Add me to the poor kitchen lighting list. A couple of weeks ago, the main overhead light fixture conked out. Haven’t gotten around to replacing it yet. Instead, using auxiliary lights overhead,
Dinner tonight was a celebration. Our kid, who graduated from law school, and is completing an LLM in taxation, now has a job! He will be joining a firm in Washington DC.
I stopped by the butcher, and had him cut 3 thick KC strips. Baked potatoes and string beans with it. Washed down with a fine Italian Amarone, after a proper champagne toast. Coconut cake for dessert.

Camera flash?

Pasta primavera with goat cheese. Now I remember why I rarely make this...impossible to make a small amount plus my kitchen is a huge mess. I need Finkface to help me eat this.
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Calibur cheeseburger & milkshake
bagel with cream cheese & lox
organic vegetable tray
mixed green salad
safeway toasted cheddar bagel - half with butter and half as a sandwich with Buseto (Costco) charcuterie & arugula
kettle bbq chips

organic strawberries
blood orange
Girl Scout cookies

What happened to the shrimp?

With pleasure! That looks spectacular and primavera is one of my favorites. Add in goat cheese and it is over the top deliciousness. On my way over....

last minute Audible - post-vaccination liberties :-)
the shrimp is frozen and it’s only 15-20 minutes for thawing. I found an easy basic recipe. I even bought a chimichurri sauce and Nopalitos tortilla chips today with the shrimp in mind. Hopefully tomorrow but I have a Thursday booty call I mean poker play date so that’s all I really care about right now. Ooh maybe I’ll get the poker chips set up :-)

15-20 minutes? I always thaw foods slowly overnight in the fridge.
I am still not getting how you guys play poker outside in these cold nights. It has been freezing most evenings here.

If you don't have the time to allow something to thaw slowly, that is a good method. When foods are frozen, little ice crystals form and if something is thawed quickly the texture may suffer. Whether it is a steak or a shrimp, allowing for a slow thaw is always preferable.

We always use the cold water method with frozen shrimp, and I haven't found that it affects the texture. For everything else, I agree the only way to do it is in the refrigerator. Unfortunately that means planning 2 days in advance for me, because anything other than a fish filet or a thin piece of meat seems to take at least 36 hours for a full thaw in our fridge (and it is set correctly before someone asks). So I have to remember either 2 nights before or at least the morning of the day before I plan to use it.

I am an anti-flash person. I have no need to photograph 99% of my meals, so there's really no point in using a flash to take photos I don't want in the first place.

has to be the Trader Joe’s chicken enchiladas tonight because they expire tomorrow and I have a play date tomorrow. Omg omg I’m so excited. The host is ordering food. Omg. I don’t even know if the host’s spouse knows. I met online with the spouse yesterday for something and I was so tempted to ask if they were okay with this play date and I quickly impeded self-sabotage. Omg I’m so excited. I’m giddy.

big yay. Misery loves company :-)
Now I don’t know when I’ll be cooking any shrimp. Lol. 4 pounds in the freezer.

A turmeric chicken and asparagus stir fry over brown rice. Mr. CE cooked, so I'm not certain but suspect it's this recipe.

You have been having "play dates" all along, haven't you?
So odd that the raw wild Argentine shrimp comes in 1.5 lb bags at my Costco but 4lb bags at yours . Are you sure you aren't at the business center? Lol

I just looked on Costco Instacart and he probably bought the farm raised 13-15 white shrimp, which comes in 4 pound bags. (@gaobest, always buy wild, not farm-raised!) Also, 13-15s may look impressive, but I find them to be too big for most cooking. Sure, they look great in a shrimp cocktail, but the 31-40s are better for most recipes.

(For those who wonder, the numbers refer to how many are in a pound. So lower numbers, like 13-15, are huge, while 31-40s, for example, would be about half the size.)

Nope. He insists that it is the wild red shrimp. I think they were bigger than 13-15....more like 10-13.
I love the 13/15 or maybe 16/20. When they are big, it is easier to grill them.

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Last night we had grilled marinated flank steak. It was so good that tonight, for dinner, we made sandwiches with the leftovers with provolone on La Brea sourdough baguette.

I love flank steak...that looks great. What was your marinade?

4 cloves minced garlic
1/4 C Balsamic vinegar
3 T EVOO
1 T soy sauce

That's pretty much what I do too...maybe a tiny splash of sesame oil or some ginger too. You got a really nice crust on it.

Growing up, my parents would add a little honey with minced garlic and soy sauce. I don't like that cut anymore, so haven't had it in many years.

Enchiladas
Nopalito chips with guacamole

organic strawberries
cara cara orange

it’s raw wild prawns (shrimp) - not the Argentine red shrimp which I also have. I can snap a photo if you want to see the outer label.

Just wild shrimp.
Costco probably has a 5:1 ratio for shelving of frozen farmed to wild shrimp. It was a relief to find any wild prawns so it was hard to really quibble about a 4-lb bag.

I usually look for the 16-20's for cooking. I guess it depends on what you're making, but without tails these are a full bite each for me.

My friend who gave me the recipe marinates at least four hours and uses high heat - 1 minute and flip, 4 minutes and flip, 4 more minutes on side one, remove from heat and tent. I try to follow that and usually get a nice char. It's such a great cut for a group because the thinner ends get well done (but still tasty) and you can get a nice medium rare to rare (if its thick enough) in the center.

I never even heard of the cut growing up! We had round, sirloin and occasionally t-bone. Time you gave it another try. ;)

Now, we rotate between this and Santa Maria tri-tip. Each time, we say the one we just grilled is the best. :D

I think 4 hours is the maximum time that I would marinate...I have had the meat get a little mushy when I over marinate it. And I think when I do it, it is only about 8 minutes total time. Of course it depends on the thickness too. You are right--it is great for a group & reasonable priced. Also good in tacos. I love a tri-tip but haven't made it in a long time...it is a lot of meat!
Lol--I wonder if declaring the most recent one "the best" has to do with memory loss!! I do it too.

I marinated about 5 hours the other day - usually stick to about four but went longer as somebody's mouth was numb from the dentist. It was just perfectly tender. I'll keep in mind the potential mushiness for future reference.

NYT has a good "Steak N Bacon cheddar meatball" recipe that calls for diced leftover steak (if you like a labor intensive glorified bacon cheddar burger :)) - so that's where the tri-tip leftovers we don't eat go. Then we freeze half the meatballs - we get about four meals total out if them. It makes 24 total.

IIRC, you're from the Chicago area? Growing up in the Midwest as well, I can confirm we didn't know about flank steak, skirt steak, etc. One of my uncles was a dairy farmer and my parents would get a half a cow (processed of course) each year for pennies on the dollar, at cost. I guarantee you that among the many T-bones and Sirloins in our freezer, there was never a flank. Now it's one of my favorite cuts. Maybe back then it was considered scrap meat, I don't know.

Tonight - buffalo chicken salad and probably a stiff Coke cocktail (Even though I don't drink much soda, I like the taste of Coke with spicy foods). Tomorrow, the dog and I are on our own for dinner, which is the perfect time to make something my wife doesn't like. But it may just end up being takeout instead.

Flank steak was in regular rotation during my (East Coast) childhood, so I assume it was an affordable cut for a family of four.

We're heading to our local pub for an outdoor dinner.

here’s the frozen wild shrimp - despite the label, it’s in freezer bin at Costco. I even looked at the temperature (-3 degrees)

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What do you mean despite the label?
Well if you want a smaller package size (and smaller shrimp) the argentinian red shrimp that I thought you said you bought is only 1.5 lbs and is also wild. Maybe I was confused because you always say red king crab legs & I just assumed red shrimp too!

Our pub has new menu items including (as I've previously mentioned) a pizza with a white sauce, ham, bacon and dill pickles. And I love it. Mr. CE is a pizza purist. He believes that pizza has to have red sauce on it, and only traditional ingredients. (Even chicken is too out there for him.) The last time I got my pickle pizza, he grabbed a slice. And then another slice. And then tonight he ate another two of my slices. And has finally admitted that non-traditional pizza toppings can be good!

Where is this pizza pub, if I may ask? That sounds really good, actually!

I don't know why, but when I saw your post about pizza I immediately had a craving for Tedino's - no idea why that place just popped into my head. Edgewater on the brain, apparently.

Yay for dill pickles on pizza! I have been telling you guys. Next I have to convince you to put pepperoncini mixed with honey on your pizza.

Chocolate orange martini
leftover pasta primavera
chilean sea bass with lemon & garlic browned butter
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I'm from Rockford (as my dad always said, "a good place to be from" - and it is more true now than ever) and never heard of skirt steak either until I moved to Chicago and saw it on a menu and nearly swooned when I tasted it. :D

at home, before my play date:
grilled cheese and grated tillamook medium cheddar (Costco)
I cooked for my family and nibbled:
costco wild shrimp (thawed in water with 2 tsp salt and then boiled with salt & lemon juice; then peeled) - omg this was great!! I also dipped some in Gardel’s traditional chimichurri sauce which was good but is it worth $11.99?? Either way, today 4/15/21 is my first time cooking frozen shrimp and I’m SO HAPPY!!!! Big yay. So delicious. I can now make soup with shrimp or just do a shrimp omelette. Gaobest is SO HAPPY. AND BUZZED.
costco choice rib eye steak ($13.99/lb), grilled - super good. Better than the Safeway choice steak ($6.99/lb). Nice medium rare. I’m a Costco rib eye steak convert. I guess zero more Safeway steak.
omg I can have steak and eggs for my Friday bruncheon. Perfect brunch after a night of drinks. I had like 3 or 4 scotches. So fun. So happy. I need to get wasted more often.

My true dinner at the play date (with 3 people of India origin):
indian!!
Chicken biriyani
chana masala
naan
samosa
Tandoori chicken (?)
japanese and highland park whiskey
strawberry it’s it Ice cream (my first it’s it in many months!)
some canned sparkling water

the host got catered Indian food from a Berkeley restaurant cook. All was super good. Nice heat.


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The smaller Costco label with the price tag says “Previously Frozen” which is SUPER CONFUSING
this wild shrimp costs $12/lb
the Argentinean red shrimp costs more, like $15-25 a pound. I forgot the actual price but it’s a lot more than $12/lb.

So gorgeous

Am moving right right next to you, and when I smell the food I will come to your door with my plate, just like Oliver Twist. Will leave you alone when there is pizza, can't eat it.

I suspect Mr. CE may now have a similar position to me. There's a time and a place for non-traditional pizzas. I enjoy all kinds, but if I really crave a pizza, it better have at least red sauce and mozzarella on it, and probably some type of pork product. One exception...there's never a time and a place for pineapple on a pizza. It's one of my favorite fruits, but just doesn't belong.

Seeing this brings a tear to my eye. Excellent job Corky! Note for everyone...this is how fish is prepared. Simple, without a ton of goopy sauce dumped on top. Cooked...but not overcooked and dry.

I don't think it is a lot more than $12 but it is more.. Regardless, it is peeled and deveined which I very much prefer to having to do it myself.
Unless I am grilling or using in a recipe I always roast my shrimp using Ina Garten's method. IMO boiling any protein (including chicken and shrimp) tends to toughen the meat...even a low simmer is better or poaching. The roasting method is no mess, less shrinkage & curling and is always foolproof.
Didn't you used to make chimichurri at home? I love it on flank steak .
BTW, shrimp is pretty high in sodium already. As I recall, you are watching your sodium so maybe you could skip it in the thawing or cooking process if that is a concern.

Well I must admit that there is a good amount of brown butter/lemon on top. I don't mind sauces on top of fish and almost always need lemon. And a good dill sauce is perfect too.