooked food!
This dish can be made with vegetables only, or you can use any good white fish you prefer. I used flounder because it was the freshest at my seafood counter that day, but tilapia or cod would be fantastic too. OR SHRIMP! The key is to season every layer and then fold the packet so that the steam stays in. I like to make a big pot of brown rice or quinoa to serve this on top of for a hearty and healthy meal you’ll love serving!
This is my idea of a perfect summer meal. I’ve slowly learned to love entertaining as well and stop worrying about how clean the house is and if the dishes match. Makes it much more fun when it’s not about performing or living up to a Martha Stewart standard.
Exactly! Entertaining means we get to have fun too 🙂
Love anything cooked en papillote…or, as we call it in my neck of the woods, “a hobo pack.” 😉 Looks good!
HA! Hobo pack is certainly more American-sounding 🙂
I’ve been looking for tilapia recipes. Everyone goes for salmon it seems, which I love, but it gets expensive to eat salmon all the time
You can use any fish you like – salmon if it’s on sale, tilapia the rest of the time 🙂 Hope you like it!