Everyone has those days when work hasn’t gone great, you get home late, the dog is mad at you for being left alone, the fridge is empty, and you just want to sink into the couch. This is for those days. One of my favorite kitchen-sink dinners, sauteed shrimp with crusty bread and wine, is quick with lots of butter and carbs to give you the strength needed for standing in the kitchen stuffing your face. No, it isn’t elegant but it is easy to dress up for more promising occasions. For a real dinner with plates and silverware and everything, it goes great over a little linguine or with a salad. I’ve even ladled a modified version over a piece of grilled beef with good results.
shrimp:
1/2 pound of peeled and deveined shrimp, tails on
4 tbs butter
3-4 smushed and minced garlic cloves
1 tbs minced shallot
1 good sized splash of white wine
1 cup chicken broth
2 tbs chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp ground red pepper
Saute the shrimp in a large skillet over medium high heat, flipping them once after they turn pink on the down side. This only takes 2 or 3 minutes, and shrimp get tough and rubbery if you overcook them. Dump the shrimp in to a bowl and melt the rest of the butter in the hot skillet. Add everything but the parsley and other liquids, and saute till wilted, about 4 minutes. Pour in the wine and broth, and reduce by half. Return the shrimp to the pan and toss with the parsley. Stand over the kitchen sink and eat, dropping the tails down the disposal as you go. Make sure to soak up all of the buttery goodness with hot crusty bread. Chase with as much wine as needed.
This really should be more of an example than a recipe. Sometimes I forgo the wine (in the recipe, never over the sink). Cilantro instead of parsley works wonders with a dash of cumin, and scallions do well in place of the shallots. Dump some Vietnamese chili sauce in, or a little soy. The great thing is that whatever you have on hand generally works. Except for brussel sprouts (vile weed).
